I love how leadership books are becoming less like text books and more like novels. The Secret is exactly like that. This way, it allows you to pull yourself into the story. The authors Ken Blanchard & Mark Miller are 2 guys who get leadership. In fact, the acrynonym they use in the book SERVE is now on my desktop as a constant reminder of what leadership is supposed to be about.
The book centers around SERVE
S ee the Future
E ngage and develop others
R einvent continuously
V alue results & relationships
E mbody the values
Here are some thoughts:
- We demonstrate our priorities with the way we allocate our resources – and that includes our time
- True leadership has nothing to do with one’s level in the organization
- Leadership is more about what others don’t see than what they do see
- Character – or lack of it – is still the nemesis of most leaders in our world today. Skills are critical to effective leadership, but character is also. Many believe they can become effective leaders if they only had the skills. Others believe they can become great leaders if they could just develop their character. Both are wrong. It takes skills and character.
- Leadership is about taking people from one place to another
- It may sometimes be difficult to determine where the enterprise should be heading, but heading somewhere it must
- Values are the beliefs that drive our behavior
- Seeing the future is one leadership responsibility that cannot be delegated. It can be shared, but it’s the leader’s job to make time today to ensure that there is a tomorrow
- The leader’s objective is to leverage the strengths of people and make their weaknesses become irrelevant
- If you stop learning, you stop leading
- You must gain the trust of your people. If you don’t have their trust, you’ll never be a great leader
- People who want to be great leaders must embrace an attitude of service to others
Great book!