Kent Kille Examines Leadership Qualities of UN Secretary General in New Book

WOOSTER, Ohio - The leadership qualities of the United Nations Secretary-General and how those qualities affect responses to threats against peace and security are examined by Kent Kille in his new book, From Manager to Visionary: The Secretary-General of the United Nations, published recently by Palgrave Macmillan.

Kille, an associate professor of political science at The College of Wooster, measures the personal traits of all seven Secretaries-General and categorizes them into one of three leadership styles: managerial, strategic, and visionary. A framework of the influential activities available to the office is linked to each leadership style to establish and explore a series of behavioral expectations.

Tony Fleming, writing for unsg.org, praised Kille's research, saying, "From Manager to Visionary is a new seminal work in the literature and clearly earns Kille a place in the company of Erskine Childers, Sir Brian Urquhart and Edward Luck as an authority on the Secretaries-General. His contribution will influence how other scholars describe the impact of past Secretaries-General and, for many of us today, will undoubtedly be a key resource that we turn to in assessing the words and actions of Secretary Ban Ki-moon over the next decade."

From Manager to Visionary is also the featured book for the month of March for the Academic Council on the United Nations System, an organization composed of almost 1,000 scholars, instructors, and practitioners engaged with the United Nations and other international institutions.

Lauded for its thorough analysis as well as its accessibility to a general audience, Kille's book includes chapters on the Secretary-General's avenues for influence as well as assessments of those who served in that position. Through his analysis, Kille describes Dag Hammarskjold as the "Visionary," Kurt Waldheim as the "Manager," and Kofi Annan as the "Strategist." This work demonstrates the impact of personal qualities on the operation of the Secretary-Generalship and extends knowledge on political leadership in the realm of international organization.

The book is available locally at The College of Wooster's Florence O. Wilson Bookstore in Lowry Center (1189 Beall Ave.) or online through outlets such as BarnesandNoble.com or Amazon.com.