1장
Leadership's Transformative Power: More Than Just a Title
Ever found yourself wondering what separates truly exceptional leaders from those who merely hold positions of authority? I witnessed this distinction firsthand when a man named Bob rushed up to me during a break in a leadership seminar, his eyes bright with gratitude. "You saved my career," he declared. After seventeen years in leadership without proper skills, applying the principles from my seminar had transformed not just his professional life but his entire approach to influencing others. This moment crystallized what I've observed throughout decades of leadership development: everything rises and falls on leadership, and your effectiveness will never exceed your leadership ability.
What's fascinating is that leadership isn't an exclusive club for those "born with it." While some people possess natural leadership qualities, research shows that three out of four leadership traits are actually acquired through deliberate development. This is why even "Limited Leaders" with minimal exposure but genuine desire can transform into effective influencers when given the right guidance. Leadership is a learnable skill-not a mystical talent bestowed on a select few at birth.
2장
The Essence of Leadership: Influence, Not Position
Leadership is influence-nothing more, nothing less. This simple definition transforms how we understand the concept. If you think you're leading but no one is following, you're just taking a walk. Leadership isn't about achieving a position but about developing the ability to get followers.
This perspective shift creates two immediate benefits. First, it democratizes leadership-everyone influences someone during their lifetime. Sociologists tell us that even the most introverted person will influence ten thousand others in their lifetime. Second, it clarifies our focus: rather than pursuing titles, we should develop our ability to positively influence others.
The power of influence becomes evident when we reflect on how people and events have shaped our lives. Major historical moments like Pearl Harbor or the Challenger disaster marked entire generations. But equally powerful are the small influences-a childhood mentor, a seventh-grade teacher, or even an affirming note that arrived at just the right moment.
Leadership operates across five distinct levels, each building upon the previous:
Level 1 (Position) relies solely on title-based authority. Leaders at this level depend on rules, regulations, and organizational charts for influence. People follow because they have to, not because they want to.
Level 2 (Permission) emerges when leadership is built on relationships. At this level, people follow because they want to. As leadership expert Fred Smith notes, "Leadership is getting people to work for you when they are not obligated."
Level 3 (Production) is where results materialize. Profits increase, morale rises, turnover drops, and goals are realized. People gather not just to be together but to accomplish something meaningful.
Level 4 (People Development) occurs when leaders focus on developing others. True leadership greatness comes not from personal power but from empowering others. Success without a successor is failure.
Level 5 (Personhood) represents the pinnacle of leadership influence-where respect comes from who you are and what you represent. Few reach this level, achievable only through a lifetime of proven leadership.
As you climb these levels, remember that the journey takes longer at each step, requires greater commitment, but ultimately becomes easier as you build more reasons for people to follow you. The key is maintaining all previous levels while ascending-neglecting relationships while pursuing production will cause your leadership to collapse.
3장
Mastering the Art of Priorities
Have you ever noticed how some leaders accomplish significantly more than others with the same 24 hours? The difference lies in their ability to prioritize effectively. While practical people know how to get what they want and philosophers know what they ought to want, leaders know how to get what they ought to want.
The Pareto Principle reveals that 20 percent of your priorities will yield 80 percent of your production. This means focusing your time, energy, money, and personnel on the top 20 percent of priorities will dramatically increase productivity. This principle applies across numerous domains: 20 percent of your time produces 80 percent of results; 20 percent of people take 80 percent of your time; 20 percent of products generate 80 percent of profits.
Effective leaders organize assignments by both importance and urgency: tackling high importance/high urgency projects first; setting deadlines for high importance/low urgency work; finding efficient ways to handle low importance/high urgency tasks; and either delegating, batch processing, or eliminating low importance/low urgency work. Remember: efficiency keeps you surviving, but effectiveness creates success.
The difference between leaders and followers appears in how they approach time management. Leaders initiate while followers react. Leaders make contact first, spend time planning and anticipating problems, invest time strategically with people, and fill their calendars according to priorities. Followers wait for the phone to ring, live day-to-day reacting to problems, merely spend time with people without strategic purpose, and fill their calendars based on others' requests.
To evaluate your priorities effectively, answer three critical questions: What is required of me that only I can do? What gives me the greatest return for my effort? What brings me the most satisfaction? When these three Rs (Requirements/Return/Reward) align, success follows naturally.
Remember these priority principles: priorities constantly shift and require vigilant attention; most things demanding our attention are ultimately unimportant; choosing between good options is harder than avoiding bad ones; you can't have it all; too many priorities paralyze us; and we often learn too late what really matters-like Senator Paul Tsongas who abandoned his rising political career after a cancer diagnosis, realizing that "nobody on his death bed ever said, 'I wish I had spent more time on my business.'"
4장
Integrity: Leadership's Foundation
In today's world of personal pleasure and shortcuts to success, integrity has become a vanishing commodity. Yet integrity is not what we do but who we are, which determines what we do. It's the navigating system that guides us, establishing priorities and judging what we accept or reject in life's conflicting desires.
Integrity builds trust-the supreme quality of leadership. As President Eisenhower observed, to have followers, a leader must have their confidence. With only 45 percent of managers trusting top leadership in one survey, organizations desperately need credible leadership. As Cavett Roberts said, "If my people understand me, I'll get their attention. If my people trust me, I'll get their action."
Integrity also has high influence value. In a survey of 1,300 senior executives, integrity ranked as the most necessary quality for business success. The story of Karl Marx illustrates this principle-his father's abandonment of Jewish traditions for business gain created such bitterness in his son that it eventually spawned a movement affecting billions of lives.
Leaders with integrity live by higher standards than their followers. As John D. Rockefeller Jr. said, "Every right implies a responsibility; every opportunity, an obligation; every possession, a duty." Too many assert rights without assuming responsibilities.
Remember that image is what people think we are; integrity is what we really are. Those who work harder on image than integrity don't understand when they suddenly "fall." The ancient Chinese built an impressive wall for security but neglected to teach integrity to their gatekeepers, resulting in three invasions. True integrity requires consistency in all relationships, making choices benefiting others over self, and giving credit to those who contribute to your success.
We cannot lead anyone farther than we have been ourselves. There are no shortcuts with integrity-truth will always be exposed. Like quality control, integrity is about the process, not just the product. When the Challenger exploded, America discovered Quality Control had warned NASA the shuttle wasn't ready, but production insisted "the show must go on."
Integrity is a hard-won achievement resulting from self-discipline, inner trust, and relentless honesty in all situations. As Billy Graham said, "Integrity is the glue that holds our way of life together. When wealth is lost, nothing is lost; when health is lost, something is lost; when character is lost, all is lost."
5장
Navigating Change: Leadership's Ultimate Test
Change the leader, change the organization. Everything rises and falls on leadership! Yet leaders resist change as much as followers do, resulting in unchanged organizations. People do what people see.
The first thing that must change is the leader. A Middle-Eastern mystic's journey from wanting to change the world to realizing he needed to change himself illustrates this truth. Howard Hendricks challenges potential leaders to identify specific personal changes they've made recently, stating "effective teaching comes only through a changed person."
Once a leader has personally changed, they must become a change agent. Leaders must understand two requirements: knowing technical aspects of change and understanding the motivational demands needed to implement it. When results fail to materialize, it's usually due to inadequate motivation rather than technical knowledge.
People resist change for multiple reasons. First, changes not self-initiated feel like manipulation-wise leaders involve followers in the process. Second, change disrupts comfortable routines and habits, forcing reevaluation and unlearning. Third, venturing into unknown territory triggers insecurity, making familiar problems more comfortable than new solutions. Fourth, unclear purposes breed resistance, especially when information comes secondhand. Fifth, fear of failure prevents people from taking risks. Sixth, perceived rewards must outweigh the effort required, with followers weighing personal rather than organizational benefits. Seventh, satisfaction with the status quo leads organizations to "choose to die rather than choose to change," as happened with Swiss watchmakers who rejected digital technology. Finally, negative thinking prevents people from embracing change regardless of potential benefits.
When followers dislike their leader, they can't objectively evaluate proposed changes. People view change according to how they view the change agent. One principle I share in leadership conferences is, "You've got to love 'em before you can lead 'em." Genuine love for followers earns their respect, making them more willing to follow through changes.
Before attempting organizational changes, leaders should review key questions: Will this change benefit followers? Is it compatible with organizational purpose? Is it specific and clear? Do the top influencers support it? Can it be tested first? Are resources available? Is it reversible? Is it the next obvious step? Does it offer both short and long-term benefits? Is leadership capable of implementing it? And crucially, is the timing right?
To create a climate for change, leaders must develop trust with people, make personal changes before asking others to change, understand the organization's history, place influencers in leadership positions, check the "change in your pocket" (emotional support), solicit support from influencers before making changes public, develop meeting agendas that assist change, encourage influencers to influence others informally, show people how the change will benefit them, and give people ownership of the change.
Remember: not all change is improvement, but without change, there can be no improvement.
6장
Problem Solving: Leadership's Fast Track
According to F.F. Fournies, people fail to perform optimally for four reasons: not knowing what to do, not knowing how to do it, not knowing why they should, or facing obstacles beyond their control. The first three are leadership responsibilities requiring proper training, job descriptions, tools and vision. The fourth-dealing with problems-is where true leadership emerges. People dislike problems and will hand leadership to anyone willing to solve them or teach others how.
Problems are universal and overwhelming at times, as illustrated by Joe who rushed out of his house after multiple crisis calls only to find his car wouldn't start. When the taxi driver asked where to go, Joe exclaimed, "I don't care where we go, I've got problems everywhere!"
Yet problems give meaning to life. Just as an eagle needs air resistance to fly and a powerboat needs water resistance to move forward, obstacles provide the necessary conditions for success. Without problems, life would lose its creative tension. Mass ignorance gives meaning to education, ill health to medicine, and social disorder to government.
Adversity has been the crucible for greatness throughout history. Many Psalms and Epistles were written in difficulty and prisons. Bunyan wrote Pilgrim's Progress from jail. Florence Nightingale reorganized hospitals while bedridden. Pasteur attacked disease while semi-paralyzed. Washington emerged from Valley Forge, Lincoln from poverty, Roosevelt from paralysis.
There's a vast difference between having a big problem and making a problem big. Many who seek counseling aren't those with the most problems but those most problem-conscious. What truly matters isn't what happens to us but what happens in us. A study of 300 highly successful people revealed that one-fourth had physical handicaps and three-fourths came from poverty or broken homes. These achievers refused to make excuses, turning stumbling blocks into stepping-stones by choosing their attitude toward circumstances they couldn't control.
Fred Smith taught that if you can't do something about a problem, it's not a problem-it's a fact of life. Great leaders recognize problems early through a sequence: sensing it intuitively, asking questions, gathering data, consulting trusted colleagues, defining the problem in writing, evaluating resources, and making decisions.
The problem-solving process involves identifying real issues beneath symptoms, prioritizing problems to tackle them one at a time, and defining each problem clearly. To define problems effectively: ask the right questions, talk to the right people, get the hard facts, and get involved in the process. Then select people to help in the problem-solving process, collect problem causes, collect problem-solving solutions, prioritize and select the "best" solutions, implement the best solution, evaluate the solution, and set up principles or policies to keep problems from recurring.
When helping others solve problems, leaders should guide rather than command, asking questions that help people discover solutions themselves. The goal is for the other person to process the problem, select a solution, develop a game plan, and take ownership of it-creating not dependency but a deeper relationship.
7장
The Leadership Multiplier: Attitude
Attitude is the extra plus that makes the difference in leadership. It's not about position but disposition, as a leader's attitude influences how followers think and feel. Great leaders know the right attitude creates the right atmosphere for the right responses from others.
Though attitude may not be what makes us great leaders, without good ones we'll never reach our full potential. According to the Cos Report, 94% of Fortune 500 executives attribute success more to attitude than any other factor. A study by Robert Half International found that while incompetence ranked first as a reason for firing employees, the next five reasons were all attitude problems. The Carnegie Institute concluded that 15% of success comes from technical training while 85% comes from personality, primarily attitude.
As Norman Vincent Peale discovered in a Hong Kong tattoo shop, "Before tattoo on body, tattoo on mind." Once our minds are "tattooed" with negative thinking, our chances for long-term success diminish. We cannot function in ways we don't truly believe about ourselves.
"The pessimist complains about the wind. The optimist expects it to change. The leader adjusts the sails." Even at seventy years old, my father still worked on maintaining his attitude, saying "My attitude does not run on automatic." The greatest day in our lives is when we take total responsibility for our attitudes-that's when we truly grow up.
Hugh Downs says a happy person isn't one with certain circumstances but with certain attitudes. Viktor Frankl, while in a Nazi concentration camp, demonstrated the ultimate freedom: "The one thing you cannot take away from me is the way I choose to respond to what you do to me." Clara Barton, founder of the American Red Cross, exemplified this attitude by "distinctly remembering forgetting" wrongs done to her.
Leadership is influence-people catch attitudes like colds by proximity. A leader's attitude multiplies in reaction because there are several followers. The four-minute mile illustrates this principle-once Roger Bannister broke it, thirty-seven others did the following year, and hundreds after that. Nothing changed physically; human attitudes did.
Changing attitudes requires deliberate effort and a systematic approach following six stages: identify problem feelings, identify problem behavior, identify problem thinking, identify right thinking, make a public commitment to right thinking, and develop a plan including written definitions, measurement methods, accountability, self-help materials, and association with right-thinking people.
To change attitudes effectively: resolve (commit to change), reframe (shift perspective), reenter (start changing behavior immediately), repeat (develop new habits through consistent practice), and seek renewal (cultivate positive attitudes to replace negative ones).
8장
Developing Your Greatest Asset: People
The leader who only influences others to follow has limitations, but one who influences others to lead has no limitations. Andrew Carnegie noted no man will make a great leader who wants to do it all himself. Guy Ferguson distinguishes between labor (knowing how to do a job), teaching (telling others), management (inspiring better work), and true leadership (doing all three).
Successful people development depends on five key principles: valuing people (attitude), commitment to people (time), integrity with people (character), standards for people (vision), and influence over people (leadership). Effective people developers make the right assumptions about people, ask the right questions about people, and give the right assistance to people.
Everyone wants to feel worthwhile and respond to encouragement. People buy into the leader before they buy into his or her leadership. Most people do not know how to be successful, seeing it as luck rather than planning, as an event rather than a process, or as avoiding failure rather than learning from it. Most people are naturally motivated but often become demotivated by their environment.
Five key motivators drive people: significant contributions (seeing lasting impact from their efforts), goal participation (supporting what they help create), positive dissatisfaction (channeling discontent toward effective change), recognition (being noticed and appreciated for achievements), and clear expectations (knowing exactly what to do and having the authority to do it).
Leaders must avoid behaviors that demotivate others: belittling people (even in jest), manipulating others (which destroys trust), being insensitive (failing to prioritize people and truly listen), and discouraging personal growth (not allowing staff to stretch and develop new skills).
When evaluating potential leaders, ask: Am I building people, or am I building my dream and using people to do it? Do I care enough to confront people when it will make a difference? Am I listening to people with more than my ears? What are the major strengths of this individual? Have I placed a high priority on the job? Have I shown the value the person will receive from this relationship?
Effective leaders provide four essential types of assistance: working out strengths and working on weaknesses, giving themselves to their people, giving ownership, and giving every chance for success. Remember that people development takes time, people skills are essential for success, and leaders must be models that others can follow.
9장
Vision: Leadership's North Star
Robert K. Greenleaf says foresight is the "lead" that leaders possess-once lost, they merely react to events rather than lead. All effective leaders have a vision that becomes the energy behind every effort and pushes through problems. With vision, the leader creates a contagious spirit where others rise alongside them, unity forms, long hours become gladly given, and commitment prevails. Without vision, energy drops, deadlines are missed, personal agendas emerge, production falls, and people scatter.
People fall into four vision categories: those who never see it (wanderers); those who see it but never pursue it independently (followers); those who see it and pursue it (achievers); and those who see it, pursue it, and help others see it (leaders). What you see is what you can be-this relates to your potential. The vision comes first, then the leader implements it.
To develop a personal vision, you must follow a process of reflection and discovery:
Look within you: What do you feel? Theodore Hesburgh said, "The very essence of leadership is that you have a vision you can articulate clearly on every occasion." Great visions begin as an "inside job," becoming the blueprints of ultimate achievements.
Look behind you: What have you learned? Experience teaches that people buy into the leader before the vision. I've learned that a vision's credibility depends on the leader, its acceptance on timing, its value on the energy and direction it provides, its evaluation on people's commitment level, and its success on ownership by both leader and followers.
Look around you: What is happening to others? Like a cymbal player who must know precisely when to play, a good idea becomes great when people are ready. Leaders who run too far ahead lose their power to influence.
Look ahead of you: What is the big picture? This question separates leaders from managers. Leaders focus on the organization's basic purpose-why it exists and what it should achieve-rather than being preoccupied with operational details.
Look above you: What does God expect of you? Great leaders sense a "higher calling" beyond themselves. My definition of success is knowing God and His desires for me, growing to my maximum potential, and sowing seeds that benefit others.
Look beside you: What resources are available to you? A vision should exceed the capabilities of its visionary, requiring many people bringing various resources. Dreams, when presented properly, are contagious.
Successful leaders see on three levels: Level 1 (Perception)-seeing what is now with eyes of reality; Level 2 (Probability)-seeing what will be with eyes of discernment; Level 3 (Possibility)-seeing what can be with eyes of vision. While futurists live only on Level 3, forecasters on Level 2, and followers on Level 1, true leaders live on Level 3, lead on Level 2, and listen on Level 1.
10장
Self-Discipline: Leadership's Price Tag
Self-discipline is the foundation of leadership-the ability to grip and take control of one's life. Great leaders understand their primary responsibility is personal growth, as they can never take others further than they've gone themselves. Shortcuts never pay off, for the builder must grow along with what they build.
True leadership begins with reigning over oneself through personal discipline. Most potential leaders fail because of inner issues, not outer ones. As D.L. Moody noted when asked who gave him the most trouble: "I've had more trouble with D.L. Moody than any man alive." The wisest leaders recognize that conquering themselves is more important than conquering the world.
The most valuable result of education is learning to do what needs to be done when it should be done, regardless of preference. Those who develop discipline early gain advantage over others. Hard work is simply the accumulation of easy things you didn't do when you should have.
What you become tomorrow starts with small disciplines today. The recommended approach: list five undisciplined areas, prioritize them, tackle one at a time using resources and accountability partners, spend fifteen minutes each morning focusing on improvement, check progress midday and evening, work sixty days on each area before moving to the next, and celebrate successes.
Organization gives leaders special power-clear priorities, purposeful movement, and credibility. Christopher Robin defined it perfectly: "Organizing is what you do before you do something, so that when you do it, it's not all mixed up." Set your priorities, place them in your calendar, allow time for the unexpected, do projects one at a time, organize your work space, work according to your temperament, use driving time for light work and growth, develop systems that work for you, plan for minutes between meetings, and focus on results rather than activity.
Winston Churchill said, "The price of greatness is responsibility." To increase your ability to take responsibility: be responsible for who you are, be responsible for what you do, be responsible for what you have received, and be responsible for those you lead.
Plato said, "The unexamined life is not worth living." Success and power often crowd accountability out of a leader's life. Human nature cannot handle unchecked power, and leaders can easily be separated from their people.
In "Profiles of Leadership," America's top leaders unanimously identified integrity as the most important quality for success. People with integrity have their words and deeds match-they are whole, not divided or pretending. I demonstrate integrity by living what I teach, doing what I say, being honest with others, putting others' interests ahead of mine, and being transparent and vulnerable.
People can either play now and pay later, or pay now and play later. Regardless of choice, life will demand payment. Character-driven people do right then feel good, make principle-based decisions, let action control attitude, create momentum, focus on responsibilities, persist through problems, maintain steadiness, and lead rather than follow.
11장
Staff Development: Leadership's Ultimate Legacy
The growth and development of people is leadership's highest calling. At forty, I realized I couldn't work any harder-my future growth would depend on working through others. This led to my most important leadership lesson: those closest to the leader determine that leader's success level. When team members increase their potential while working together, the results multiply exponentially.
Winning teams have great leaders, pick good people, play to win, make other team members more successful, and keep improving. Great leaders persuade rather than compel, understanding what motivates people. Excellent leaders create environments where they believe in their team, boosting self-esteem.
As H. Ross Perot said, "Eagles don't flock. You have to find them one at a time." When selecting staff, I look for twenty key qualities including positive attitude, high energy, integrity, responsibility, leadership ability, people skills, resilience, creativity, flexibility, and intuition. I also need to know what the job requires-whether it needs an up-front person or behind-the-scenes, a generalist or specialist, a producer or maintainer.
The difference between playing to win and playing not to lose is the difference between success and mediocrity. I give new staff members a plaque reading "I don't have to survive" to encourage risk-taking and bold decision-making. People who play it safe miss opportunities and rarely make progress-you can't steal second base with your foot on first!
On a winning team, each player becomes better than they would be alone. As Vince Lombardi said, players must know fundamentals, maintain discipline, and care for one another-"Most people call it team spirit." To build better teams: know each player's personal agenda (their key motivation), map out a team mission with symbols and slogans, define each player's role clearly, create a group identity through shared history and memories, use "we" and "our" liberally, and communicate with everyone.
Whenever an organization stops improving, it's finished. Championship teams rarely repeat because they're tempted to keep everything the same, but success requires continued improvement. As a leader, your first objective is developing people, not dismissing them. Day-to-day coaching with specific objectives and frequent progress reviews works better than annual appraisals.
This world needs leaders who use their influence wisely, take more blame and less credit, lead themselves before leading others, and search for the best answers rather than familiar ones. We need leaders who add value to people and organizations, work for others' benefit rather than personal gain, handle themselves with their heads while handling others with their hearts. True leaders know the way, go the way, and show the way. The growth and development of people is leadership's highest calling.
