The Gumbo Coalition: A book review by Bob Morris

The Gumbo Coalition: 10 Leadership Lessons That Help You Inspire, Unite, and Achieve
Marc Morial
HarperCollins Leadership (May 2020)

“People won’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.” Theodore Roosevelt

Like cooking gumbo, development of effective leadership requires a combination of ingredients. I could say the same about preparing a salad or conducting a symphony orchestra. Long ago among his First Letters to the Corinthians, Saint Paul discusses the concept of “many parts, one body.” That is the essence of a coalition.

Based on his wide, deep, and diverse experiences as a leader, Marc Morial shares his thoughts (and feelings) about how to achieve strategic objectives. More specifically, HOW TO

o Get off to a fast start with a smart (“street smart”) plan
o Recognize when to change it
o Build a consensus
o Show strength through compassion
o Make the right decisions, especially when under severe pressure
o Respond effectively to unforeseen developments, especially crises
o Know when to lead and when to follow (“hold ’em, fold ’em,” etc.)
o Build networks with intention
o Overcome setbacks and frustrations to achieve success
o Find new and better ways to solve old problems

The “lessons” (rather than “rules”) that Morial shares can be of substantial benefit to C-level executives, of course, but also to others who must also provide leadership at all other levels and in all other areas of the given enterprise.

Morial acknowledges dozens of sources that have, over several decades, helped him to formulate the principles that serve as the foundation of what he characterizes as “Gumbo Coalition leadership.” For example, Susan Herman: “I define leadership as having three parts.: First is seeing what needs to be done to make things better or seeing a problem that needs fixing. Second is having the vision, the skill, and the wherewithal to change the system. And third is the most important task of mobilizing the energy of others to organize and act in ways to achieve that vision.”” (Page 185).

It is no coincidence that companies annually ranked among those most highly admired and best to work for are also annually ranked among those most profitable and having the greatest cap value in their competitive marketplace.It is noteworthy that when Morial discusses discusses specific successes throughout his career (e.g. winning the Chisum vs. Edwards lawsuit in the Supreme Court), he uses first-person PLURAL pronouns. He obviously agrees with this African proverb: “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”

The same is true of coalitions. They succeed only when members and their leaders have three essential skills that almost anyone can master: communication, cooperation, and (most important of all) collaboration. Morial includes countless examples when one or more of the three proved essential to the achievement of the given objective.

I commend Marc Morial on creating a book filled with information, insights, and counsel that can help almost anyone accelerate their personal growth and professional development. The same material can also help them to help others to achieve the same goal. Bravo!

Posted in

Leave a Comment





This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.