Publisher's Synopsis
Everyone has their own way of leading and managing. Describing how you do it makes you more effective. This book helps you clarify and write it. This is important. The reason; you and all the leaders and managers you know, want to be better and have your contributions be more impactful. Just showing up and dealing with everything as it comes at you doesn't work long-term. We'll take you through a process, with the premise, leading and managing needs defining, documenting, clarifying, and ongoing refining. You must be deliberate with delineated concepts and principles guiding how you and others lead and manage with intentionality. Therefore, you must create your own How You Lead and Manage document. A special web page¹ (no fee), along with this book, will guide you in a simple, step-by-step process at your own pace. Start with writing a sentence or two in the sections provided. It grows to a few pages as you go. You'll continue refining and evolving it. Your organization's results will improve significantly. Why? Writing your how brings needed clarity. Others will understand and engage with you more effectively to (TM) it. You will establish a more defined leading and managing system in which your organization will thrive. Growth and innovation will be easier. You'll be more adaptable. You'll also apply new learnings, rather than just personally enjoying their boost of short-term motivation. The environment created will be vibrant and rewarding. You and others will flourish. The Challenge What is your answer to the following question? How do you lead and manage? Very few leaders and managers have been asked this question. So, if you don't immediately have a clear reply, don't fret. Very few of your peers have a compact and clear answer. The challenge: create your answer. The purpose of this book is twofold: (1)Explain and illustrate why it's necessary to have a ready answer. (2)Guide you to create your own clear answer. Having a ready answer is necessary for two reasons: (1)Your clear answer makes it easier for others to engage correctly with your leading and managing beliefs and style. (2)Once you have it, it's easier to refine it in an ongoing basis. The following is assumed about those reading this book: (1)You look for ways to improve. (2)You know it takes small steps to make leaps. (3)You enjoy learning. (4)You learn faster by doing. This book guides you in a process to create your clear and compact expression of how you lead and manage. It also encourages you to involve others in your process and journey to continue evolving and refining. Expressing your how clearly, must include, the way you speak it, write it, and execute it. This is a foundation for scalable leadership. Scaling means increasing your capabilities and capacities as you and your role change. Special note: In this book we present leading and managing together often. They are different, but individuals in leadership and management roles perform both leading and managing activities in an intertwined way. It's almost impossible to do one without including the other. Leading is most simply defined as a focus on the future to ensure the organization is doing the right things. Managing is most simply defined as a focus on the present to ensure individuals are doing things right. The overall objective is to create an environment in which the talented individuals in your organization can collaborate, contribute, and flourish together. More about the specifics of an environment are coming in a moment. Your way of leading and managing has four distinct dimensions: (1)Purpose - Includes both your why and what you expect to accomplish. (2)Clarity - May be assessed by how well those around you understand all you think, say, and do. (3)Framework - The structure within which you define, clarify, refine, and build your system. (4)Environment - The features within your sphere that describe what it's like to live in your system.
