Leaders Ought to Know: 11 Ground Rules for Common Sense Leadership

Praise for Leaders Ought to Know "There are lots of books on leadership, but there are precious few true leaders who have the depth of leadership experience and wisdom of Phillip Van Hooser. In Leaders Ought to Know, Phillip shares lessons born of his experience both as a leader and as a trusted advisor to leaders for over twenty–five years. I don′t recommend books lightly, but I absolutely recommend Leaders Ought to Know as a must–read for any leader or those who aspire to be leaders." —JOE CALLOWAY , author of Be the Best at What Matters Most " Leaders Ought to Know is the perfect book about leadership skills written by a guy who knows leadership inside and out. Forget about theory—this is all stuff that can be used today, tomorrow, and forever. Phillip looks at issues that may seem complex and breaks them all down into manageable steps that lead to success. You will learn how to ratchet up your performance and in tandem build the skills of the folks on your team." — JOE SCARLETT , retired chairman of Tractor Supply Company; founder of the Scarlett Leadership Institute "Phillip Van Hooser lays out a ′flight plan′ that will navigate and guide you to your destination—in leadership terms. Leaders Ought to Know is well worth the read and validates and expands on my experiences in leadership roles over many years." — HOWARD PUTNAM , former CEO of Southwest Airlines; author of The Winds of Turbulence "This is the book that every follower wants every leader to read and apply. Leaders Ought to Know is filled with Phillip Van Hooser′s practical, commonsense wisdom. Don′t just read this book, pull out your highlighter and study it. You and those you lead will be more successful and satisfied because you did." — RANDY G. PENNINGTON , author of Results Rule!: Build a Culture that Blows the Competition Away

Acknowledgments xi Introduction 1 Can You Keep a Secret? 1 This Is a No Secret Zone 5 Ground Rules 7 1 Choosing to Lead 11 Born Leaders—The Myth 11 Your Most Important Professional Decision 14 If Japan Can, Why Can’t We? 17 Congratulations, You’ve Been Promoted! Now What? 21 The Doctor Is in, and the Patient Is Waiting 23 Accepting the Challenge 27 2 Offer Service, Take Action 31 Management 101 31 The Four Management Functions 32 The Four Resources to Be Managed 33 If Not People, Who Then? 34 The Six Management Objectives 36 “What Do You Think?” 37 Mario and Luigi 40 Commonsense Leadership 44 The Ability to Offer Service 45 The Willingness to Take Action 47 3 The Essential Element 51 The Essential Element 51 Leadership Begins and Ends with Followers 53 Three Primary Assumptions 55 The Leadership Lie 60 How Close Is Too Close? 62 Know Your Followers 64 Who Are You? 66 Yes, and Then Some 69 4 A Recipe for Respect 73 WWYFS 73 Respect Is as Respect Does 76 The Recipe for Earning Respect 78 Respect Ingredient #1: Consistency 79 The Wisest Man in Princeton, Kentucky 81 Respect Ingredient #2: Quality Decision Making 84 “Honey, How Far?” 84 Respect Ingredient #3: Interacting with Others 87 Wrapping It Up 90 5 Honesty and Other Truths 91 The Truth about Honesty 91 The Scheduler’s Position 92 Leadership Failures 97 The Honesty Game 99 Game Contestants 99 Objectives of the Game 100 Rules of the Game 100 Losing the Game 102 Winning the Game 102 Time Frame of the Game 103 The Zipper Factor 103 Brutal Honesty 108 6 Two Motivational Truths 111 What Supervisors and Managers Want to Know 111 Help Me Motivate My People 112 Motivational Theories Abound 114 Motivational Truth #1 116 Motivation versus Manipulation 119 Manipulation Doesn’t Pay—It Costs 122 Motivational Truth #2 124 Can We Have a Pool Table? 125 How Can They Sit There and Lie to Me Like That? 129 Is That All? 131 7 Why People Do What They Do 133 The Worst Motivational Speech 133 Giving before Getting 137 It’s More than Gratitude 138 The Cornerstone Concept 139 What, Not Why 143 Determining Individual Needs 144 Easiest or Shortest 148 Preparing for Unsatisfied Needs 150 Emotional Defense Mechanisms 155 8 Preventive Leadership 157 Practicing PM 157 Embracing PL 158 Do Leaders Really Think? 160 Six Thought Processes to Support Preventive Leadership 161 Explorative Thought—Asking Why? 161 Comparative Thought—Asking Why Not? 162 Predictive Thought—Asking When? 163 Creative Thought—Asking What If? 164 Deliberative Thought—Asking How? 165 Interactive Thought—Asking What Do You Think? 165 “I’m Moving to Alaska!” 166 Running from or to—and Why It’s Important 171 The Wisdom of Dumb Questions 174 Dumb Question #1: How Am I Doing? 176 Dumb Question #2: What Have I Screwed Up Lately? 176 Dumb Question #3: What Should I Be Doing Better? 177 Dumb Question #4: What Would You Like Me to Do about That? 177 How It’s Done 178 9 Fearsome Facts 181 Who’s Your Daddy? 181 Understanding Fears 190 Fearsome Fact #1: We All Have Them 192 The Fear of Rejection 194 The Fear of Failure 195 The Fear of Success 196 “What Means ‘Nervous’?” 197 Fearsome Fact #2: Unfamiliar Experiences Are Breeding Grounds for New Fears 199 Making Unknowns Known 201 Fearsome Fact #3: Unsuccessful Experiences Compound Our Fears 203 What It Means 205 10 Leadership Pitfalls 207 Seven Deadly Sins 207 Leadership Pitfall #1: An Elevated Sense of Self–Importance 209 “I Hope the Old Man Is Getting Some of This” 210 Leadership Pitfall #2: Practicing Favoritism 213 “I’d Rather Be Flat Broke” 216 Leadership Pitfall #3: Inability or Unwillingness to Control Emotions 219 When You Lose Your Temper 221 The Power of an Apology 228 Pursuing Leadership Success 229 11 Commonsense Success 231 Seniority, Experience, or Something Else? 231 Choosing Success 233 Too Many Choices? 234 A Professional Triple Threat 236 Knowledge and Understanding 236 Skills and Application 237 Personal Desire and Commitment 238 “I Should’ve Bought That Farm” 240 Commonsense Success Choice #1: If I Am to Fail, I Choose to Fail Aggressively 240 Commonsense Success Choice #2: To Hit a Home Run, I Must Swing the Bat 242 Commonsense Success Choice #3: Choosing Yes 245 Commonsense Success Choice #4: When I Mess Up, I Must Fess Up—Quickly 250 One More Foundational Concept 254 Conclusion 257 A Conclusion Isn’t a Conclusion 257 Congratulations to You 258 Leaders Are Readers—or Are They? 259 Leaders Are Doers—or Should Be 260 “I Wish Buster Was Here” 262

Phillip Van Hooser is the founder of the Leaders Ought to Know ® leadership development program. His clients include Westar Energy, Alliance Coal, Reebok, Blue Bell Creameries, Eli Lilly and Company, Lockheed Martin, KPMG, Verizon, Wells Fargo, and Helena Chemical. A former president of the National Speakers Association, Phil has earned the Certified Speaking Professional designation and is a member of the Speaker Hall of Fame.