Book review: LEADERSHIP RULES
50 timeless lessons for leaders
Genres:
- Leadership
- Business
- Management
Review posted on:
22.10.2016
The number of pages:
251 pages
Book rating:
3/5
Year the book was published:
First edition published 2012
Who should read this book:
- Start-up founders, Managers, Team leaders, CEO, Entrepreneurs, and People in sales.
Why did I pick up this book and what did I expect to get out of it:
I found this book in my library when I was looking for a good book on leadership. Leadership Rules was a very catchy title that got my attention. When I checked the book online there were no bad reviews so I decided to give it a go. Based on the title and the table of contents I expect to read 50 lessons every leader should follow to improve their leadership style based on the author’s experience. And that is what I expect to read about, the experience of people in leadership roles to see what works well and what less well.
My thoughts about the book:
In Leadership Rules By Jo Owen, you will read how tribes live, how their leaders make decisions together, and how in today’s times being a leader is not just a position in an organization. You as a leader have a responsibility to build a thriving community in your organization, that breaths and moves together in the same direction. And no matter what, it always starts with you. Even if you are not in a leadership position in your organization, you can be a leader. Jo Owen explains that your everyday actions influence your team and how they react, think, and do things. A lot of times the boss is not the leader, and you can see that when times are tough. Just observe to which person most people turn to for help, advice, or guidance, and right there you have a true leader that the team picked and not the “leader” the organization appointed to them. To develop leadership skills you have to work on yourself each and every day. If you look at the past, kings were born and raised to lead. The key point is raised to lead. They had the opportunity to watch and learn from their parents/leaders each and every day. Not a little bit today, and a little bit next month, but every day. Your everyday actions will define who you are, and what skills you develop. If you want to be a leader make sure you are developing into a person people want to follow.
Leadership Rules is an easy read that has no scientific backing. The author shares with you his observations, findings, and thoughts about what he thinks works and what does not. Some lessons are actually really good advice, while some are very obvious to everyone who is not a narcist and does not have any social skills. If you are looking for an easy read about leadership then you should pick up this book as you will get some good advice about this subject, but if you are looking for a book about leadership that is backed up with science then you should pick up NEUROSCIENCE FOR LEADERS by Nikolaos Dimitriadis and Alexandros Psychogios.
If you picked up this book please let me know what you think about it in the comment section.
My notes from the book:
- “Be the best of who you are” means focusing on your own unique strengths. Successful leaders build on strength, not on weakness.
- The way to deal with weaknesses is not to focus on them, but to work around them.
- As leaders, we have to find the context in which we can best flourish.
- No leader in history has been perfect. You do not need to be perfect either, because perfection does not exist in leadership.
- As a leader, how you behave determines how your team will react. Your team will pick up your style from both small and big moments of truth.
- You will be remembered as much for how you deal with the problem as with the final outcome.
- If in doubt, watch “the feet”, not the mouth. People’s actions do not lie.
- Start with simple tasks and slowly move on to more and more challenging tasks time and time again. Slowly, the unfamiliar becomes familiar and the exceptional becomes routine.
- You can and you should delegate tasks. You should also delegate some of your authority so that people can complete their tasks. But you can never delegate away your responsibility.
- You can choose how you feel. You can focus on the bad things and setbacks in life, or you can focus on the good things and find the positives. If you can master the elusive art of being responsible for your own feelings, you cannot only lead better, you can live better.
- The fear-based workplace is one where you can ensure compliance but you cannot generate commitment. Compliance achieves minimum effect to avoid sanctions. But through commitment, you can achieve outstanding efforts and results.
- The true currency of leadership is neither popularity nor fear. It is respect.
- In the middle of a crisis, everything may seem out of control. The positive leader will not worry about what cannot be controlled. He will act on what can be controlled.
- To lead is to live beyond the comfort zone. The art of leadership is helping others stretch themselves, develop, and live outside their comfort zone as well.
- To earn respect as a leader you should care for your team and your colleagues. You should be positive, especially when times are tough, and be clear and consistent in your expectations. Also, you should have difficult conversations were needed, but make them positive, and always deliver on all your commitments.
- Luck boils down to practice, preparation, and persistence.
- Visions are important. They give a sense of direction, purpose, meaning, and focus. They are a rallying point for all in the firm. A vision is a story in three parts: This is where we are, this is where we are going, and this is how we are going to get there.
- Leaders trust people more than they trust a piece of paper. So if you are trying to persuade a leader, do not focus on having the most credible presentation. Focus on having a credible conversation that is supported by executives the leader is known to trust.
- Success does not come from having the latest smartphone; it comes from building a team you can trust to perform.
- Leaders focus on what they will achieve, not what they will do.
- To achieve leadership control, leaders need to do two things. Create their own vision, and build a team that is willing and able to implement the vision.
