Leadership Impact

From the Introduction:
“Leadership is not just about skills and knowledge; it is also about intuition.  Good leaders act, but they also take time for reflection.
This book is for people who seek to build their leadership capabilities and who have the courage to check their assumptions, learn more about themselves, and put their insights into action.  The best leaders know themselves, and they know the people with whom they work.  Although pressured like everyone else by too many demands and too little time, the most effective leaders know how to manage themselves as well as lead others.”

From the Conclusion, The Ten Laws of Leadership:

1. Do the Right Thing – Knowing right and doing right are not the same things.  Leadership takes both thought and courage.
2. There Is No Right Way -- As a manager, you need to anticipate and understand side effects and be prepared to deal with them. 
3. Leadership Is an Action, Not a Title – You gain legitimacy by what you do, not by the title on your name badge.  If you want to make an impact as a leader, your actions must speak as loudly as your words.
4. Ready … Aim … Fire – When you combine vision and action, you can achieve the greatest results and derive the greatest satisfaction from your work. 
5. If You Can’t Measure It, You Can’t Improve It -- How can you get better if you cannot measure results, identify mistakes, make adjustments, and measure again?  Not measuring results is like playing a game without knowing how the score is kept.
6. If You and I Are Always in Agreement, One of Us Is Not Necessary – Too much agreement can be as harmful to effective teamwork as too little.  If you watch the work of a good team, you will see different members call on their strengths to contribute to team process.
7. If You Are Coasting, You Are Going Downhill – … You need to stay on top of your game, or you will lose ground quickly, even if it is not obvious at first.  For a true success, you must create a compelling vision for yourself and your followers that will spur you to overcome all obstacles.
8. One-Dimensional Thinking Is Always Superficial – A 2 x 2 table is a simple tool you can use to organize different perspectives and help make problems or choices clearer.
9. If Everyone Is Doing It, Either It Is the Wrong Thing, Or It Is Too Late --  … When you travel in a group, you arrive at the same destination at the same time as everyone else.  The essence of strategy is not sameness but differentiation.  Buy low and sell high.
10. Stop and Smell the Roses – … You need to know when to slow down, to stop, to recover --  and how to help those who report to you to do likewise.