We at My Executive Solutions believe that it's important to stay on top of our game. This means to stay current with cutting edge, best leadership practices. In the past year we had the opportunity to review several leadership books. We have selected the books we felt were the best leadership books published in 2010 and want to share with you in the spirit of continuing to walk with you in your leadership journey and helping you stay focused on what makes a difference in your leadership effectiveness. We encourage you to pick up these books if you haven't yet:
Unreasonable Leadership by Gary Chartrand. "I have written Unreasonable Leadership to express my belief in what is possible in America and to capture and share an entrepreneurial success story that exemplifies what our free enterprise system enables one to attain. The book is meant to show how an established company like Acosta can undergo progressive transformation and flourish - provided that its leaders temper their risk-averse tendencies with selective yet bold out-of-the-box thinking," says Chartrand. The Unreasonable Leadership philosophy is based on a quote by playwright George Bernard Shaw that says, "All progress comes from unreasonable people." Chartrand defines Unreasonable Leadership as having the courage and conviction to change the status quo to achieve unprecedented, groundbreaking results.
Expect To Win: Proven Strategies For Success From A Wall Street Vet by Carla Harris. "Most people don't realize that they are responsible for actively and aggressively managing their careers", writes successful Wall Street executive Carla Harris in her empowering book Expect to Win: Proven Strategies for Success from a Wall Street Vet. The author points out the absolute necessity of taking charge of your own career, and avoiding the widely held myths about hard work, career advancement, and meritocracy. She shares numerous practical pearls of wisdom based on twenty years as a Wall Street pro. Harris shares secrets for climbing the corporate ladder in any industry. She recognizes that knowledge & hard work are very often not enough, and she describes how to level the playing field.
SOUP: A Recipe To Nourish Your Team And Culture by Jon Gordon. Culture is the most powerful tool in a leader's toolbox. It is worth nothing on paper, but worth millions when people put their hearts and minds together to accomplish a common goal. Jon Gordon has got it right in his latest book...Soup.: A Recipe To Nourish Your Team And Culture. Find out how culture drives behavior, behavior drives habits, and habits deliver results that create relationships. Our relationships are the foundation upon which successful careers and winning teams are built. "Soup" will inspire you to work in your own company to unleash the passion , create alignment and active engagement that delivers superior results.
Click, The Magic Of Instant Connections by Ori Brafman and Rom Brafman. It's fascinating to learn more about the psychological forces behind what makes us click with certain people to form relationships that sometimes become lifelong collaborations. The research by Ori and Rom Brafman explores the common factors present when our brain and senses are fully engaged. They identify five "accelerators" that increase the likelihood of these kinds of magic connections occurring in our work and relationships. We can actually foster those times we click with our colleagues, potential romantic partners, and the world around us.
Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us by Daniel Pink. Pink dissects and validates the power of real motivation. Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us puts science-based thought behind the actual emotion of what gets people to do things (and compels them to keep at it). Chapters Four, Five, and Six outline the three requirements for intrinsic motivation. Employees must have autonomy, defined as choice about what one does and with whom one does it. They must desire mastery of tasks or skills that matter to them. And they must see their work as contributing to a greater purpose. This third drive, beyond biological and reward and punishment, is focused on the pure joy of performing the task. Pink explores all the different ways that this third drive expresses itself and the results both people and organizations achieved when they opened themselves up to this third drive.
Leading Outside The Lines: How To Mobilize The Informal Organization, Energize Your Team, And Get Better Results by Jon R. Katzenbach and Zia Khan. The authors ground us in why leaders should make purposeful use of informal networks to achieve a goal or bring about a change. They realize that informal initiatives alone are insufficient to respond effectively to either a crisis or an opportunity. Formal and informal management of both formal and informal initiatives provides the balance needed to achieve the strategic objectives. Within your own organization, you'll be familiar with the people who know how to get things done much more quickly. Leading Outside The Lines By Katzenbach and Khan argues that organizations that can mobilize both the formal and informal can create a real and sustainable advantage.
Linchpin: Are You Indispensable? by Seth Godin. You might be wondering what a linchpin is? Literally, it is a pin inserted through holes at the end of an axle, to secure a wheel in place. In reference to a human, it is someone who is indispensable or irreplaceable for an organization. When the wheels fall off the wagon, you're not going anywhere. Linchpins deliver unique creativity, and they understand that their job is to make something happen. Godin argues that we have gone from two teams (management and labor) to a third team now, the linchpins. "These are the people who own their own means of production, who can make a difference, lead us, and connect us." In short, a linchpin is a person worth finding and keeping on your team.
Mojo: How To Get It, How To Keep It, How To Get It Back If You Lose It by Marshall Goldsmith. In his follow-up to the New York Times bestseller What Got You Here Won't Get You There, executive coach Marshall Goldsmith shares the ways in which to get--and keep--our Mojo. Our professional and personal Mojo is impacted by four key factors: identity (who do you think you are?), achievement (what have you done lately?), reputation (who do other people think you are--and what have you've done lately?), and acceptance (what can you change--and when do you need to just "let it go"?). Goldsmith outlines the positive actions leaders must take, with their teams or themselves, to initiate winning streaks and keep them coming. The Mojo Toolkit provides fourteen practical tools to help you achieve both happiness and meaning--not only in business, but in life.
Predictable Success by Les McKeown. The simplest way to explain predictable success is as organizational flow. The organization is in such a state that decisions are made quickly and easily and that plans are executed near-flawlessly. Almost every business owner or executive wants their organization in predictable success, but getting there is often more than they bargained for. In his new book, Les McKeown explains the seven-stage lifecycle that every organization must go through: Early Struggle, Fun, Whitewater, Predictable Success, Treadmill, The Big Rut and Death Rattle. Particularly valuable was that a business basically has to go through the early stages as described, but with proper management there is a sure-fire way to keep it in the Predictable Success for a prolonged period and in that manner avoid the last two of the described stages.
The Real Truth About Success by Garrison Wynn. The REAL Truth About Success is the culmination of ten years' worth of interviews with more than 5,000 top performers in their fields. During the process, Wynn discovered that better brains, a positive attitude, and superior all-around quality are not enough to drive true success. Rather, the most successful people leverage their unique, distinctive qualities-whatever they may be-to become anything from an effective team player to an individual phenomenon. Wynn's guided approach helps with discovering, aligning and leveraging your own personal advantage.
Switch: How To Change Things When Change Is Hard by Dan Heath and Chip Heath. "When change works, it tends to follow a pattern. The people who change have clear direction, ample motivation and a supportive environment," the Heath brothers write. The basic problem: "The brain has two independent systems at work at all times," they explain. "First, there's what we call the emotional side (the elephant). It's the part of you that is instinctive, that feels pain and pleasure. Second, there's the rational side (Rider), also known as the reflective or conscious system. It's the part of you that deliberates and analyzes and looks into the future." In essence, the rational mind wants change. Perched atop the Elephant, the Rider holds the reins and seems to be the leader, but the Rider's control is precarious because the Rider is so small compared to the Elephant."
