Introduction
The introduction sets out who the book is for and how to use it. It explains how leadership differs from management in a practical way with the aim of giving the reader clarity as to what it looks and feels like when they are expressing leadership. Real examples are used to illustrate leadership points in every situation.
Questions answered here are:
What is leadership?
Is leadership genetically programmed?
Can we believe everyone can be a leader?
Is leadership a trendy word for management?
Section I: A Journey Not a Position
Chapter One: Leadership Not Leaders
The first chapter argues the case for leadership rather than `leaders' explaining the difference. It was John Lennon who said: "We don't need any more leaders." The chapter asks: Do you see yourself as a leader? It explains why so many people are uncomfortable with the term and argues that each one of us has some leadership potential to use at work. The problem is how? The practical steps to resolve this are to become self- aware and build self- belief. Included in this chapter are practical steps to establish the authentic self.
Chapter Two : Leading and Learning - Why Mistakes are Good
Learning is at the core of leadership and one of the best ways to learn is to try something and if it fails, learn from the experience. The best leadership is always followed by learning so how can we apply this and turn mistakes into positive outcomes.
Chapter Three : Expressing Leadership
No two leaders are going to be the same. It's important that you keep your personality, your beliefs, your essential self at the heart of what you do and how you do it. As discussed in Chapter 1, people only follow authentic leaders - even when leaders are `bad'. What can we learn from this? What we do know is that to be effective leaders must be believed and `walk the talk'. Your style has to be true to yourself and there has to be substance under the style. Increasingly people only follow leaders who they believe have `earned the right' to lead. This chapter looks at how you have earned the right and how you show that to the world.
Questions this section will answer
What makes a good leader?
What is the contribution of a leader?
What is the transition from being a manager to being a leader?
How do I walk the talk?
Why is my visibility, as a leader so important and how do I do it?
As a leader, what am I frightened of and what is holding me back eg risk or intimacy?
What behaviour gets in the way of my leadership?
How do I know I'm being a good leader, what will I see in my team?
How can I keep creativity in leadership?
How do we cope with the isolation/loneliness of being put in a leadership role?
What makes a leader rather than a dictator?
How do you lead from the middle?
Is leadership compatible with being open?
What do leaders do wrong?
Section II : Leadership Capabilities
Chapter Four : Leadership Begins with You- First Thing in the Morning/Last Thing at Night
What is the first thing you do when you arrive at work? What should it be? How to set yourself up for the day and finish at night. This practical chapter really shows the reader the difference between management and leadership in ways they can use every day.
Chapter Five: Dealing with Obstacles
If we see leadership as a lifelong learning journey and obstacles as boulders to make us stop, think, learn from and remove then we can use our leadership potential to deal with them so they never come back again. It is how we deal with them mentally, emotionally and physically and this chapter shows the reader how.
Chapter Six: Emotional Intelligence - The End of Frustration, Anger, Despair
An important part of leadership is to recognise emotional intelligence for when under pressure at work it is this that will influence leadership rather than IQ. A quick practical lesson on EQ and how to use it.
Chapter Seven: Empathy - How to Stand in Someone Else's Shoes
Empathy is a skill that is invaluable in expressing leadership. Did you know this ability develops around the age of four to five years of age and is present in other life forms? How do you apply this ability at work and how can it help you.
Chapter Eight: Engaging People
Engaging people is one of the most difficult quests in leadership. So how do you engage and motivate people around you? How do you inspire people and take them with you? Building trust and expecting the best from people is one way. Another is to make their personal goals part of the team goals.
Chapter Nine: Vision
There has been much talk of vision in leadership but what exactly is it and how can it be used every day through leadership? What makes a `good' vision? How can vision help you focus?
Chapter Ten: Leading upwards and across
When a boss is a controller, bully or ideas poacher then it is difficult to know how to express your own leadership. The leadership lesson here is - you are not responsible for your boss but you are responsible for yourself. Using leadership to deal with poor leaders.
Leadership skills: Questions this section will answer
How can I enable all people to make a difference?
How can I motivate and inspire people?
What is the difference between leading a large and small team?
How do leaders handle overlapping responsibilities?
How do we tackle our less performers in the team?
How do we show we actively listen to ideas?
How do you lead poor and good team members?
How do you lead different sorts of people?
What is EI and what has it to do with leadership?
Section III: Developing Leadership All Around You
Chapter Eleven: Recognising Leadership in Others
When we realise that each and every one of us has some leadership potential it is a challenge for leaders to recognise and develop this. The next assumption though is to look at those who report to us - but we should in fact look upward, across and below, we should look at everyone we come into contact with, with this aim. So how do we begin? The first two steps are to establish how leaders are selected in your organisation; and then to identify leadership role models that `fit' with what is required in the organisation/your department. What is it about them/what do they do that is so right?
Chapter Twelve: Influencing Upwards
Those above you have to communicate a clear sense of direction. Managers wait to find it out - leaders participate and influence the process. This chapter shows ways of doing this that develops your leadership and theirs and includes creating an ethos of service rather than arrogance.
Chapter Thirteen: Developing Others
There is a tendency when busy to choose the same couple of people to do the challenging work because you know you can rely on them. The problem with this is that others never have a chance to develop including their leadership potential. This chapter offers simple steps to take to develop leadership potential to others thus growing a team who all contribute their best.
Chapter Fourteen: Unblocking Organisational Barriers
Whether `bad' leaders or bureaucratic inertia, the result is often a feeling of powerlessness. How can you tackle these in a way that will result in change for the better? We know that most people leave because of their boss or frustration leaving a vacancy for someone el
This section ancate a clear sense of direction to everyone?
How do we select leaders and is it effective?
How can we bring leadership to make things happen at middle levels?
Are followers responsible for making leadership effective?
How can we build teams of leaders rather than individuals?
How can I teach or encourage leadership learning?
Who are our role models? What can I learn from them?
How can I learn from experience of bad leadership?
How can I influence bad leaders from underneath?
How can you turn staff at all levels into leaders?
What can I do to create leaders who serve people rather than expect people to serve them?
What can I do about senior managers who don't want to be leaders?
The Leadership Manual is a mentor for those who seek to express their leadership.
Section IV: My Leadership Challenge
Chapter Fifteen: Beyond the Rubicon
The relationship you have with your organisation is fundamental in whether you will use your courage to transform yourself and others. How do you feel about what the organisation does? What are its strengths and weaknesses? How do you feel about those you work with every day? How do you feel about yourself at work? What are your strengths and weaknesses? Do you want to be a leader? Do you want to transform what you do, how you do it and challenge others to do the same? This chapter challenges the reader at this point because not everyone is going to want to complete the journey. Here we aim to help the reader move forward but they first have to realise they are stuck.
Chapter Sixteen: Being a Leader
It was Warren Bennis who first changed our perception of leadership from doing to being and so the book concludes with the reader's own challenges and shows that when being a leader the reader will be able to face any challenges now and know how to begin. They will be shown how to use a Leadership Log at work and the chapter will conclude with a final challenge.
The questions answered in this section will be:
Is leadership any different in my organisation than others?
Does good leadership add value? How do we value leadership?
How do I deal with the expectations of those who want to be leaders?
How do I lead in a matrix organisation?
How do I recognise successful leadership from the point of being led?
How do I get leadership away from boxes to tick?
How do I/we change whole organisations?
