I
came across an interesting book from Nelson Books, Fairness Is Overrated: And
51 Other Leadership Principles to Revolutionize Your Workplace, by Tim Stevens,
a team leader at an executive search firm specializing in helping churches and
ministries find great leaders.
The
book launched January 6 and is sure to get some buzz just for its catchy
title. The author explains why a resume
is worthless, how to guard against career-ending mistakes, why Facebook and
Twitter should be used at work, and why it’s messy to work with friends.
Chapters
include headings that include:
·
Live
a life with margins
·
Get
naked
·
Find
leaders, not doers
·
Teams
trump personality
·
The
pain of growth
·
The
five stages of failure
One
of my favorite chapters is one about asking questions. He says: “A person who doesn’t ask questions
comes off as proud and untouchable.
There is an air of superiority that emanates from the know-it-all. He or she may not know it, but others don’t
enjoy being around someone who has all the answers.”
I
certainly identify with one who always inquires about something. There is always something to be learned, and
knowledge invites more knowledge – and more questions.
Tim
leaves us with dozens of nuggets of leadership nuggets, including these:
“Above
all, leadership requires humility.
People will follow a humble leader anywhere.”
“Leadership
is not an exact science. If you do the
same thing twice, it can be exactly right in one instance and the absolute
wrong action in the next situation.”
“Great
leaders balance the skills of believing the best in their people, courageously
having course-correcting conversations, and spotting the next great team
member.”
“Trying
to be fair often produces a culture of comparison and jealousy. The best leaders know that fairness is
overrated.”
“There
are four types of leadership: leading in (self-leadership), leading up (your
boss), leading out (your peers), and leading down (those who report to
you). Every person, whether you are in
the corner office or a cube farm, has responsibility for the first three.”
“That
is why I want to build guardrails into my life; Mark Beeson, my good friend,
calls them “rumble strips.” Those are
the bumpy grooves on the shoulder of a road that keep you from going into the
ditch. Without rumble strips, you could
be in the ditch before you know it.
No
one is going to put rumble strips in your life for you. That is up to you. Your rumble strips may not be the same as
mine, and mine may not be the same as yours.
But everyone needs rumble strips.
It all begins with self-leadership; before we talk about leading a
church or a business, we must talk about being a leader worth following.”
2015 Book PR &
Marketing Toolkit: All New
Brian Feinblum’s views,
opinions, and ideas expressed in this blog are his alone and not that of his
employer. You can follow him
on Twitter @theprexpert and email him at brianfeinblum@gmail.com. He feels
more important when discussed in the third-person. This is copyrighted by
BookMarketingBuzzBlog © 2015
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.