"Before you start your next selection process, read this book. And read it very, very carefully." ?JIM KOUZES, coauthor, The Leadership Challenge

Almost 70% of Americans believe that we are suffering from a crisis of leadership, but rather than asking why leaders are failing, we need to ask, "Why aren't we choosing better leaders?"

Ever wonder what goes on behind closed boardroom doors when organizations pick their top leaders? It can be a contentious, secretive, even brutal process. Most leaders look good on paper?they have charisma, credentials, and confidence?yet they lack the real qualities that are necessary to succeed. In Why Are We Bad at Picking Good Leaders? leadership succession experts Jeffrey Cohn and Jay Moran share the same insights and ideas they use to help organizations make better choices.

Through dynamic, first-hand accounts from the business world, entertainment, sports, politics, education, and philanthropy, Cohn and Moran reveal the seven essential attributes of all great leaders and offer a powerful evaluation technique anyone can use to assess leader potential. Jerry Colangelo explains why he hired Mike "Coach K" Krzyzewski to turn the 2008 U.S. men's Olympic basketball team into the "Redeem Team" Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon, describes how he built a new online industry; Peter Löscher, CEO of Siemens, details how he turned around an industrial giant; Toby Cosgrove, CEO of the Cleveland Clinic, discusses his transition from the operating room to the boardroom; John DeLucie, chef and entrepreneur, shows how he found his true passion at thirty; Ruben Fleischer, Hollywood director, explains his judgment on a movie set; Richard Clarke, former U.S. national coordinator for counterterrorism, reveals how to lead in a crisis situation.

Fresh and compelling, Why Are We Bad at Picking Good Leaders? reveals how great leaders can be spotted and why they succeed?and is soon to be the definitive resource guide to choosing better leaders.