The Gentle Art of Leadership

Book excerpt: What makes leaders great? The writing is on the wall. Quantitative and qualitative research indicate they consistently practise a Gentle Art of Leadership · Firsthand analyses of more than six thousand 360o feedback reports · Over 50 one-on-one interviews with Leaders · Reflections on hundreds of Executive Coaching sessions · Review of over 160 books and articles on leadership · Our own experiences as CEOs A compelling guide and handbook for anyone in a leadership role. This Gentle Art of Leadership cuts against the grain of the often-held view that great leaders, CEOs, and team coaches are charismatic, extroverted, forceful characters with powerful egos; and that we need such big personalities to transform our companies, organisations, sporting teams and nations. Sometimes this view proves to be true, and we remember such characters. But more often, the greatest leaders who leave the greatest legacies, have a powerful mixture of personal humility, integrity and indomitable will for forwarding the health, success and long-term prosperity of their organisation and people. They seem to get the best out of others by genuinely treating them with dignity and respect, whilst focused on strategic outcomes.