The Practice of Leadership » Book Reviews

Book Review: Leadership is Dead

George Ambler — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 18:05:03 +0000

Leadership is Dead: How Influence is Reviving It is by Jeremie Kubicek (@jeremiekubicek), President and CEO of GiANT Impact, a leadership development organisation involved in the Chick-fil-A Leadercast, as well as other leadership initiatives and programs.

Overview

The book’s structure is fairly straightforward. Chapters one through four provide context and theory, and then chapters five through nine provide practical steps and applications.

Why the title “Leadership is Dead”? This is the question that comes to the minds of many who read the book’s title. The best way of answering this is in the works of the author.

“In my view, leadership as we have known it is dead because far too many leaders have abused their positions and lost their moral bearings.
From the banking industry collapse to corporate greed, these leaders have abandoned all long-term responsibility and discipline in favor of short-term gains.
The runaway greed of Wall Street’s leadership, skyrocketing salaries for corporate executives, and unkept promises from political leaders have left most people feeling betrayed and jilted. Not only do we not trust our leaders, but in many cases, employees are becoming victims of these unresponsive leaders.
Consequently, most leaders are now viewed with cynicism and skepticism, and many have lost the trust of those they are supposed to inspire and motivate.”

It’s not that leadership is dead, it’s the way in that many choose to lead that is dead. Realizing that command and control styles of leadership don’t work anymore, Kubicek sees leadership as influence, “I realized that positive leadership occurs not by ‘leading’ others but rather by influencing them.” The leadership theory presented in the book is based on what Kubicek calls, “The Influence Model”, which describes how leadership is a process of influence, where influence occurs through…

“…a hunger to serve others and the willingness to self-assess and self-motivate through the process to maintain healthy, authentic relationships.”

The book goes on to explore the enemy of influence, self-preservation. Kubicek posits, the instinctual need to protect the self is why leadership is dead. To rise above self-preservation and to be effective, the influence model is supported by seven leadership actions, that are important for leaders seeking to exert influence in the lives of others. These seven actions are as follows:

Give trust to become trustworthy
Become credible, not just smart
Be intentional in your influence
Break through your walls of self-preservation
Pursue relationship before opportunity
Give yourself away
Become significant in your impact.

These seven action lead to influence and to have influence, is to have power. You cannot talk about leadership as influence without touching on the use of power.

“Influence is about power. Before you can become a leader, you need to determine how you will use your power…. Leadership is influence. Influence is power. In wielding that power, a leader can choose to use it in one of two ways: To empower and liberate or To overpower and dominate”

So, the choice by leaders on how they use power is critical. Are you as a leader using power to dominate or to liberate? The best leaders use power to liberate!

The book ends with a challenge, with the chapter titled, “Why You Probably Won’t Do This.” In this chapter, Kubicek makes the following observation.

“Most leaders never reach the levels of significant influence because their instincts for self-preservation are too strong…. True influence comes when you change yourself to change the world.”

Analysis

The book is very well-written, primarily from a business perspective and remains engaging from beginning to end. Kubicek does not use research or other well-known leadership authors in support of the his leadership ideas. Given this, much of the ideas and concepts presented in the book seems to be largely influenced by Kubicek’s personal and business experience.

Kubicek is not the first leadership author to advocate, leadership as influence and that we need an alternative approach to the out-dated, but still very much practiced, command and control leadership style. Many of the themes and ideas seem to be strongly influenced by a servant leadership approach, which is not a new idea. For those who want to explore the idea of servant leadership more deeply I would recommend reading Robert Greenleaf’s book “Servant Leadership.”

If not new, the book is timely, written as a wake up call to leaders, in a time when much of society is disillusioned and sceptical of most leaders. In this respect the book has a very relevant and important message for leaders today.

The book makes for a convincing argument for a leadership style focused more on influence. However, I would have like to have seen more emphasis on providing the reader with tools to help people move towards becoming more influential leaders.

In summary, although there is little new in the book, it’s message this is a timely, especially in the current environment of economic, political and social uncertainty.

Recommendations

This is a great business book, well-written, that speaks to the heart rather than the head.

One of the central principles I subscribe to is: “If you want to change the world, you need to start by changing yourself. Specifically, you need to change yourself in ways that increase your influence with those around you. This book provides a great catalyst to this process of explaining how become a leader of influence by overcoming the desire for self-preservation, a tendency that derails many leaders.

This book is challenging as it asks uncomfortable questions about your intent and motivation for being a leader. In this respect, I think the book will be more challenging to those leaders who are leveraging the power of their position’s to lead, rather than leading through influence. So why not give a copy of this book to one command and control type leader you know!

I was personally challenged by this book. It caused me to reflect on my motivations for leading. The author comes across authentic and real, this moved me emotionally and caused me to reflect deeply as to my leadership intent and motives.

I would highly recommend this book to those aspiring to or who an already in a leadership position. Especially those who have not been exposed to the ideas and concepts of servant leadership or leadership as influence before. It’s a great leadership book.

Book Review: Strengths Based Leadership

George Ambler — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 07:26:04 +0000

In “Strengths-Based Leadership” the authors, Tom Rath and Barry Conchie examines the question “What are the keys to effective leadership?”. To answer this question a group of researchers were gathered to review data collected from Gallup on the topic, the research included 20,000 interviews with senior leaders, studies of more than one million work teams and 50 years of Gallup Polls of the world’s most admired leaders. Key findings from the research are as follows:

The most effective leaders are always investing in strengths.
The most effective leaders surround themselves with the right people and then maximize their team.
The most effective leaders understand their followers needs.

Investing in Your Strengths

Without understanding our strengths we a doomed to lead from mediocrity…

“If you spend your life trying to be good at everything, you will never be great at anything. While our society encourages us to be well-rounded, this approach inadvertently breeds mediocrity. Perhaps the greatest misconception of all is that of the well-rounded leader.”

It’s our differences that defines our success as leaders…

“I’ve never met an effective leader who wasn’t aware of his talents and working to sharpen them.” – Former NATO supreme Allied Commander Wesley Clark, in the New York Times Magazine

The authors go on to make an interesting observation…

“If you look at great historical leaders such as Winston Churchill, Mahatma Ghandi, you might notice more differences than similarities – and it is the differences that defined them and led to their success.”

“Many political and business leaders have self concepts that are miles away from reality. They simply don’t know their strengths and weaknesses.”

The leadership researcher Donald O. Clifton started studying leadership in the 1960’s, conducting more than 20,000 interviews with various leaders across diverse industries, before his death in 2003, he was asked what was his greatest leadership discovery from the more than thirty years of research, he answered as follows:

“A leader needs to know his strengths as a carpenter knows his tools, or as a physician knows the instruments at her disposal. What great leaders have in common is that each truly knows his or her strengths – and can call on the right strength at the right time. This explains why there is no definitive list of characteristics that describes all leaders.”

Maximizing Your Team

“Effective people surround themselves with the right people and build upon each person’s strength. Yet in most cases, leadership teams are a product of circumstance more than design. among the executive teams we have studied, team members were selected or promoted based primarily upon knowledge or competence. So, the best sales person becomes the chief salesperson, even if he is not a great manager… Rarely are people recruited to an executive team because their strengths are the best complement to those of the existing team members.”

The research has identified four distinct domains of leadership strength that guide how different leaders contribute to their team.

“Although individuals need not be well rounded, teams should be.”

The four leadership domains as identified in the research are as follows:

Executing: Leaders who know how to make things happen.
Influencing: Leaders who help their teams reach a much broader audience.
Relationship Building: Leaders who are the glue that holds the team together.
Strategic Thinking: Leaders who keep us focused on what could be.

The four domains are supported by 34 themes that describes each leaders specific strengths. The book includes key that can be used to access the Gallup StrengthsFinder program, which allows you to complete the online assessment. The assessment analyses your strengths and provides a detailed report of each of leadership strengths and includes guidance on how to use your unique strengths to improve your leadership effectiveness.

In Summary

Effective leadership has it’s foundation in personal effectiveness, this requires a deep understanding of your unique strengths and weaknesses, resulting in greater self-awareness. Given the important of self-awareness to effective leadership, any tool that can assist a leader in gaining a better understanding of himself is worth the investment. This book is a great investment in your leadership development.

Book Review: Tribes

George Ambler — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 17:54:02 +0000

Tribes by Seth Godin

The book Tribes by Seth Godin is one of the more interesting leadership books I have read this year. The central message of the book is that whatever you position, profession or place in the world there is a tribe waiting for your leadership. All that is required is your decision to lead… The discussed the leadership of tribes which Seth defines as “a group of people connected to one another, connected to a leader, and connected to an idea”.

The book is an engaging read, it has no chapters, but is rather a collection of inspiring ideas on how to go about creating and leading a tribe. Some of the ideas that caught my attention included the following:

“Heretics are the new leaders. The ones who challenge the status quo, who get out in front of their tribes, who create movements. The marketplace new rewards (and embraces) the heretics.”
“Leaders lead when they take positions, when they connect with their tribes, and when they help the tribe connect to itself.”
“People yearn for change, they relish being part of a movement, and they talk about things that are remarkable, not boring.”
“If leadership is that ability to create change your tribe believes in, and the market demands change, then the market demands leaders.”
“There doesn’t seem to be a shortage of ideas. ordinary folks can dream up remarkable stuff fairly easily. What’s missing is the will to make the ideas happen. in the battle between two ideas, the best one doesn’t necessarily win. No, the idea that wins is the one with the most fearless heretic behind it.”
“Great leaders are able to reflect the light onto their teams, their tribes. Great leaders don’t want attention, but they use it. They use it to unite and to reinforce its sense of purpose. When you abuse the attention, you are taking something from the tribe… When a CEO takes the spoils of royalty and stars acting like a selfish monarch, he’s no longer leading. He’s taking.”
In fact, in nearly every case, trying to lead everyone results in leading no one in particular… So great leaders don’t try to please everyone. Great leaders don’t water down their message in order to make the tribe a bit bigger.”
“Generous and authentic leadership will always defeat the selfish efforts of someone doing it just because they can.”
“No one anoints you as leader.”
“Organizations that destroy the status quo win.”
“Boring ideas don’t spread. Boring organizations don’t grow.”
“We choose not to be remarkable because we’re worried about criticism. We hesitate to create innovative movies, launch new human resource initiatives, design a menu that makes diners take notice, or give an audacious sermon because we’re worried, deep down, that someone will hate it and call us on it.”
“The art of leadership is understanding what you can’t compromise on.”
“The secret of leadership is simple: Do what you believe in. Paint a picture of the future. Go there. People will follow.”
“The easiest thing is to react. The second easiest thing is to respond. But the hardest thing is to initiate.”

And lastly…

“… leaders have nothing in common. They don’t share gender or income level or geography. There’s no gene, no schooling, no parentage, no profession. In other words, leader’s aren’t born. I’m sure of it. Actually, they do have one thing in common. Every tribe leader I’ve ever met shares on thing: the decision to lead.”

This book is filled with great ideas for building and leading a tribe. I found the book provides a fresh take of the topic of leadership in this increasingly connected world.

P.S.

Mixergy.com has an exclusive post “Seth Godin On How To Build And Lead Your Tribe” containing a video by Christel Hyden of Seth Godin’s live presentation of the ideas in his new book, Tribes. You You can watch the video on Mixergy, or download the audio of it and listen on your iPod/iPhone/etc. at the bottom of this post.

Book Review: Fire Them Up!

George Ambler — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 19:35:38 +0000

The book “Fire Them Up!” by Carmine Gallo is really a great read. It discusses the importance of inspiration for successful leadership. The book is divided into two parts “Part I: The 7 Simple Secrets” of success which provides the foundation principles for inspiring others and “PART II: Living the 7 Simple Secrets” discusses how people in different role apply the seven secrets. I am going to focus this book review on PART I: The Seven Simple Secrets.

“Our chief want is someone who will inspire us to be what we know we could be” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Chapter 1: Ignite Your Enthusiasm – Light a Fire in Your Heart before Sparking One in Theirs

“Inspiration begins internally. What is it about your service, product, company, or cause that pumps you up? Only after you identify what you are truly passionate about will you be in a position to motivate others.”

Chapter 2: Navigate the Way – Deliver a Specific, Consistent and Memorable Vision

“Enthusiasm opens the door, but vision grabs hold of your listeners and pulls them to the other side… A fuzzy vision will fail to rally your listeners to a better future…. For a vision to have impact, it must be simple and profound. How do you attain both? By keeping your vision to ten words or less…. If you can articulate a compelling vision of the world that is specific, consistent, and memorable, you will not only have grabbed their attention, but you will have captured their hearts. And where their hearts lead, their minds are sure to follow.”

Chapter 3: Sell the Benefit – Put Your Listeners First

“Make no mistake: When you speak, your listeners are asking themselves on question: What’s in it for me? It’s the one question that should be answered not once, but throughout your communication.”… To inspire your listeners, constantly ask yourself, ‘What am I selling?’ Think about it this way: Apple does not sell computers. It sells tools to unleash human potential. Starbucks does not sell coffee. It sells an experience, a ‘third place’ between home and work…. What are you selling?…. They are buying benefits not products.”

Chapter 4: Paint a Picture – Tell Powerful, Memorable, and Actionable Stories

“Inspiring individuals sell themselves, their vision, and their values by turning their message into a story that piques your interest, keeps you entertained, makes it easy to remember key points, and, above all, leads you to take some sort of action. Your message is not your story… Persuading individuals to follow a desired course of action requires an emotional engagements with the listener… ‘Stories speak to both parts of the human mind – its reason and emotion,’ writes Howard Gardner.”

Chapter 5: Invite Participation

“Listening is not enough. Asking for feedback, and taking action based on what you hear, makes all the difference.”

Chapter 6: Reinforce and Optimistic Outlook

“Leaders, for some reason, see a bright future in the thickest fog… As Marcus Buckingham observes in The One Thing You Need to Know, ‘The opposite of a leader isn’t a follower. The opposite of a leader is a pessimist.’ The link between optimism and inspiration is direct and immediate: Thinking optimistically will make you feel better about yourself. Speaking optimistically will give others the confidence to follow your vision.”

Chapter 7: Encourage Their Potential

“People connect with people, not things. And the best compliment you can receive from another human being is this: ‘You make me want to be a better person.’… Motivation is about bringing out the best in people, but people will not listen to your message until they know you care.”

In Summary…

I found this book an easy and inspiring read. Each chapter is full of useful examples describing how the principles being described in the chapter has been applied in a real world context. With the importance of inspiration for successful leadership, we all will benefit from the ideas from this book. I recommend that this book to anyone who is looking form ways to inspire and motivate their team and organizations.

Book Review: The First 90 Days

George Ambler — Sun, 19 Aug 2007 12:16:32 +0000

The First 90 Days a Harvard business Review book by Micheal Watkins provides a guide for leaders making a transition from one role into a new one. Transitions are one of the most difficult times for most leaders. This book is an essential guide for leaders in transition…

“Transition failures happen when new leaders either misunderstand the essential demands of the situation or the lack of skill and flexibility to adapt to them.”

Promote Yourself

“This doesn’t mean hiring your own publicist. It means making the mental break from your old job and preparing to take charge in the new one. Perhaps the biggest pitfall you face is assuming that what has made you successful to this point in your career will continue to do so. The dangers of sticking with what you know, working extremely hard at doing it, and failing miserably are very real.”

Accelerate Your Learning

“You need to climb the learning curve as fast as you can in your new organization. This means understanding its markets, products, technologies, systems and structures, as well as its culture and politics. Getting acquainted with the new organization can feel like drinking from a fire hose. You have to be systematic and focused about deciding what you need to learn and how you will learn it most effectively.”

Match Strategy to Situation

“There are no universal rules for success in transitions. You need to diagnose the business situation accurately and clarify its challenges and opportunities. Start-ups, for instance – of a new product, process, plant, or completely new business – share challenges quite different from those you would face while turning around a product, process, or plant in serious trouble. A clear diagnosis of the situation is an essential prerequisite for developing your action plan.”

Secure Early Wins

“Early wins build your credibility and create momentum. They create virtuous cycles that leverage the energy you are putting into the organization to create a pervasive sense that good things are happening. In the first few weeks, you need to identify opportunities to build personal credibility. In the first 90 days, you need to identify ways to create value, improve business results, and get to the breakeven point more rapidly.”

Negotiate Success

“Because no other single relationship is more important, you need to figure out how to build a productive working relationship with you new boss and manage his or her expectations. This means carefully planning for a series of critical conversations about situation, expectations, style, resources, and your personal development. Critically, it means developing and gaining consensus on your 90-day plan.”

Achieve Alignment

“The higher you rise in an organization, the more you have to play the role of organizational architect. This means figuring out whether the organization’s strategy is sound, bringing its structure into alignment with its strategy, and developing the systems and skill bases necessary to realize strategic intent.”

Build Your Team

“If you are inheriting a team, you will need to evaluate its members and perhaps restructure it to better meet the demands of the situation. Your willingness to make tough early personnel calls and your capacity to select the right people for the right positions are amongst the most important drivers of success during your transition. You will need to be both systematic and strategic in approaching your team building challenge.”

Create Coalitions

“Your success will depend on your ability to influence people outside your direct line of control. Supportive alliances, both internal and external, will be necessary to achieve your goals. You should therefore start right away to identify those whose support is essential for your success, and to figure out how to line them up on your side.”

Keep Your Balance

“In the personal and profession tumult of a transition, you will have to work hard to maintain your equilibrium and preserve your ability to make good judgements. The risk of losing perspective, getting isolated, and making bad calls are ever present during transitions. There is much you can do to accelerate your personal transition and to gain more control over your work environment. The right advise-and-counsel network is an indispensable resource.”

Expedite Everyone

“Finally, you need to help everyone in your organization – direct reports, bosses, and peers – accelerate their own transitions. The quicker you can get your new direct reports up to speed, the more you will help your own performance. Beyond that, the benefits to the organization of systematically accelerating everyone’s transitions are potentially vast.”

In Conclusion….

Transitions need to be carefully managed as they are risky and prone to failure. This book is very well written and full of practice advice to guide leaders through the crucial first 90 days in their new roles. I found this book an extremely useful resource in a recent transitions that I made from a leadership position in one organization to another. I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for some guidance and advice as they seek to develop their personal 90 day transition plans.