Paul Alfred Elling

Leadership
Guidelines

A Four-Part Series on the Art and Science of Leadership

Not enough education is provided about the subject of leadership — an art and science practiced across every culture and era. This series offers guidelines that anyone, in any organization, can learn and put into practice.

Part I Fundamentals Part II Essential Qualities Part III The Guiding Light Part IV Strategy
⌄

Part I

Fundamentals

The first volume lays the essential groundwork of leadership — what it means to prepare yourself, take ownership, and lead with courage, ethics, and discipline. Drawing on figures from Aristotle and George Washington to Michael Jordan, it shows that leadership is available to anyone who is willing to cultivate it.

  • Preparation
  • Taking Ownership
  • Courage
  • Strive for Level 5 Leadership
  • Ethics
  • Character
  • Conviction
  • Discipline
  • Communication
→ Contact to Order
Leadership Guidelines Part I — Fundamentals book cover

Part II

Essential Qualities

The second volume examines the qualities that distinguish great leaders — from the willpower of Charles de Gaulle and Steve Jobs to the unifying vision of Moses and Andrew Carnegie. These are not traits you are born with; they are capacities to be developed through study and practice.

  • Willpower
  • Influence
  • Inspiration
  • Teamwork
  • Conflict Resolution
  • Stability
  • Organization
  • Vision
→ Contact to Order
Leadership Guidelines Part II — Essential Qualities book cover

Part III

The Guiding Light

The third volume turns to the leader as a guiding force — exploring adaptability, diplomacy, servant leadership, and transformational change. From Mother Teresa and Volodymyr Zelensky to Genghis Khan and Angela Merkel, it shows how the most consequential leaders redirect the course of organizations and nations.

  • Adaptability
  • Management
  • Diplomacy
  • Servant Leader
  • Transformational Leadership
  • Perseverance
  • Prudence
→ Contact to Order
Leadership Guidelines Part III — The Guiding Light book cover

Part IV

Strategy

The fourth volume surveys strategic leadership through history — from King David, Pericles, and Julius Caesar through the Founding Fathers, the Civil War, and two World Wars to the modern era. Strategy is leadership in its most consequential form: decisions made under pressure that shape the fate of organizations, nations, and civilizations.

  • The History of Strategy
  • Before Christ — King David, Pericles, Alexander, Caesar
  • Medieval Times — Charlemagne, Alfred, Henry V
  • The Founding Fathers
  • The Civil War — Lincoln, Lee, Grant
  • World War I
  • World War II — Churchill, Roosevelt, Patton, Eisenhower
  • The Modern Era — Powell, Mattis
→ Contact to Order
Leadership Guidelines Part IV — Strategy book cover
Paul Alfred Elling, author of Leadership Guidelines

About the Author

Paul Alfred Elling

Paul Alfred Elling holds an MBA in Strategic Leadership and has spent more than a decade as a senior software engineer, leading teams and building complex systems in high-pressure environments. Raised in a military family — his father served twenty years in the United States Navy, retiring as a Senior Chief Petty Officer — Paul developed an early appreciation for the discipline, honor, and human complexity that leadership demands. The Leadership Guidelines series is the product of a lifelong study of leadership across history, culture, psychology, and organizations, written to make that knowledge accessible to anyone willing to learn it.

paulelling@yahoo.com

Interested in the series? Reach out directly.