Achieve Leadership Genius: How You Lead Depends on Who, What, Where, and When You Lead

What does it really take to become a great leader? You need a framework for leading that gives you clarity when chaos is all around you. The framework, called "Leadership in Context" already exists. It's up to you to master it and put it to work. Drawing on over forty years of research and personal experience, the authors of Achieve Leadership Genius have helped people develop the skills they need to achieve organizational and personal goals. This guide will teach you - how to lead individuals, teams, organizations, alliances, and above all, yourself; - the five crucial leadership practices that work no matter who you're leading; - how to handle the unique issues that arise in every leadership context and situation. You'll also discover high-level and micro-level techniques that will help you break through the barriers that prevent you from leading. With practice and internalization, you can make these techniques work for you. Stop making excuses, and start benefiting from a new model of leadership. It's not too late to Achieve Leadership Genius.

“This is not one of those leadership books to be scanned and tossed aside. Instead, it is a special book that deserves to be closely read and then kept nearby so that you can draw upon it again and again as you seek to lead effectively.”

–David Gergen, Professor, Harvard’s Kennedy School, Director, Center for Public Leadership

 

“Drea, Susan, and Dick are three of the nation’s most innovative, perceptive, and gifted management thinkers. Their book, Achieve Leadership Genius, is an exceptional tour de force against which all books brave enough to tackle the critical issue of leadership must be judged.”

–Sheldon Bowles, Best-selling Co-author, Raving Fans, Gung Ho!, and High Five

 

“A gem! One of the first books I’d recommend to a novice or champion if they want to learn about improving the lives they lead and make the journey to leadership mastery.”

–Warren Bennis, Distinguished Professor of Management, University of Southern California, author of On Becoming a Leader

 

LEADERSHIP IS NOT A “ONE SIZE FITS ALL” PURSUIT... DIFFERENT SCENARIOS REQUIRE DIFFERENT TECHNIQUES...

• How to lead individuals, teams, organizations, alliances, and above all, yourself
• The five crucial leadership practices that work no matter who you’re leading
• How to handle the unique issues that arise in every leadership context and situation

What does it really take to become a great leader? Commitment, hard work...and a framework for leading that gives you clarity when there’s chaos all around you.

 

That framework exists. It’s called Contextual Leadership®. This book will help you master it, and put it to work. You’ll discover high-level and “micro”-level techniques you need to achieve breakthrough effectiveness. You’ll practice them, internalize them, make them yours.

 

This book draws on more than forty years of research, and the extraordinary personal experience of three renowned leadership consultants.

 

Its techniques are tested. Proven. They’re not a quick fix. But, as thousands of leaders can tell you, they work.

 

Hundreds and hundreds of leadership books have been published over the years. Almost all of them treat leadership as if “one size fits all”: as if leadership skills were “one trick pony” skills that can be applied across any circumstance. Nothing could be further from the truth.

 

Leadership genius depends on your ability to recognize the setting you are leading in. Are you leading a team? Leading one person? Leading yourself? Leading an entire organization? Leading an alliance? Who, what, when, and where you lead determines how you should lead.

 

This book presents a detailed, practical, and skill-based framework any leader can use to become dramatically more effective.

 

Another aspect of leadership genius is realizing that within each setting, or context, a leader must also be able to adapt to a wide variety of scenarios. The authors show you how to bring your best to bear in any circumstance, and in every facet of the leadership process: envisioning, initiation, and implementation.

 

From start to finish, this book addresses both the high level and ‘micro’ skills that define leadership genius–guiding readers systematically through assessing their current behaviors and moving toward excellence.

• DEVELOP THE ATTRIBUTES OF LEADERSHIP GENIUS
  Skillfully respond to what the context and circumstances demand of you as a leader
• MOVE BEYOND THE LEADERSHIP “QUICK FIX”
  Discover a solid, proven framework for becoming a contextual leader
• MASTER THE FIVE CONTEXTS OF LEADERSHIP
  Lead yourself... lead one-to-one... lead teams, organizations, and alliances
• MASTER THE SKILLS OF ALL FIVE LEADERSHIP PRACTICES
  Prepare, envision, initiate, assess, and respond
• LEVERAGE YOUR LEADERSHIP SUCCESS; MOVE FROM INDIVIDUAL TO ORGANIZATIONAL EXCELLENCE
  A new view of leadership and its imperatives

 

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Dr. Drea Zigarmi is Founding Associate of The Ken Blanchard Companies®, and co-creator of Situational Leadership® II, today’s best-of-class developmental leadership model. He co-authored the two-million-copy best-seller Leadership and the One Minute Manager, and most recently, The Leader Within. He has trained 50,000 managers from organizations ranging from American Honda to IBM, Nissan to Siemens, McDonnell-Douglas to The San Diego Padres.

 

Susan Fowler is one of the world’s foremost experts on personal empowerment. She is creator and lead developer of The Ken Blanchard Companies Situational Self Leadership, today’s best-of-class self-leadership and personal empowerment program. Fowler’s publications include The Team Leader’s Idea-a-Day Guide (with Drea Zigarmi), Empowerment (with Ken Blanchard), and Self Leadership and The One Minute Manager (with Ken Blanchard and Laurence Hawkins).

 

Dr. Dick Lyles is President and CEO of Leadership Legacies, a company that focuses on developing a new generation of leaders. He co-founded Maric College in San Diego, is past President of the Ken Blanchard Companies, and currently sits on the Board of Directors for a number of firms. His best-selling books include Winning Ways: Four Secrets for Getting Great Results by Working Well with People.

 

CONTENTS

Foreword by Georgette Mosbacher     xiii

About the Authors     xv

Acknowledgments     xviii

Introduction     1

PART ONE     THE FIVE CONTEXTS     9

CHAPTER 1    THE SELF CONTEXT: YOUR ROLE IN CREATING MEANINGFUL WORK    14

CHAPTER 2    THE ONE-TO-ONE CONTEXT: YOUR ROLE IN DEVELOPING INDIVIDUAL EXCELLENCE    22

CHAPTER 3    THE TEAM CONTEXT: YOUR ROLE IN FACILITATING HIGH-IMPACT TEAMS     31

CHAPTER 4    THE ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT: YOUR ROLE IN GENERATING THE ORGANIZATION’S VITALITY     42

CHAPTER 5    THE ALLIANCE CONTEXT: YOUR ROLE IN FOSTERING STRATEGIC RELATIONSHIPS     51

PART TWO    THE FIVE PRACTICES OF CONTEXTUAL LEADERSHIP     58

CHAPTER 6    PREPARE: THE FIRST LEADERSHIP PRACTICE    63

CHAPTER 7    PREPARE: WHAT’S DRIVING YOUR LEADERSHIP BEHAVIOR?     69

CHAPTER 8    PREPARE: LEADING WITH DEVELOPED VALUES    81

CHAPTER 9    PREPARE: INVESTIGATING YOUR PERSONA    97

CHAPTER 10    PREPARE: THE CHALLENGE OF CHANGE    107

CHAPTER 11    ENVISION: THE SECOND LEADERSHIP PRACTICE     115

CHAPTER 12    ENVISION IN THE SELF CONTEXT    120

CHAPTER 13    ENVISION IN THE ONE-TO-ONE CONTEXT    135

CHAPTER 14    ENVISION IN THE TEAM CONTEXT    142

CHAPTER 15    ENVISION IN THE ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT    150

CHAPTER 16    ENVISION IN THE ALLIANCE CONTEXT    157

CHAPTER 17    INITIATE: THE THIRD LEADERSHIP PRACTICE    162

CHAPTER 18    INITIATE IN THE SELF CONTEXT     165

CHAPTER 19    INITIATE IN THE ONE-TO-ONE CONTEXT     174

CHAPTER 20    INITIATE IN THE TEAM CONTEXT     187

CHAPTER 21    INITIATE IN THE ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT    201

CHAPTER 22    INITIATE IN THE ALLIANCE CONTEXT     207

CHAPTER 23    ASSESS: THE FOURTH LEADERSHIP PRACTICE    211

CHAPTER 24    ASSESS IN THE SELF CONTEXT     217

CHAPTER 25    ASSESS IN THE ONE-TO-ONE CONTEXT     225

CHAPTER 26    ASSESS IN THE TEAM CONTEXT    233

CHAPTER 27    ASSESS IN THE ORGANIZATIONAL CONTEXT     240

CHAPTER 28    ASSESS IN THE ALLIANCE CONTEXT    244

CHAPTER 29    RESPOND: THE FIFTH LEADERSHIP PRACTICE     248

PART THREE    THE PROMISE AND CHALLENGE OF CONTEXTUAL LEADERSHIP    258

CHAPTER 30    A NEW VIEW OF LEADERSHIP    260

CHAPTER 31    LEADERSHIP IMPERATIVES    268

BIBLIOGRAPHY    275

INDEX    305