The Secret: What Great Leaders Know and Do - Hardcover

Blanchard, Ken; Miller, Mark

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1576752895 ISBN 13: 9781576752890

Publisher: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2004

Synopsis

The Secret answers the question, ""What do I need to do to be a great leader?"" Books on leadership abound, and most of them emphasize one or another of the ideas explored here. But only The Secret pulls all of the five essential concepts together into a coherent plan for achieving leadership success.The core idea, based on the authors' years of experience and drawn from examples of the best leaders, is that leadership comes from service. The five ways in which leaders can succeed through service are seeing and shaping the future; engaging and developing others; reinventing continuously; valuing results and relationships; and embodying the values. Each strategy is explained in detail, with exercises and tips for integrating them into the leadership matrix.The Secret is not dry dogma; the authors show their ideas at work by following the example of a struggling leader who enrolls in a mentoring program at her company. It traces her progress in understanding and applying these concepts, and her subsequent transformation into a respected and effective leader.

About this title

From the Publisher

In The Secret, Debbie, a struggling leader finds herself about to lose her job due to poor performance. In a desperate attempt to save her career, she enrolls in a new mentoring program offered by her company. Much to her surprise, Debbie finds her mentor is the president of the company (Jeff Brown).

Debbie decides that all she needs is the answer to one question, "What is the secret of great leaders?" She is convinced that if Jeff will tell her, she can apply the secret in her leadership.

Over the next 18 months Jeff explains to Debbie that the secret is rooted in an attitude. He tells her that she must be willing to become a serving leader rather than a self-serving leader. The secret is that all great leaders serve.

After Debbie learns the secret she still doesn’t know what to do next. Jeff explains that great leaders serve in at least five ways. They...

· See and shape the future
· Engage and develop others
· Reinvent continuously
· Value results and relationships
· Embody the values

The story unfolds as Debbie learns and applies each of these imperatives with her team. As a result, Debbie’s team goes from worst to first. They become the highest performing team within the company.

In the end, Debbie understood that all the changes and improvements were the result of the choices she made as a leader. She realized that to SERVE is a choice. Debbie decided once and for all, she would no longer be a self-serving leader, she would be a serving leader!

About the Author

Mark Miller is Founder and Editor of EndUserSharePoint.com. Founding member of NothingbutSharePoint.com He is currently Director of Global Strategy and Senior Storyteller at Fpweb.net. His main expertise is in developing and building live online communities built around specific market verticals. He also speaks extensively on the SharePoint circuit.

About this edition

• Publisher: Berrett-Koehler Publishers
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 1576752895
• ISBN 13: 9781576752890
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 124