Book Summary Preview : Achieve Leadership Genius

The Big Idea
This book helps you better understand the meaning of leadership. It opens your eyes that leadership skills can be developed. All you need is make conscious efforts into becoming a leader both to yourself and to the people you lead. Also, you need to know the five practices discussed in this book on how to become an effective leader. There are cases given that can enlighten you more on the importance of the development of your skills, abilities, energies and personalities in becoming an effective leader.

This book also aids in understanding yourself and your subordinates. It reinforces that your personality plays a vital role on how you are as a leader. To become a good leader, you must first start with yourself.

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Contextual Leadership
Contextual leadership aids in better understanding the most important leadership point of view in an all-encompassing structure. Its foundation is the awareness of how, who, what, where and when you lead. It starts with knowing the five contexts.

The Self Context
The first step in leadership must happen within yourself. Practicing self leadership will help you to have a good outlook in your daily work life and will assist you to achieve your goals in the future.

Empowerment without self-leaders is worthless.  For empowerment to work, self- leaders must conquer their victims mentality and be in charge of their future. They must be assertive with their needs and, if needed, ask for trainings for the development of their skills. To lead in the self context, you must acquire the skill set and mindset to achieve your goals and at the same time, fulfill what the organization requires from you.

Sooner or later, you will have to make a choice on whether you will do things your way, you will follow what your organization tells you to do or you will do it in such a way that will improve your organization eventually. True enough that as a self leader, you will be accountable to the result of whatever action you do, but think about the rewards and fulfillment you will gain from the experience.  It promises a more meaningful and fulfilling career life. Keep in mind that to be a good leader, you should start with yourself.

The One-to-One Context
In One-to-One Context, you will have a direct report as your responsibility. Your task is to cultivate that person’s abilities and see that that person develops and becomes successful in his or her work-related role. Initially, your relationship is that of a student-teacher. As a teacher, you need to establish the six conditions that make up your direct report’s adult learning experience.

• Encourage the need to know.
• Build self-confidence for learning.
• Tap prior experience.
• Increase the readiness to learn.
• Generate a life-centered orientation to learning.
• Sustain a motivation to learn.

After cultivating your direct report’s abilities and making the most of his or her energy levels, he or she will perform outstandingly. That is your reward.

The Team Context
A team composes of three or more people working in a unified manner to accomplish interdependent objectives which cannot be realized without collaboration. Your role as a team leader is to nurture and cultivate the team’s abilities and energies and lead them towards goal accomplishment.  You also need to help them maintain their excellent performance. You need to have the skill to motivate the team and the people in the team, then, eventually let them go to let them prove their own potentials.

The Organizational Context
Organizational Leadership is making sure that the individual and team efforts are aligned to the organization’s goals.  As a leader in an organizational context, you can make values, vision, norms, initiatives, systems, processes and practices that utilize employees and please clients and customers which will eventually lead to maintained good performances.

Many leaders do not succeed because they fail to understand the primary purpose of their organization which is attending to their customers and employees’ needs. They thought that making money is the main focus for their organization’s existence. They fail to see that once the employees are satisfied, the more committed they will be to their work. This will be manifested in giving their customers good services. Then, morale will be boosted and profitability will increase.

Bear in mind that a good organizational leader must know how to answer the organization’s requirements.  Everyone within the organization must know the role they are playing and how it fits the bigger picture.

The Alliance Context
In the Alliance Context, a third entity is formed when different organizations unite to achieve a common goal that will benefit all members of the alliance. The core competencies of each organization will be a leverage to achieve their common goals. In this context, obstacles are greater. The Alliance Leadership Team (ALT) needs to make it clear how decisions, problems and authority issues will be addressed.

 

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