Synopses & Reviews
Leadership. It can only truly be learned on the job, in the midst of constant daily challenges requiring you to think fast, use your intuition, and hope that all the guidance you’ve received in the past will bubble up in your brain at precisely the right moment. Wouldn’t it be nice if you had constant access to your own personal leadership coach?
Packed with concise, on-the-job expertise to inspire and direct you on your professional journey, The Leader’s Pocket Guide is a pithy, portable guide containing easily accessible, tactical tips you can reference on the go.
Organized into three sections—Self, Colleagues, and Organization—the book supplies you with short, to-the-point ideas on how to:
• Think more critically
• Develop the confidence to lead
• Get people to believe in themselves
• Lead with presence
• Regenerate hope
• Use a checklist to lead, and a task list to manage
• Act with the big picture in mind
• Influence your colleagues
• Improve team performance
• Take charge of change
• Instill purpose in your people
• Connect authentically
• Wield power gracefully when making decisions
• Hire for character and integrity
• Know the right questions to ask about your organization
• Manage when you cannot disclose information
• Handle a crisis
• Make your leadership relevant
Before you can lead others, you must learn to lead yourself. Augmented by up-to-date research on the role of leaders and the expectations followers have for them, this eminently practical guide shows you how to add more value to your organization . . . and be the greatest leader you can be.
JOHN BALDONI is the president of Baldoni Consulting LLC, a full-service executive coaching and leadership development firm. He is an internationally recognized leadership educator and executive coach and the author of many books, including Lead with Purpose, Lead Your Boss, and Great Motivation Secrets of Great Leaders. John speaks throughout North America and Europe, and in 2012 Leadership Gurus International ranked him No. 10 on its list of global leadership experts. John has authored more than 400 leadership columns for a variety of online publications including CBS MoneyWatch, Harvard Business Review, Forbes, and the Washington Post.
Connect with John Baldoni:
twitter @JohnBaldoni
Website: www.johnbaldoni.com
Review
"… full of tools you can add to your leadership toolbox and immediately put to good use.” --Sources of Insight
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“You'll find the answer, whatever the leadership question, in these pages-and you'll get the message quickly." --Life Insurance Selling magazine
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"...a must-have for every leader and budding-leader who would value a go-to resource to help them in any leadership predicament." --C-Level Strategies
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“Dynamically written and very well organized, both conceptually and visually, readers can pick up good advice just leafing through it.” --Anna Jedrziewski, Retailing Insight magazine
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"...fabulous compact guide to all the situations leaders face today, as well as the ones that are forming on the horizon.” --Blue Heron Journal
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"What I like most about John’s work is that it is practical. I can put his advice to use immediately." --Leadership Insights
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“…next best thing to having John as your own personal coach. He shares the lessons he’s learned coaching others.” --LeadershipNow
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“…this book enables readers to become greater influencers in every arena of their lives.” --T+D Magazine
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"...immediately implementable advice relevant to leaders at all levels within an organization.” --StrategyDriven
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“Author John Baldoni is a great leadership thinker and this book encapsulates some of his best thinking.” --Leadership & Learning
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“Since leadership is awfully hard, and a 24/7 sort of job, the fact that it's actually pocket-sized, and that its advice is short and pithy, makes it even more useful.” --AccountingToday
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“This book is indispensable and should be on every manager’s bookshelf to be easily accessible and widely used!“ --Portland Book Review
Synopsis
Before you can lead others, you must learn to lead yourself. Yet those tasked with leadership roles must discover what their people—and their companies—respond to as they go. The Leader’s Pocket Guide provides readers with concise, on-the-job expertise to inspire and direct them on their professional journey.
Organized into three easy-reference sections—Self, Colleagues, and Organization—the book supplies readers with tactical tips on how to:
• Deliver Inspiration
• Demonstrate character
• Develop confidence
• Communicate with authority
• Think critically
• Foster innovation
• Connect with others
• Resolve conflicts
• Add buzz to their leadership brand
• Coach for development
• Recognize achievement
• Instill company-wide purpose
• Deal with adversity
Augmented by up-to-date research on the role of leaders and the expectations followers have for them, this pithy, powerful, and portable guide contains energizing action tips, self-assessments, and “Think About…” sections to spur readers on to reach continuously greater heights of leadership excellence.
Synopsis
Before you can lead others, you must learn to lead yourself. Yet those tasked with leadership roles must discover what their people--and their companies--respond to as they go.
The Leader's Pocket Guide provides readers with concise, on-the-job expertise to inspire and direct them on their professional journey.
Organized into three easy-reference sections--Self, Colleagues, and Organization--the book supplies readers with tactical tips on how to:
- Deliver Inspiration
- Demonstrate character
- Develop confidence
- Communicate with authority
- Think critically
- Foster innovation
- Connect with others
- Resolve conflicts
- Add buzz to their leadership brand
- Coach for development
- Recognize achievement
- Instill company-wide purpose
- Deal with adversity
Augmented by up-to-date research on the role of leaders and the expectations followers have for them, this pithy, powerful, and portable guide contains energizing action tips, self-assessments, and -Think About...- sections to spur readers on to reach continuously greater heights of leadership excellence.
Synopsis
Advance Praise for The Leader’s Pocket Guide:
“A sumptuous feast served up for experienced and aspiring leaders in bite-sized portions. A thoughtful and practical guide for lifting one’s leadership profile in the here and now.”
— Douglas R. Conant, retired President, CEO, and Director of Campbell Soup Company and New York Times bestselling author of TouchPoints
“John Baldoni gets to the heart of what it takes to inspire others to follow your lead....The Leader’s Pocket Guide is a welcome read for executives looking to lead with more smarts as well as more heart.”
— Ryan M. Lance, CEO, ConocoPhillips
“At last! This book provides practical, easy-to-reference information for leaders to access daily....It is useful and comforting for leaders of all ages and levels of experience.”
— Nancy Schlichting, CEO, Henry Ford Health System
“The content is rich with practical insights that are supported with action steps to provide a roadmap to implementation. A quick, easy read, The Leader’s Pocket Guide is a handy reference for those looking to develop themselves and their abilities as leaders who can make a positive difference.”
— Brian O. Underhill, Ph.D., founder, CoachSource, and coauthor, Executive Coaching for Results
“The Leader’s Pocket Guide is a fantastic leadership book. It is a ‘must have’ for all leaders....I was captivated by the ‘think about’ takeaways at the end of many lessons; these were like having personal executive coaching.”
— John Owens, President & CEO, Cohesion Corporation
About the Author
JOHN BALDONI, president of Baldoni Consulting LLC, is an internationally recognized executive coach, speaker, and author. In 2011, Leadership Gurus International ranked John No. 11 on its list of the world’s top 30 leadership experts. He is a regular online contributor to CBS MoneyWatch, Inc, and Harvard Business Review.
Table of Contents
CONTENTS
Prologue 1
SELF
Introduction 3
Research Says 4
1 . How to Know Yourself Better 5
2. Think More Critically 7
3. Character Trumps Perfection 8
4. Yes, It Does Matter What People Think of You 9
5. Add to Your Leadership Brand 10
6. Why Accountability Counts 13
7. Making the Choice to Manage 14
8. Making the Choice Not to Manage 16
9. Develop the Confidence to Lead 17
10. Project Confidence 19
11. Three Ways to Regenerate Hope 20
12. Act Like a Leader 22
13. Four Ways to Lead with Presence 24
14. Build Your Resilience 26
15. Avoid “Coulda, Shoulda, Woulda” 28
16. Get People to Believe in Themselves 29
17. Take Charge of Your Own Fears 31
18. Level with Yourself 33
19. What Are You Doing to Add Value? 35
20. Friends, Family, Health 37
Self-Assessment: Self 39
Action Tips for Self 40
COLLEAGUES
Introduction 41
Research Says 42
21. Put Integrity and Humility into Your Ego 43
22. Show Your Colleagues How to Think Critically 45
23. Use a Checklist to Lead 47
24. Use a Task List to Manage 48
25. Act Like You Own It 50
26. Practice Your Troubleshooting 51
27. Stop Spinning Wheels 53
28. Act with the Big Picture in Mind 55
29. It Takes a Strong Leader to Compromise 57
30. You Can’t Say “Not My Job”! 58
31. Defend Yourself Without Being Defensive 60
32. Practice Defending Yourself the Right Way 61
33. The Glass Is Half Full 63
34. How to Influence Your Colleagues 64
35. Lead Your Peers the Right Way 66
36. Help Your Team Avoid Burnout 68
37. Improve Team Performance 71
38. Optimize Team Success 72
39. Persuade Peers—Make It Personal 75
40. Support Your Teammates the Right Way 76
41. Get Your Team to Play Smart Together 77
42. Avoid the Niceness Disease 79
43. There Is a Positive Side of Conflict 80
44. Take Charge of Change 82
45. It Takes a Good Problem Solver to Compromise 84
46. Three Ways Strong Leaders Put the Team First 85
47. Help Colleagues Gain Outside Perspective 87
48. Turn Small Talk into Smart Talk 88
49. Lead Through Your Boss 91
50. How to Sell an Idea to Your Boss 92
51. How to Recognize the Signs of Hubris 94
52. How to Cure Yourself of Hubris 96
53. Coach Your Colleagues 98
Self-Assessment: Colleagues 100
Action Tips for Colleagues 101
ORGANIZATION
Introduction 103
Research Says 104
54. How to Instill Purpose in Your People 105
55. Make Your Leadership Relevant 106
56. Connect Authentically 108
57. How to Ask Good Questions 110
58. Manage with the Door Open 112
59. Visit Employees Where They Work 113
60. Lead for Engagement 116
61 . Make Your Off-Site More Engaging 117
62. Avoid Micromanaging Anything 120
63. Don’t Let Conflict Ruin Your Team 122
64. Questions for Leaders Facing Long Odds 124
65. Deliver a Reason to Be Urgent 126
66. Wield Power Gracefully When Making Decisions 128
67. Hold the Platitudes 130
68. Use Your Senses to Hire 131
69. Hire for Character and Integrity 133
70. What You Need to Ask About Your Company 135
71. Three Ways to Execute Better 136
72. Step Back to Lead 138
73. Don’t Give In to Defeatism 140
74. Generate Enthusiasm About the Work 142
75. Lead Like a Salesperson 143
76. Five Ways to Connect with Those Who Can’t Stand You 146
77. When the Going Gets Tough, Lead 148
78. When Things Go Wrong 149
79. Develop a Crisis Plan 150
80. Cut Out the Doom and Gloom 153
81. When Speaking in Front of a Hostile Audience 155
82. Put Principle over Policy 157
83. Build Common Cause 158
84. Defuse Discord 161
85. Right a Wrong 164
86. Questions to Help You Coach Your Employees 166
87. Buck Up the Team 168
88. Lead with Passion 170
89. Lead with Compassion 171
90. How You Can Add More Value to Your Organization 172
91. Are Your Employees Listening? 175
92. Four Ways to Reverse a Decision 177
93. Managing When You Cannot Disclose Information 180
94. Let Your Face Show You Are in Charge 181
95. Why Leaders Use Stories 184
96. Tell Your Story with Impact 185
97. Three Pillars of Inspiration 188
98. How to Inspire Others 189
99. When It’s Time to Hang It Up 191
100. Make Time for Yourself Outside of Work 193
101. Six Words to Lead By 195
Self-Assessment: Organization 197
Action Tips for Organizations 198
Handbook 199
Acknowledgments 203
Notes 205
About the Author 209