Showing posts with label good leadership. Show all posts
Showing posts with label good leadership. Show all posts

The Leadership Pill: The Missing Ingredient in Motivating People Today Review

The Leadership Pill: The Missing Ingredient in Motivating People Today
Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)
Are you looking to buy The Leadership Pill: The Missing Ingredient in Motivating People Today? Here is the right place to find the great deals. we can offer discounts of up to 90% on The Leadership Pill: The Missing Ingredient in Motivating People Today. Check out the link below:

>> Click Here to See Compare Prices and Get the Best Offers

The Leadership Pill: The Missing Ingredient in Motivating People Today ReviewGo to page 110. Read the four themes: integrity, partnership, affirmation, and perfecting the blend. Perhaps read each of the three bullet points for each of the four themes. Do this while browsing at a bookstore or, better yet, at the local library. Good. You now have spent thirty seconds and saved yourself money and the other fourteen-and-a-half minutes it takes to read the entire book.
Should we be grateful that leadership can be expressed so concisely and learned -- no, mastered -- so quickly? Or should we wonder who would pay a full-book price for 112 very short pages? Or should we wonder when the authors say, "The focus group data is (sic) compelling?" (p.3). Five-star reviews come from people in the first category.
The parable is full of sweet, easily transformed people, coming alive after years of mistreatment by management, brought back to life by a simple yet incredibly powerful act or word from "The Effective Leader". There is little to be generalized from these simple, simplistic cliches.
This is a variation on the incredibly successful "One-minute manager," which had similar characteristics to an article entitled, "McGregor" a few years earlier in "Organizational Dynamics," espousing one-minute praise, punishment and goals. In this case, Blanchard and Muchnick describe a people-oriented, empowering leadership model and contrast it with the pill-induced, autocratic, domineering, results-oriented style they attribute to "Patton, Napoleon and Attila the Hun." Suffice it to say, the pill doesn't work. It's poisonous. Like heroin, it gives the leader a rush of power and grandeur, but only until the followers get pretty sick and tired of ego tripping.The Leadership Pill: The Missing Ingredient in Motivating People Today Overview

Want to learn more information about The Leadership Pill: The Missing Ingredient in Motivating People Today?

>> Click Here to See All Customer Reviews & Ratings Now
Read More...

The One Thing You Need to Know: ... About Great Managing, Great Leading, and Sustained Individual Success Review

The One Thing You Need to Know: ... About Great Managing, Great Leading, and Sustained Individual Success
Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)
Are you looking to buy The One Thing You Need to Know: ... About Great Managing, Great Leading, and Sustained Individual Success? Here is the right place to find the great deals. we can offer discounts of up to 90% on The One Thing You Need to Know: ... About Great Managing, Great Leading, and Sustained Individual Success. Check out the link below:

>> Click Here to See Compare Prices and Get the Best Offers

The One Thing You Need to Know: ... About Great Managing, Great Leading, and Sustained Individual Success ReviewBuckingham's book is very good overall; the practical anecdotes he provides of people actually DOING the "one thing" are compelling, and his style is entertaining, and yet no-nonsense.
In giving us "the one thing," Buckingham emphasizes the need for what he calls the "controlling insight" to provide a means not only for getting on to the field of play, but "how to win and keep winning the game."
Armed with this description, he unveils what, based on his considerable experience and research, he considers the controlling insight about great managing, great leading, and sustained individual success.
Here are the "one things" for each:
Managing: "Discover what is unique about each person and capitalize on it."
Leading: "Discover what is universal and capitalize on it."
Sustained individual success: "Discover what you don't like doing and stop doing it."
Along the way, Buckingham provides some excellent points of focus, including a very important differentiation between managing and leading that too many of his contemporaries have overlooked: "When you want to manage, begin with the person. When you want to lead, begin with the picture of where you are headed."
Predictably though, much of the argument for each of the three controlling insights is predicated upon strengths theory, which Buckingham and Clifton popularized with "Now, Discover Your Strengths." In the management chapter, the anecdotes more or less focus on individuals who are able to identify the strengths of their people, and put them to the best possible use. In the sustained individual success chapter, he takes strengths theory a step further, advocating not only discovering your strengths and cultivating them, but eliminating, or managing, those areas in which you are weak as a primary (where "Now" made it more secondary) pursuit.
It is primarily for these chapters that I say some of the material is recycled. However, when you have the research to back up the claims, as Gallup (for whom Buckingham no longer works) certainly does with the StrengthsFinder instrument, you can hardly deviate from it very far.
Another way in which the material is somewhat recycled, though, is in its similarity to Collins' "Good to Great." Buckingham praises the work of Collins in some points, but takes minor swipes at it in others. This is a strange irony in the book, as Buckingham's arguments are very similar to those of Collins, just phrased differently. For example: Collins' "level 5 leadership" entails what he calls "The Stockdale Paradox"--a willingness to look at the brutal reality of the situation, but remain hopeful and determined that one will overcome it. Now, from Buckingham: "When I say leaders are optimistic I mean simply that nothing--not their mood, not the reasoned arguments of others, not the bleak conditions of the present--nothing can undermine their faith that things will get better."
Buckingham's slightly different definition of words like optimism (which could easily be defined as hope) and humility cause him to see Collins in a slightly different light, in spite of the fact that their findings are almost exactly the same. I found myself slightly disappointed by this, but I would recommend this book nevertheless, as it is an excellent compendium of insights overall from a man that few would dispute has become a global leader in these areas.
One humorous note: I'm fairly certain Buckingham has signed a two book deal with Free Press, so I'm anxiously awaiting the second book, especially as he has already given us "The One Thing You Need to Know." :-)The One Thing You Need to Know: ... About Great Managing, Great Leading, and Sustained Individual Success Overview

Want to learn more information about The One Thing You Need to Know: ... About Great Managing, Great Leading, and Sustained Individual Success?

>> Click Here to See All Customer Reviews & Ratings Now
Read More...

The First 90 Days: Critical Success Strategies for New Leaders at All Levels Review

The First 90 Days: Critical Success Strategies for New Leaders at All Levels
Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)
Are you looking to buy The First 90 Days: Critical Success Strategies for New Leaders at All Levels? Here is the right place to find the great deals. we can offer discounts of up to 90% on The First 90 Days: Critical Success Strategies for New Leaders at All Levels. Check out the link below:

>> Click Here to See Compare Prices and Get the Best Offers

The First 90 Days: Critical Success Strategies for New Leaders at All Levels ReviewThis book is not just for managers at the executive level. It's also for you and me. It's for functional managers, project managers, and supervisors. The book targets new leaders at all levels that are making the transition from one rung of the ladder to the next.
If you have just been promoted to a new leadership position (or expect to be soon), then this book is for you.
The book outlines ten strategies that will shorten the time it takes you to reach what Watkins calls the breakeven point: the point at which your organization needs you as much as you need the job. Here they are ... the ten strategies:
1. PROMOTE YOURSELF. Make a mental break from your old job. Prepare to take charge in the new one. Don't assume that what has made you successful so far will continue to do so. The dangers of sticking with what you know, working hard at doing it, and failing miserably are very real.
2. ACCELERATE YOUR LEARNING. Climb the learning curve as fast as you can in your new organization. Understand markets, products, technologies, systems, and structures, as well as its culture and politics. It feels like drinking from a fire hose. So you have to be systematic and focused about deciding what you need to learn.
3. 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. The author identifies four very different situations: launching a start-up, leading a turnaround, devising a realignment, and sustaining a high-performing unit. You need to know what your unique situation looks like before you develop your action plan.
4. SECURE EARLY WINS. Early victories build your credibility and create momentum. They create virtuous cycles that leverage organizational energy. 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 and improve business results.
5. NEGOTIATE SUCCESS. You need to figure out how to build a productive working relationship with your new boss and manage his or her expectations. No other relationship is more important. This means having a series of critical talks about the situation, expectations, style, resources, and your personal development. Crucially, it means developing and gaining consensus on your 90-day plan.
6. 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 skills bases necessary to realize strategic intent.
7. BUILD YOUR TEAM. If you are inheriting a team, you will need to evaluate its members. Perhaps you need to restructure it to better meet 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 among the most important drivers of success during your transition.
8. 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.
9. KEEP YOUR BALANCE. The risks of losing perspective, getting isolated, and making bad calls are ever present during transitions. The right advice-and-counsel network is an indispensable resource
10. EXPEDITE EVERYONE. Finally, you need to help everyone else - 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.
This book is not only relevant on the individual level. This transition process for new managers happens so often that it should be handled with more professionalism by (big) organizations. Whereas we as managers try to work actively with introduction programmes and training for new employees, then many managers must face their transition challenge alone. It shouldn't be like that. The "sink or swim" approach should be doomed.
Peter Leerskov,
M.Sc. in International Business (Marketing & Management) and Graduate Diploma in E-businessThe First 90 Days: Critical Success Strategies for New Leaders at All Levels Overview

Want to learn more information about The First 90 Days: Critical Success Strategies for New Leaders at All Levels?

>> Click Here to See All Customer Reviews & Ratings Now
Read More...

The Four Obsessions of an Extraordinary Executive: A Leadership Fable Review

The Four Obsessions of an Extraordinary Executive: A Leadership Fable
Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)
Are you looking to buy The Four Obsessions of an Extraordinary Executive: A Leadership Fable? Here is the right place to find the great deals. we can offer discounts of up to 90% on The Four Obsessions of an Extraordinary Executive: A Leadership Fable. Check out the link below:

>> Click Here to See Compare Prices and Get the Best Offers

The Four Obsessions of an Extraordinary Executive: A Leadership Fable ReviewPatrick Lencioni has once again presented a concise, compelling, simple, and wise look at the role of a leader in an organization. 5 temptations of a CEO, a title I felt should have been 5 temptations of any manager, was a much needed look at the insecurities that hit once we are in charge. The trouble I had with that book, and the author deserves no blame for this, is that the individuals who truly needed it would probably not recognize their areas for improvement.
Obsessions of an Extraordinary Executive answers that need. I am sure that all executives, all of us, feel extraordinary. We will pick this book up expecting a pat on the back for a job well done. Instead, this book challenges the role of the leader and presents 4 disciplines that should be at the Heart of any World Class organization. In fable format, which is far less threatening, and much more enjoyable to read, Lencioni shares the 4 simple disciplines of healthy organizations- 4.Reinforcing Clarity through Human Systems- 3.Overcommunicate Organizational Clarity- 2. Create Organizational Clarity- 1.Build and Maintain a Cohesive Leadership Team
It is impossible to read this book and not learn from the past experiences that one has as a leader. It also reminds the reader that it is at the very top that an organization derives it's health. Without leadership committed to health, the organization will never find it.
For all the leaders out there, buy this book, open your mind and read it. You may have to face some tough truths, but the individuals who work for you, will thank you for it.The Four Obsessions of an Extraordinary Executive: A Leadership Fable Overview

Want to learn more information about The Four Obsessions of an Extraordinary Executive: A Leadership Fable?

>> Click Here to See All Customer Reviews & Ratings Now
Read More...