The Habit of Excellence: Why British Army Leadership Works

The British Army stands or falls on the quality of its leadership. The stakes couldn’t be higher. In The Habit of Excellence, Lieutenant Colonel Langley Sharp MBE – head of the Centre for Army Leadership, part of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst – distills over three centuries of the Army’s experience in the art, science, and practice of leadership.

Exploring questions that are fundamental to leadership in any area of life – how to build trust and cohesion, achieve a balance between control and delegation, and deliver results in the face of adversity – the book draws on Lt Col Sharp’s own experience and the latest research in military history, business, sociology, psychology, and behavioral science. We see that leadership is not about the heroic exception, but the habitual practice of doing what is right, difficult, and necessary every single day to build a team, look after the people in it and work towards the next objective.

This is the first time one of the world’s most revered institutions has given an inside and institutional view on what makes its leadership so effective. Going far beyond the latest leadership fads, The Habit of Excellence is for any leader committed to maximizing the effectiveness of their teams and unlocking the potential of their people – and themselves.