Former Verizon Wireless CEO Teaches Leadership Lessons In New Book

Former Verizon Wireless CEO Denny F. Strigl offers a revealing insight into how he led the company in his new book, Managers, can you hear me now? -- co-authored by Frank Swiatek.

Strigl shares all the skills and techniques he used at Verizon to shape the company's corporate culture where he says he:

Built trust, respect and integrity
Reinforced priorities
Drove accountability
Managed distractions
Set a mindset of success
Created a culture of performance

Each chapter of the 202-page book includes:

Chapter summary points
Action guide
Self-assessment questions

Strigl says he taught managers and leaders within Version to build trust with their employees by:

Saying what they meant and meaning what they said
Seeking input and feedback from their teams
Treating people with dignity
Being dependable in meeting commitments
Creating clear focus and objectives for employees
Creating a climate of open, honest, and direct communication

Other leadership tips that Strigl offers in his book include:

When results are achieved, pride builds. When pride builds, so does confidence. With confidence comes the desire to do even better. Trust and loyalty then grows. Good managers, therefore, drive results.
The best managers not only want to hear about problems, but also encourage their employees to tell them when they encounter problems or issues they feel are not right.
The best way to keep customers happy is to make sure every contact they have with your organization is a positive experience--whether they are placing an order, asking a question, reading an invoice, etc.
When you have an idea, if you can't say it on one-half of one side of one sheet of paper, you haven't thought it through clearly enough to get anybody to understand it.

Finally, Strigl suggests leaders do the following to model accountability:

Take ownership
Assume responsibility
Make decisions
Act with a sense of urgency
Take the extra steps necessary to solve problems
Met commitments
Achieve superior results
Don't complain or commiserate with others

I found the book to be insightful, frank and educational.

Thanks to the author for providing me an advance copy.

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