REVIEW: A Leader's Legacy (J-B Leadership Challenge: Kouzes/Posner) by James M. Kouzes (3-stars)

 If you have never read a management book before, this is a perfectly serviceable and book with solid concepts and lines of inquiry.  If you've read a bunch of management books, read on.  I had to pick up this book for a leadership/management course and wasted a perfectly nice June Sunday reading the entire thing.  It's not a terrible book - but it's not "provocative" nor earth-shattering. 

In fact, I did find it to be a bit fluffy -- and could write out the "long" version of this in 8 pages, single spaced without missing any key concepts.   At best, it's a series of PowerPoint slides that have been fluffed up to make a short book with a lot of repetition.  There's a lot of redundancy -- there are 3 chapters about "Courage" -- which is critical considering that most people manage based on fears/insecurities (per the authors of "Mastering Leadership).   

At worst - it's derivative.  There are no ground-breaking concepts, even though the authors were floored by the idea that the best way to learn is by teaching.  It's not as good as Maxwell's "Mind of the Leader 2.0" (which has a ton of repetition and fluff) and no where near the caliber of "Mastering Leadership" which dives deeper into the concepts of strengths and values.

• Chapter 1 - Leaders Serve & Sacrifice
• P 15 “Loyalty is earned when constituents decide that their needs are getting met. “
• Leadership requires commitment, suffering/passion (the same word in Latin), hard work
• P 18 “The most significant contributions leaders make are not to today’s bottom line but to the long-term development of individuals and institutions that adapt, prosper, and grow.  People should never take on the job of leadership if they’re unwilling to see beyond their own needs. If they do, they will ultimately fail.”
• Chapter 2 – The Best Leaders are Teachers
• Lesson One: The Best way to learn is to Teach: discover new methods, invent new tools, design new experiences that will help others grow and develop.  Always provide opportunity for participants in workshops to become teachers. Use performance appraisals as a mutual learning experience and transform it from from monologue to dialogue – boss/subordinate to mentor/protégé
• Lesson Two: Legacies are passed on in the stories we tell;  Each of us will become a character in someone’s story at some point: What lessons am I teaching in each interaction that I have? Am I even aware of it?
• Chapter 3 – We All Need Loving Critics
• “Pity the leader caught between unloving critics and uncritical lovers.” – John Gardner
• Leaders at higher levels don't always lead with “How am I doing?” - afraid of exposure, vulnerability.
• P 29 – Credibility – foundation of leadership – is about doing what you say – how do you know if you don’t ask “how am I doing?”
• Chapter 4 – You Are the Most Important Leader in Your Organization
• Manager is the most important to direct reports; Longitudinal studies of execs show best predictor of career success is the relationship with their first supervisor
• Leaders with the most influence are those closest to us
• You Matter – “Just because your manager doesn’t do leadership well doesn’t excuse you from doing your very best. Your direct reports don’t really care about what your manager does, but they care a lot about what you do.”
• Chapter 5 – No One Likes to Be an Assumption
• No one likes being taken for granted / overlooked / ignored / dismissed
• Work is about more than productivity – people want to know their hard work and efforts matter

PART 2: RELATIONSHIPS

• Leadership is a relationship between those who aspire to lead and those who choose to follow
• P48 “Lasting success depends on whether we like our leaders. It’s only logical that all leaders should want to be liked. Not caring about whether or not you’re liked will never bring about the best results.” 
• “Being motivated to be liked will result in more enabling actions – actions such as listening, coaching, developing skills, providing choice, making connections—will create higher levels of performance.” P48

This doesn’t mean “going along” or coddling weaknesses,  leaders have to build a team that can express differences and still be productive which requires building & maintaining trust.

• Chapter 6 – Leadership is Personal
• “People want to know about you. They want to know about your values and beliefs, your aims and aspirations, and your hopes and dreams. They want to know who most influenced you, what prepares you for the job you’re doing, and what you’re like.” P 52
• Chapter 7 – Leaders Should Want to Be Liked
• “You don’t love someone because of who they are, you love them because of the way they make you feel.” P56

We work harder/more effectively for people we like which is in direct proportion to how they make us feel

• Chapter 8 – When You Don’t See Eye to Eye, Seek to Understand
• Conflict avoidance is a natural human instinct/response that tests dedication & commitment but it's also an opportunity to show leadership skills by working with people who you don’t always agree with or who are difficult.
• There’s a lesson in every conflict about ourselves
• The only person you can change is you: Learn to adapt and change others’ perceptions by speaking their language and serving their needs/goals/values
• Focus on the Purpose and Not the Person: make sure outcomes are the primary subject
• Promote Constructive Insubordination: homogeneity of opinions and background doesn’t yield the best performance or results
• Chapter 9 – You Can’t Take Trust for Granted
• “You have to keep working on trust and never take it for granted” p74
• If you don’t trust – many things just won’t get done – you’ll have more and more work, results in stress & burnout
• When trust breaks down – tempting to hold on tighter, more control – that sends signals that you don’t trust someone – creates a vicious cycle
• Chapter 10 – Let Your People Go
• Create a climate of trust – give independence – increases sense of responsibility and accountability
• No One Wants a Micromanager: hire good people and let them do what they do best
• “we won’t know what people are capable of if we don’t give them the opportunity to grow and develop.” P 82
• Give People Freedom of Choice: motivation has to come from within; leaders can increase team confidence by giving them more input into the process or developing the framework/projects
• “Choice is the glue that binds individuals to actions, motivating them to accept responsibility.” P84

“To make a meaningful difference we each have to make our own meaningful choices. If leaders steal from others the opportunities to make such choices, they steal a bit of the legacy those others might have created.”

PART 3 – ASPIRATIONS

• “People commit to causes, not to plans.” P 90
• “…leadership development is first and foremost self-development.” P90
• “Leaders must decide on what matters in life, before they can live a life that matters.”

• CHAPTER 11 – Lead from the Inside Out
• “Become the author of your own story and maker of your own history.” P 92
• “The quest for leadership, therefore, is first an inner quest to discover who you are … find the awareness needed to lead.” P 93
•  “Clarity of personal values matters greatly to our feeling motivated, creative, and committed tour workplaces.” because it makes you feel empowered and prepared to act, and provides the foundation from which you can elicit support from others.
• Chapter 12 – Forward-Looking is a Leadership Prerequisite
• “You can leave a lasting legacy only if you can imagine a brighter future, and the capacity to imagine exciting future possibilities is the defining competence of leaders.” P99
• Need to be more mindful, pay attention to what's happening now, don't be on "auto-pilot" and look toward the horizon - get the team involved in "what's next" and "what's better"
• Chapter 13 – It’s Not Just the Leader’s Vision
• Leaders have impression they have to be visionaries – but this is not what people expect – they want leaders to be forward-looking – people want to hear aspirations and vision, not clairvoyance (don’t expect all the answers)
• People don’t like being told where/what/when – they like to be part of the process – constituents want to be involved which means leaders need to leaders communicate a vision of the future that draws others in.  This requires knowing what others want/need (dreams/hopes/motives/interests).
• Chapter 14 – Liberate the Leader in Everyone
• Leadership is Learned:  “…leadership is an observable set of skills and abilities that are useful whether one is in the executive suite or on the front line” p11
• Chapter 15 – Leaders Are Followers, Too!
• “Leadership is a dynamic relationship between leaders and followers in which the roles of leader and follower are often exchanged. It’s the kind of relationship in which leaders transform followers into leaders.” P123
• We Follow a Process and Not a Person:  “The key to high performance is not only god leaders but good leadership. It’s not the person we should be focusing on; it’s the process.” P124
• People want to follow: 
• Clear values and beliefs consistent with their own; 
• A vision of the future they share
• Creative ideas that enable the organization to make changes so the values and vision can be realized
• Other people whose strengths and talents contribute to achieving the values/vision & teams whose collective capacity exceeds their leader
• Leaders are responsible for doing what they can to maximize a team’s effectiveness
• Leaders should be thinking about what’s best for the mission not themselves – developing talent on their teams
• Everyone can be a follower and a leader at the same time; Leaders don’t have to come up with ideas by themselves

PART 4 – COURAGE

• “Ever one of us is capable of taking stands on things that matter”
• “Personal courage usually means taking the initiative in moments that matter – moments when our core values are challenged.” P132

• Chapter 16 – There’s Courage in All of Us
• Courage is a State of Mind: Gives one the capacity to face danger without being overcome by fear; persist in adversity
• Courage not purely emotional – has a rational component – requires making a choice in the face of adversity
• Courage is required to break out of your comfort zone, stay aligned with your values
• Chapter 17 – You Can’t Plan to be Courageous but You Can Choose It
• Practice "courage" by opening up conversations about it around adversities, fears and suffering
• Chapter 18 – It Takes Courage to Make a Life
• Takes courage to make a life vs just making a living; meaning & significance
• Chapter 19 – The Courage to Be Human
• Leadership – humbling, hard work, tension between expectations of others and personal limitations
• It Takes courage to admit you aren’t always right; human/humble; it may take more courage to admit to oneself
• Let your guard down – invite others to join in co-creation in something you couldn’t create on your own
• “We need the challenges, surprises, and adversities to strengthen our courage and unleash our resolve.” P 158
• Chapter 20 – Failure Is Always An Option
• If we’re doing something we’ve never done before – getting it right the first time is usually luck
• Professionals Believe in Possibilities:“despite the probabilities, professionals believe in the possibilities” p165
• Most innovations fail the first few times – leaders persist – more attempts improve the innovations and the possibility of success
• We only learn and move forward when we experiment and experience doing things differently
• Right out of Maxwell:  “…failures and disappointments are inevitable. It is how you handle them that will ultimately determine your effecrtiveness and success.” P167
• “You gain credibility when you admit you make mistakes and aren’t perfect.” P 168
• Chapter 21 – No Money-Back Guarantee
• “None of us will ever get everything right.” P172
• Strengths Can Become Weaknesses -- dangers of not maintaining balance, for example: Finding your voice and setting an example are important but becoming overly focused closes you off from the views/feedback of others -->  listen, remain open, learn from others around you
• Forward-focus is important but don’t become over-focused --> develops blind spots, makes it hard to see other possibilities around you
• Collaboration & teamwork are essential --> over reliance can can result in avoiding critical decisions or errors in judgment; too much polling/socialization --> indecisiveness/inconsistency

So, What Should We Do?

• Make everything more personal – use your gifts to help others, shape their lives
• “If we stay focused on the difference and the people, the legacy will take care of itself.” P175

Afterword: The Legacy You Leave Is the Life You Lead

• “each day provides an opportunity to make a difference.” 
• Listen better, coach someone better, more positive, say “thank you”
• Choose long-term significance over short-term measures of success
• Leaders have to be willing to turn followers into leaders, and to follow as well
• “Legacies aren’t the result of wishful thinking – they are the result of determined doing.”

REVIEW: A Leader's Legacy (J-B Leadership Challenge: Kouzes/Posner) by James M. Kouzes 

RATING: 3-stars

© Jennifer R Clark. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. You may share and adapt this content with proper attribution.

REVIEW: Developing the Leader Within You 2.0 by John C. Maxwell (4-stars)

 John Maxwell's tone is always very "can do" -- in the first chapter, he's clear that leaders are not "born", your title, seniority and experience won't make you a leader automatically.  He's very clear that to become a leader requires a lot of work, but if you choose a path of self-awareness, selflessness and dedication to growth -- you can become a leader.  It's a process, not a destination -- and leaders must always be open to learning and listening.  

Maxwell's style is a bit different from other leadership books -- he's very practical about the process and provides very clear guidelines for self-inquiry, gaining input from others, and loads of comparison lists that provide both food for thought and a strong sense of where he's coming from in his thinking.

In the first chapter, for example, he offers a list of the differences between a "boss" and a "leader" in his discussion of positional leaders -- who have authority but who are not "leaders."

For example:

"Bosses drive workers; leaders coach them.

Bosses depend on authority; leaders depend on goodwill.

Bosses inspire fear; leaders inspire enthusiasm.

Bosses say, "I"; leaders say, "We."

Bosses fix the blame for any breakdown; leaders fix the breakdown.

Bosses know how it is done; leaders show how.

Bosses say, "Go"; leaders say "Let's go." (p16)

His levels of leadership are similar to many others: Position, Permission, Production, People Development, Pinnacle.  However, it is possible to occupy different levels of leadership with different people or in different situations in your life at the same time. 

Additionally - leadership is not like PacMan:  you have to keep working to maintain the other levels that you've achieved, you can't just coast on reputation, for example.  

Maxwell repeatedly stresses the importance of focus and clarity of vision -- Chapter 2 is dedicated to Priorities.  Everyone who works in a corporate environment knows how hard it is to get work done when everything is a "high priority" - or when your boss keeps changing your priorities and then holds you accountable for dropped projects that s/he deprioritized weeks ago.

Maxwell's key principles here are of the common sense variety, but folks who are operating out of fear or ego lose sight of them:   "smarter not harder" for higher returns or greater productivity; you really can't that you can't have it all; good is the enemy of best.  Prioritizing is critical to progress toward a vision or goal.  

"Proactive means choosing. Reactive means losing" -- another great comparison chart follows here:

• Initiators:  prepare, plan ahead, put priorities in their calendars, pick up the phone, etc
• Reactors: repair, live in the moment, put other's requests in their calendars, wait for the phone to ring, etc

Another way to better prioritize work is to ask:  what is required of me that nobody else can do? what will have the highest return/impact? what is most rewarding?   The implication being that leaders need to learn to better delegate -- and a theme throughout the book is to work to your strengths, and to develop others around you.  Being clear in your priorities, delegating allows a leader to offer opportunities to develop strengths of others.

But, at the big picture level:  "Your long-term career goal should be to align the tasks that answer your requirement, return, and reward questions."

Another great recommendation is to build in time for transition between appointments -- this is something that is hard to enforce in some environments but critical, according to Maxwell, for improving self0-awareness, EQ and renewing your energy level.  

Throughout this chapter he's very keen on the "80/20" principle -- and uses it as a general rule for exercises to increase focus and reduce clutter -- "What are 20 percent of people/possessions/activities that I get the most value out of?" and so on.  It's simplistic but for those who haven't sat down to think in this way, it could be very useful.

Chapter 3 focuses on character and includes a great story about Pope Francis which surprised me.  there are a ton of great questions about "Am I a healthy leader..."  to help increase one's awareness of character.  For example:  "To what extent do I feel superior to those who work for me?"  and so on.  

If you aren't happy with your character, or things you've done in the past - you can start anew each day -- though he doesn't talk about neuroplasticity, he does have a strong belief in people being able to change their character through self-awareness, self-discipline and good decisions that support the development of others.  Character is critical because it builds trustworthiness and you can't lead if people don't trust you.

Trust is something that is the leader's responsibility to develop -- and leaders take risks in both directions; every interaction is an opportunity to build trust.  

To build character, Maxwell focuses on these four dimensions:  authenticity, self-management, humility, and courage.  "Character is not about intelligence - it's about making the right choices."

"You cannot manage others if you don't learn to manage yourself" is a concept that Maxwell reiterates throughout the book -- including a full chapter on Self-Discipline.  From self-discipline, you can establish consistency, live according to your values and demonstrate that you are trustworthy to others -- and this increases your ability to lead others.

Courage is necessary to back up self-discipline -- so that you can make the right decisions in the face of fear, doubt or fatigue, or even pressure from those around you.  Maxwell repeats throughout that developing character requires learning from and accepting your failures and drawing strength from your weaknesses (or "shadow self"). 

Maxwell repeatedly stresses utility -- it's no good learning about things if you don't put them to use and actually learn from them.  This is the only way you can learn and get on the path of continual personal growth.  People always feel awkward doing things differently -- he's got a great story about Wilt Chamberlin experimenting (successfully) with a different way to shoot baskets from the free throw line but giving up on it because he felt it looked silly!

Without calling it "change management" - he talks a bit about the subject, and stresses that people may feel alone when there are changes required of them, and it's best to look at it as a process rather than event and to allow time for people to adapt and accept the need for the change:  Slow down, make the communication clear & simple, build in time for people to process & accept, then head into action to implement the change.

He recommends the "PLAN AHEAD" acronym which goes as follows:

Predetermine the change

Lay out steps

Adjust priorities

Notify your team

Allow time for acceptance

Head into action

Expect problems

Always point to successes

Daily review of progress

That's a really concise change management plan!

Problem solving is another key skill for leaders -- it's important to always believe there is a solution, and to self-manage so that you don't increase the magnitude of problems that need to be fixed (see also self-discipline/awareness and prioritization).  Ask lots of questions to solve problems and learn to identify potential problems in advance ("Stitch in time, saves nine!").  He recommends creating a framework for solving problems and emphasizes the value of shared problem solving -- asking other others to gain their perspective (ie, "the Socratic method").

Always socialize the ideas to get feedback from the team -- and come up with more than one solution to any problem.  Problem solving is often an evolutionary process that requires iterations and input to see incremental change.  Finally, always look for lessons in problems -- leaders can learn about themselves and their teams from the way they handle problems.

The chapter on "Attitude" continues to reiterate concepts presented earlier about being proactive, engaged and having a plan.  There's a bit of sermonizing about "kids these days" but it's a minor kvetch about nanny government that the author compensates for with a great anecdote about beating procrastination that aligns with much modern neuroplasticity research.  Maxwell saw W. Clement Stone speak in 1967, who advised the audience to follow this regimen:  for 30 days, repeat "Do it" before going to sleep and when waking up.  

This kind of positive affirmation works for many people seeking to change some habit -- I love the idea of fixing procrastination like this.  Other self-help fixes for attitude include expressing gratitude on a regular basis, especially in the face of adversity; quit whining - be proactive; learn from your mistakes and always seek to improve.  

The "Serving Others" chapter encapsulates information shared earlier in the book -- essentially, don't rely on your position or title.  Leaders have to work to connect with people, and serve them by taking an interest and developing them -- and they will reciprocate by following the leader's vision.  Always be asking questions and try to see things from others' perspective -- especially how they see you, or your vision.  Create a safe environment -- and measure your success not by "production" but by how you develop others.

As a leader, it's important to develop your vision -- share it with others and constantly refine that vision.  Equally important is spending time with people who inspire you - and always be paying attention to opportunities and lessons from what you have tried:  "Test -> Fail -> Learn -> Improve -> Reenter".

The final chapter on "Self-Discipline" repeats a lot of content from "Character" - but it's a pretty good pep talk that could stand on its own as an article with lots of positive, self-loving encouragement to focus on doing the right thing over and over for continued success.  The author connects again with self-awareness and focusing on one's strengths to see the best results.   Self-discipline allows you to build new habits based on decisions rather than convenience or emotion -- and it's the first step to being able to help others change their habits and thinking as well.

Maxwell again brings up environment as a critical factor for self-discipline -- surround yourself with people and situations that reinforce your decisions.  If you want to get into shape - you hang out with people at the gym or hiking trail, not smokers who just want to "Netflix and chill" - same goes for leadership.  Spend time with people who have positive attitudes and who are engaged in finding solutions instead of excuses.

He also encourages the reader to prioritize and focus -- and to rethink things so to spend more time on activities that are aligned with personal strengths and passions:

"Quit something you don't do well to do something you do well

Quit something you're not passionate about to do something that fills you with passion.

Quite something that doesn't make a difference to do something that does, and

Quit something that's not your dream to do something that is."

Life is short -- you can always reframe what you're doing to see it as fitting into your passion or life's purpose but really -- don't hit your head against the wall.  If you can identify something that you are good at and love to do -- that's going to make you happier and offer more opportunities to serve others as a leader.

You have to start somewhere -- and create a plan for incremental change and growth.  Maxwell emphasizes the need to focus on personal growth daily -- so much of what he advocates is contrary to the goals of modern society which wants to capture your "eyeballs" and empty your pocketbook.  

Maxwell practices what he preaches -- he's consistent -- and his message is strong and he reiterates key principles throughout the book.   You could pick a single chapter and read it as a stand-alone and because of the thorough reiteration of principles, you would still find some inspiration and value in the chapter.

The book has a little bit of fluff -- there are a lot of repeats of stories of his youthful experiences as a leader and what happened to his first big congregation when he left (it collapsed), and a few other bits of random like a list of light bulb jokes that doesn't really add much.  The book would be shorter but stronger if it focused specifically on the topics and exercises (some of which are really great!).

Quotes:

• "Character makes you bigger on the inside than the outside" 
• "How far you can travel isn't the point; it's how far you are able to take your people. That's the purpose of leadership."
• "Priorities never stay put."
• "Self-discipline moves you from good intentions to good actions. That is what separates words and ideas from actual results."
• "Self-discipline always needs fuel. The strongest fuel comes from inspiration and motivation, which are usually connected with your strengths. What you do well usually inspires you and others. And motivation is a by-product of your passion. If you love to do something, you're almost always motivated to do it." (p199)

Exercises include:

- Pick two people you want to influence, figure out which level of leadership you are currently at with that person and focus on using the guidelines at the end of Chapter 1 to begin earning the level above  your current one and to strengthen your influencer at lower levels.

- Develop the prioritizer within you by answering the 5 key questions, and then think about the people on your team in a very analytical way (there's a spreadsheet) with their names and impact to the team, and a second worksheet on how you can develop those people.  The "three Rs worksheet" also looks promising.

REVIEW: Developing the Leader Within You 2.0  by John C. Maxwell 

RATING: 4-stars

© Jennifer R Clark. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. You may share and adapt this content with proper attribution.

REVIEW: Classic Krakauer: After the Fall, Mark Foo's Last Ride and Other Essays from the Vault by Jon Krakauer (3-stars)

 Another enjoyable read from NetGalley -- a collection of Jon Krakauer articles from the 1990s from a variety of publications.  The topics vary widely - mostly outdoors, mostly men and seem to focus on the risk of death from the power of nature.  "Mark Foo's Last Ride" is about the death of a legendary and accomplished surfer at Mavericks; followed by a tale of the risks of living near active volcanos from debris flows (forget about lava eruptions; the inequality and risk on Mt Everest;  stories of deaths of participants in the hands of outdoor guides -- both climbing and at-risk-youth programs.  The only two stories that don't talk about actual deaths are the story of a search for rock-eating bacteria during a warm, sticky underground caving campout; a profile of a cantankerous 70 year old Alpinist, and an Arctic backpacking trip.

The stories all feature Krakauer's distinctive, descriptive prose style -- though I find the word Brobdingnagian a bit over-used -- it was a thoroughly enjoyable collection of articles.  One change I might make would be to provide more context at the beginning of each chapter since they often refer to time points in the past without reference to the publication date (so "nine years ago" is really 34 years ago!).

REVIEW: Classic Krakauer: After the Fall, Mark Foo's Last Ride and Other Essays from the Vault  by Jon Krakauer 

RATING: 3-stars

© Jennifer R Clark. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. You may share and adapt this content with proper attribution.