The Power of Leadership Insight

Book excerpt: Leadership is a risky business. In the current world, change is the new normal and only constant. As change grows, so does risk. Thus, leaders must be master change agents and master mitigators of risk. But, how will leaders succeed if they don’t measure and lack insight? Simply put, they won’t. Those that are successful in these arenas will ride the waves of success during their tenure on the leadership stage. In contrast, their counterparts will be crushed by the never-ending waves of disruption. Often leaders or those aspiring erroneously view leadership power from a self-interested perspective. They see power through the lens of a title, position, control over others, influence, emotional intelligence and the like. Unfortunately, this view is misaligned and short sighted. Another perspective of leadership is the ability to impact positive change for those around you. In reality, leaders are those that use their gifts, skills and knowledge to educate and empower others in the long run. The purpose of this book is to unveil insight as to the true meaning of leadership power – how to attain it, how to leverage it to add the greatest amount of value to humanity, how to weaponize it to marginalize and eliminate risk and how to share it with others so they can carry the torch once you step off the leadership stage. In this book, readers will learn: How to master the art of change The value of leadership self-advocacy The pearls and pitfalls of leading integration teams The unintended consequences of sharing knowledge The sidewinder effect of misinterpreting root causes of success The leadership test of humility Leadership matchmaking to ensure the right leaders are selected to solve the organization’s problems Leadership Loopholes: The Houdini Effect The risk of underestimating leadership value The risk of not focusing on the right attributes The risk of leading turnarounds