Some Achieve Greatness : Lessons on Leadership and Character From Shakespeare and One of His Greatest Admirers

“Some are born great, some achieve greatness and some have greatness thrust upon them.” William Shakespeare, Twelfth Night Around the globe people have been crying out for “Leadership”: demanding it, begging for it. From the farcical spectacle of short-lived Australian prime ministers shoving each other through the revolving door to scandalous failures of governance in Australia’s financial institutions and the moral abyss in church leadership, to the mess of Brexit and the chaotic unpredictability of the Trump administration, and now the greatest leadership challenge since World War II: Covid-19. Stable, reliable, sensible leadership has been in short supply. We often resort to the word ‘Shakespearean’ to explain our dramatic times. And indeed, we can learn a lot from Shakespeare about leadership – good and bad. The world’s greatest analyst of human behaviour and motivation; a man well acquainted with crises of leadership in tumultuous times; a man whose dry wit, bottomless empathy enabled him to encapsulate countless valuable life lessons that still ring with relevance today. As someone who has spent a good deal of the last seventy-something years studying, performing and directing Shakespeare’s plays, John Bell has absorbed quite a few valuable lessons in life, character and leadership from the bard, and then put these to good use running two successful theatre companies. Some Achieve Greatness contains invaluable lessons on leadership, drawn from John Bell’s extensive relationship with Shakespeare and his own experience as a cultural leader, illustrated with an irreverent and contemporary set of cartoons by Cathy Wilcox. How are we to endure this glocal leadership drought? There's a reason we often use the word 'Shakespearean' to describe dramatics times: William Shakespear is our best analyst of human behaviour and motivation. A man well acquainted with turmoil, he produced works bristling with wit, profound empathy and a deep understanding of the best and worst of our nature. His words still ring with relevance today; they might just contain some of the answers we're looking for. Australians are weary of the farcical spectacle of mid-term prime ministers being shoved through the revolving door, scandalous failures of governance in financial institutions and the moral abyss in Church stewardship. Throughout the mess of Brexit, chaotic unpredictability of the Trump administration and Covid-19 - the gravest leadership challenge since World War 11 - stable, reliable, sensible leadership has been in short supply. Having spent a great deal of the last seventy-something years studying, performing and directing Shakespeare's plays, John Bell has absorbed timeless lessons in life, character and leadership from the Bard - and put these to good use running two successful theatre companies. Some Achieve Greatness presents invaluable lessions to help navigate this unpredictable time