Step Up: Lead in Six Moments that Matter

PRAISE FOR STEP UP

"A useful, easy–to–digest road map for leading with clarity,compassion, and transparent communication. Step Up givesboth tenured and new leaders fresh ideas and creative remindersthat will propel them to new heights as they motivate and inspirethose around them to meet and exceed their goals."
Melissa Reiff, president and chief operating officer,The Container Store

"As Evans and Foster so wisely point out in Step Up, mostoften leadership is in the moment. Drawing on their considerableexperience, Evans and Foster identify six critical opportunities tolead, and they offer practical and tangible ideas about how anyonecan step up and take ownership of these moments. Thisbook artfully unravels many of the complexities and demystifies theactions needed to make something positive happen. Step Up isa valuable addition to the library of all leaders who want to maketheir teams and organizations more effective."
Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner, authors, TheLeadership Challenge

"Evans and Foster provide a catalyst for reflection as well asresources and tools for practice. I look forward to sharing StepUp with the leaders I work with as an internal executive coach.I know this will make a difference for them and the teams theylead."
Bob Andrews, director, executive coaching, GapInc.

"Evans and Foster are strategy and leadership team experts. InStep Up, they share a secret weapon for developing andretaining top talent: six moments that develop leadership at alllevels of an organization. I don t do theory. Step Upis easy to understand and apply for generating better businessresults."
Nic Vu, senior vice president, retail, adidasGroup

"Evans and Foster′s six moments offer a fresh perspective andcaused me to think differently about the leadership challenges Iface. I will use and recommend Step Up."
Matthew E. Winter, president, Allstate PersonalLines

Foreword by Marshall Goldsmith ix

Introduction 1

1 Get Angry, Not Stupid 11

2 Avoid Terminal Politeness 39

3 Decide Already 65

4 Act When You Are the Problem 95

5 Leverage Pessimism 125

6 Reverse Momentum 151

Conclusion: Create Emotional Safety 171

Next Steps 193

Notes 195

Acknowledgments 199

About the Authors 201

Index 203

HENRY EVANS is founder and managing partner for DynamicResults, LLC, specializing in strategy execution, executivedevelopment, and emotionally intelligent leadership. His firstbook, Winning with Accountability, was published in 2008. Helives in San Francisco, California.

COLM FOSTER specializes in working with executives andtheir teams to improve individual and team effectiveness. He is anadjunct faculty member of University College Dublin and holds a PhDand MBA. Colm lives in Dublin, Ireland, with his family.

Henry Evans and Colm Foster help bridge the gap betweenthe needs of an organization and the needs of the human beings whosit within the organization... challenging us to be catalysts forpositive change.
From the foreword by Marshall Goldsmith

A useful, easy–to–digest road map for leading with clarity,compassion, and transparent communication. Step Upgives both tenured and new leaders fresh ideas and creativereminders that will propel them to new heights as they motivate andinspire those around them to meet and exceed theirgoals.  
Melissa Reiff, president and chief operating officer, TheContainer Store 

As Evans and Foster so wisely point out in StepUp, most often leadership is in the moment. Drawing ontheir considerable experience, Evans and Foster identify sixcritical opportunities to lead, and they offer practical andtangible ideas about how anyone can step up and takeownership of these moments. This book artfully unravels many of thecomplexities and demystifies the actions needed to make somethingpositive happen. Step Up is a valuable addition to thelibrary of all leaders who want to make their teams andorganizations more effective.
Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner, authors, The LeadershipChallenge 

Evans and Foster provide a catalyst for reflection aswell as resources and tools for practice. I look forward to sharingStep Up with the leaders I work with as an internalexecutive coach. I know this will make a difference for them andthe teams they lead.
Bob Andrews, director, executive coaching, GapInc.

Evans and Foster are strategy and leadership teamexperts. In Step Up, they share a secret weapon fordeveloping and retaining top talent: six moments that developleadership at all levels of an organization. I don t dotheory. Step Up is easy to understand and apply forgenerating better business results.
Nic Vu, senior vice president, retail,adidas® Group

Evans and Foster s six moments offer a freshperspective and caused me to think differently about the leadershipchallenges I face. I will use and recommend StepUp.
Matthew E. Winter, president, Allstate PersonalLines

At the FBI, we realized that the most successful agentsconsistently demonstrated specific behaviors for building trust andcredibility in the field. Evans and Foster do a great job ofexplaining the skills and competencies required for successfulleadership. This is an easy–to–follow guide for generatingleadership in both public and private sectororganizations.
Supervisory Special Agent Tim Turner (retired), FBIAcademy, Ed.D, associate professor, Anderson University andColumbia Southern University

Evans and Foster point out that leadership is somethingwe all do, even if we didn t understand our role as leadersbefore. With examples from widely–known leaders and case studiesfrom their consulting practice, Step Up shows how to manageand listen to our anger and anxiety, improving our mental modelsand creating emotional safety around us. This lively, accurate, andpractical book will inspire readers.
John D. Mayer, professor of psychology, University of NewHampshire, and author, Personal Intelligence

If you think that emotional intelligence is about beingnice or avoiding conflict and you see yourself as a leader,you d better get this book. Step Up introduces you tothe nitty–gritty of emotionally intelligent leadership.You ll find examples and suggestions on how to handlenegative emotions and arm yourself for those make–or–breakleadership moments.
Steven J. Stein, Ph.D., author, Emotional Intelligencefor Dummies

Innovation requires decisiveness and tough discussionswhere assumptions and ideas are explored and challenged. In Step Up, Evans and Foster give a roadmap to help anyorganization gain a competitive edge by igniting leadership atevery level of the organization.
Soren Kaplan, Ph.D., author, Wall Street Journalbestseller Leapfrogging