Seven Disciplines Of A Leader

This book, Seven Disciplines Of A Leader, published in 2015, teaches leaders how to help their employees, team, and organization achieve maximum effectiveness.

Authored by Jeff Wolf with Ken Shelton, it’s a high-readable book, packed with stories and takeaway exercises. You’ll gain practical, real-world advice covering these seven leadership disciplines:

Initiative and Influence: Seize the reins and set an example for others.
Vision, Strategy, and Alignment: The progression from plans to accomplishments marks a true leader.
Priorities, Planning, and Execution: Execution cannot succeed without the team’s acceptance and endorsement.
Social/Emotional/Political Intelligence: The tribulations of leadership and their remedies.
Reciprocation, Collaboration, and Service.
Love and Leverage: There is no substitute for passion about work.
Renewal and Sustainability: Those who practice renewal and sustainability avoid common pitfalls.

Some of my favorite takeaways from the book include:

The five fundamental goals of highly effective leaders:

Bring people together to work as a team.
Motivate people to perform.
Take responsibility for bottom-line results.
Make difficult decisions.
Create positive energy.

Questions to ask yourself to determine your level of engagement and passion as a leader:

Am I energetic and enthusiastic?
What do I like about my job?
Which areas require me to make an attitude adjustment so I can become more passionate?
Can I clearly define my organization’s expectations and expectations of myself?
Have I created the opportunities required to achieve success (self-initiated passion)?
Have I surrounded myself with people who are passionate and committed to achieving organizational goals?
Do I believe my work is meaningful?
Is what I do important?
Even though I’m at the top of the organizational chart, have I taken advantage of training and development opportunities that would allow me to increase my level of passion?
Do I tap into my talents each day, or am I simply coasting?
Do I embrace innovation and new ideas, or do I tend to be complacent?
Am I emotionally committed to my job?
Do I have a good social network?
Do I lead by modeling high performance?
Do I allow fear to compromise my job satisfaction?

Finally, to create positive energy, the authors recommend you catch people doing something right. And, when you do, praise that person with these types of phrases:

“You really made a difference by…”
“I’m impressed with…”
“You got my attention with…”
“You’re doing top-quality work on…”
“You’re right on the mark with…”
“We couldn’t have done it without your…”
“You can be proud of yourself for…”
“You’ve made my day because of…”

Wolf is an executive coach and speaker. Shelton is founding editor/publisher of Leadership Excellence magazine.

Thank you to the book’s publisher for sending me an advance copy of the book.

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