Book Buzz
What Got You Here Won’t Get You There
Highly recommended.
What’s holding you back? Your hard work is paying off. You are doing well in your field. But there is something standing between you and the next level of achievement. Perhaps one small flaw, a behavior you barely even recognize, is the only thing that’s keeping you from where you want to be.
The premise of Marshall Goldsmith’s latest book is how previous accomplishments often prevent leaders from gaining more success. The book takes a down-to-earth, insightful, and practical look at why high achievers are so resistant to change. It’s because of this thing Goldsmith calls the success delusion. And as it turns out we are all, to one degree or another, guilty of it.
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Leadership and Self Deception
Getting out of the box
Would you be surprised to learn that self-deception is the #1 obstacle to organizational effectiveness? Also true is that reducing self-deception may be the single most important step your organization can take toward increased productivity.
These are the basic premises of this highly unusual approach to organizational development by The Arbinger Institute. This book moves right to the heart of how each and every one of us live and act day-to-day, and the blindness we all share to our own reoccurring acts of self deception which ultimately prohibit the emergence of both our higher potential and that of others.
But what is self-deception and why is it so prevalent? Simply put, self-deception is the problem of not being able to see that you are the problem. Getting out of the box that self deception puts us in is the pathway to a whole new paradigm for living and working.
I enjoyed the book. It engagingly written in the form of a parable, yet it is continuously thought provoking and insightful, with a sense that it is reveling a hidden truth. It is a rare book on the inner path leadership, and it is truly relevant to each of us.
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Real Power
Stages of Personal Power in Organizations
If there is one book that has significantly altered the way I think about leadership and power, it is this one by Janet Hagberg. I absolutely love it.
The premise is simple. Power is probably not what you conceive it as. Rather, it is anevolving concept that takes on different appearances at different stages.For each stage she gives numerous examples of people who lead through that type of power, and she spells out both what is keeping you stuck at your current level and what you can do to move forward.
The book is packed with insight. These are two nuggets that really resonated with me: (1) “People can be leaders at any stage, but they cannot be true leaders until they reach stage four—Power by Reflection.” (2) The recognition and realization that power is infinite—the more you give it away, the more of it there is—is a critical turning point in leadership.
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Download Real Power Notes .pdf
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Coaching That Counts
Harnessing the Power of Leadership Coaching to Deliver Strategic Value
When I am in a conversation with an organization about starting an initiative to integrate coaching-based leadership into the organization, one of the first questions I ask is “How do you envision coaching-based leadership adding value to the business?” If the answer sounds something like “Well, we just need coaching skills” that’s a red flag for me. If they can’t answer that question, the initiative won’t get far, or it will eventually die out.
Why I enjoy Coaching that Counts is in part because it demonstrates that coaching, when done well, transforms the leaders who receive coaching and delivers value to the organizations in which they work. But the thinking and ground work needs to be in place in advance of the initiative to really effect an organization’s DNA or culture.
Download Coaching That Counts .pdf
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