Book Summary Preview : The Truth About Being a Leader

The Big Idea

In this book, Dr. Karen Otazo reveals 52 often unspoken “truths” designed to let you in on the profound secrets of successful leaders which are easy to put into action.

Part 1. The truth about assuming a leadership position

Truth 1: More-responsible roles require more mental “bandwidth”
To lead effectively, you need to be able to handle many areas simultaneously. The many balls you are juggling mean that the greater demands of a new position can expose areas in which your experience may be lacking.

The 7 areas which often require constant attention:

• Your personal work habits
• Your personal mood and stress management
• Your leadership infrastructure and systems
• Your vision and strategy
• Your relationship with your leadership team members
• Your relationship with your peers and colleagues
• Your relationship with your boss

Truth 2: Inheriting an assistant requires reeducation
Your relationship with your assistant is important. Developing that relationship as early as possible increases the effectiveness and efficiency of your working together. Establish a good relationship depending on your style, his or her style, and the situation.

Truth 3: Staffing your leadership office: Your assistant plays a vital role
Your assistant serves as an advertisement for who you are in your organization. When interviewing applicants, you should:

• Ask them to talk about what they did in every job they had since school, or at least in the last two to four positions.
• Ask what they thought of previous bosses’ strengths and weaknesses.
• Ask about hypothetical situations.
• Acknowledge expectations.

Truth 4: The gaps in your work habits show when you move up
The higher you go on the organizational chart, the more complicated things get. If you don’t know how to organize yourself, the complexity of your new environment will overwhelm you.

You should:

• Keep up with scheduling.
• Delegate using quality standards and due dates.
• Follow up on delegation and commitments.
• Make decision-making clear.
• Follow the money.
• Ensure fairness in all you say and do.
• Let go of being one of the guys.

Truth 5: A resource-based view of your organization goes beyond the numbers
Intangible resources such as customers, learning, staff, innovation, capacity, inventory control and morale can make or break your company’s success. Think of each resource as a bathtub with two valves-- one bringing in the elements of that resource and one draining them. Your job is to ensure you have enough of the right kind of resources where you need them.

Want to read the rest of this summary? click here >>