Don’t be put off by the somewhat adolescent title of this gem of a book. Unleash your leader contains some essential truths every leader needs to know.
As consultants, we are often surprised that many of the leaders we work with are simply unaware of their personal impact. Yet the issue of impact is of utmost importance to effective leadership. And this is duly recognised in this book. Right from the start leaders are warned:
“It is about recognizing that the lens you are under as a leader is microscopic. Everything you say and do is watched and analysed whilst everything you think is extrapolated from your words and deeds”
The book continues in a similar vain. Reader be ready to be bombarded with one reality check after another. For instance, on page 28 we are told :
“Being a senior executive also means being a leader of leaders. It is about understanding that organizations and the people who inhabit them are fundamentally flawed and dysfunctional. We all are”.
And not beating about the bush the authors later observe ‘Everybody lies’.
Unleash your leader would make depressive reading if the authors did not provide detailed tools on how to deal with the challenges leadership presents. On the subject of dysfunctional teams they write:
“Executive teams are often dysfunctional by nature. Having an impact on the team is about power and as we know, at the root of effective power lies an understanding of our value along with our ability to flex our impact upon the target”
The authors, Emmanuel Gobillot and Katherine Thomas, then proceed by giving us really useful tools on how to determine our value and how to flex impact by coming to know our team better. All incredible helpful information, which will assist all leaders to move into positions of greater authority and impact.
We also believe that Unleash your leader is an excellent resource for use in coaching. After all ‘it tells it as it is’ and leaders are not let off the hook, but encouraged to take responsibility by testing the excellent tools and techniques detailed.
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