Happy New Year!

To help you "lead" your way through 2015, we've decided to start the year with a look at the approaches of several top leadership experts, in hope that you might find useful nuggets for yourself. No matter what your role is, whether you know it or not, you almost certainly exercise leadership in at least some areas.

We don't believe there is one "right" or perfect way to lead others. The approaches we take are as diverse as we are and as varied as the kinds of groups we find ourselves leading. So how do you find a path that suits you?

A simple way to start is to emulate the leaders around you who you respect. Perhaps the person you most admire is shrewd and analytical - someone who brings order to the situation like the 25% of Forbes Top 100 CEO's who are trained engineers. It might be the inspirational leader, like the executive who is slowly but surely instilling new values across the organization. Perhaps it's the exec who takes a consensus approach, but who is decisive. Or possibly it's the person who, in spite of the power they hold, has managed to stay humble and listen.

To build upon that foundation, we suggest you also look outside your immediate organization...to a leadership expert who teaches leaders to be better leaders - someone whose philosophy seems to fit the leader you've chosen to emulate, and more importantly - fit you. Have a look. And have a great year.

This month, we feature - ever so briefly - five top leadership experts in the English-speaking world. Each holds their own against the others in spite of very different methodologies and philosophies. In other words, there's no right or wrong way to lead; it's about choosing the best path for you and the context you find yourself in.

Our hope is that this introduction will give you a taste of their philosophy and approach, and enable you to decide whether you'd like to learn more about them (which you can do by simply clicking the links provided).

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