Seven Disciplines of A Leader

LEADERSHIP SECRETS FROM ONE OF AMERICA′S TOP 100 THOUGHT LEADERS

Jeff Wolf is one of the most highly sought–after executive and leadership coaches in the country. His clients are some of the world′s top businesses and year after year, these companies stay on top for one reason and one reason only: leadership. They have leaders who know how to maximize effectiveness at every level of the value chain. And they do it using the techniques and habits in Seven Disciplines of a Leader.

This book makes it easy to become a better leader. Seven Disciplines of a Leader includes takeaways and exercises at the end of every chapter, so every section leads directly to skills and strategies that you can use immediately. Taken together, the Seven Disciplines and Eleven Practices form a leadership worldview that will enable you to get the best out of every single member of your team.

"Jeff Wolf′s well–crafted book Seven Disciplines of a Leader is a seminal book on leadership in business, a groundbreaking study that leaders in any line of work can use to increase their effectiveness on the job. Its penetrating insights will be helpful for frontline supervisors, managers, and chief executive officers alike."
Dale Sohn, former President and CEO, Samsung Telecommunications America

"Jeff Wolf′s book Seven Disciplines of a Leader describes state–of–the–art techniques that leaders at any level of the organization can use to improve their performance. His remarkable advice is sensible, easy to understand, and noteworthy."
Marshall Goldsmith, author of the New York Times and global bestsellers What Got You Here Won′t Get You There and MOJO

"Great leaders exude a passion from within to grow, learn, and build teams. Jeff Wolf has laid out a flight plan to guide you through both blue skies and turbulence to achieve your leadership goals. In his book Seven Disciplines of a Leader, he shows how successful leaders continue to learn and grow throughout their careers. Reading it and absorbing its lessons will imbue you with the courage and confidence it takes to become a great leader. Consider it a flight plan to support your team and you en route to your destination."
Howard Putnam, Former CEO Southwest Airlines & Braniff International and author of The Winds of Turbulence

"Jeff Wolf′s new book, Seven Disciplines of a Leader, delivers major benefits for its readers. It very effectively demonstrates how to build core leadership skills, improve decision making, interpersonal relations, and teamwork skills, and reveals techniques of highly effective and dynamic leaders. Jeff′s background as a highly regarded executive coach and management consultant qualifies him as a business guru you want to listen to."
Edgar Tu, former President, Home Entertainment of America, Sony Electronics

"Jeff Wolf, in his new book Seven Disciplines of a Leader, has given us a comprehensive list of the many ways that the aspiring or current manager can sharpen his leadership skills in order to be able to compete effectively in today′s challenging business environment. He covers a lot of ground, but running throughout his work is a much–needed emphasis on the importance of clear and pervasive communication from the highest corporate level to the inner workings of the smallest team. As he makes clear, failure to communicate clearly and accurately will doom even the brightest of leaders. If the reader only learned this one lesson, it would make the book most worthwhile, but of course, it contains so much more."
John A. Warden III, Colonel, USAF(retired), President of Venturist, Inc., and author of Winning in FastTime

Acknowledgments ix

Introduction: What Makes Certain Leaders Highly Effective? xi

I THE NATURE OF HIGHLY EFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP 1

1 Welcome to Leadership: Nature of the Job 3

2 Who Said It Would Be Easy?: Scope of the Leader s Job 14

3 Principles of Effective Leadership: Essence of the Leader s Job 24

4 Disciplines and Practices of Highly Effective Leaders 34

II SEVEN DISCIPLINES 45

5 Discipline 1: Initiative and Influence: Seize the Reins and Set an Example for Others 47

6 Discipline 2: Vision, Strategy, and Alignment: The Progression from Plans to Accomplishments Marks a True Leader 59

7 Discipline 3: Priorities, Planning, and Execution: Execution Cannot Succeed without the Team s Acceptance and Endorsement 75

8 Discipline 4: Social/Emotional/Political Intelligence: The Tribulations of Leadership and Their Remedies 91

9 Discipline 5: Reciprocation, Collaboration, and Service 104

10 Discipline 6: Love and Leverage: There Is No Substitute for Passion about Work 113

11 Discipline 7: Renewal and Sustainability: Those Who Practice Renewal and Sustainability Avoid Common Pitfalls 125

III ELEVEN PRACTICES OF HIGHLY EFFECTIVE LEADERS 133

12 Practice 1: Hire People Like a Casting Director 135

13 Practice 2: Never Stop Developing People 147

14 Practice 3: Understand the Value of Coaching 165

15 Practice 4: Motivate and Inspire People 174

16 Practice 5: Master Communication 180

17 Practice 6: Build an Optimal Team 200

18 Practice 7: Deliver Excellence and Satisfy Customers 216

19 Practice 8: Balance Your Work and Personal Life: It Will Help You Find the Right Perspective 228

20 Practice 9: Nurture New Leaders and Retain High Performers 239

21 Practice 10: Lead Desired Change 248

22 Practice 11: Manage a Multigenerational

Workforce 258

About the Author 273

Index 275

JEFF WOLF is recognized as one of the top executive coaches in the country and is a dynamic and engaging speaker. A highly sought–after business consultant, his strategic focus in solving corporate and human issues has earned him continuing raves from global firms.

Leadership Excellence magazine named him one of America′s Top 100 Thought Leaders for his accomplishments in leadership development, managerial effectiveness, and organizational productivity.

He is currently president of Wolf Management Consultants, LLC, one of the most comprehensive consulting, coaching and training firms in the world. The firm specializes in helping people, teams, and organizations achieve maximum effectiveness.

Throughout the years, he has been a recognized authority on leadership, and his principles, strategies, and inspiration have influenced dramatic growth and changes in countless organizations.He may be reached at www.wolfmotivation.com

KEN SHELTON is CEO of Authentic Leadership and founding editor/publisher of Leadership Excellence magazine. He collaborated with Stephen R. Covey on the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People and is editor/publisher of 128 other books on personal and leadership development.