Leadership legend and bestselling author Ken Blanchard and trust expert and thought leader Randy Conley present this carefully curated collection of fifty-two essential leadership principles that are easy to implement and practice.
Effective leadership is an influence process where leaders implement everyday, commonsense approaches that help people and organizations thrive. Yet somehow, many of these fundamental principles are still missing from most workplaces. In Simple Truths of Leadership, legendary servant leadership expert Ken Blanchard, whose books have sold millions of copies worldwide, and his colleague Randy Conley, known and recognized for his many years of thought leadership and expertise in the field of trust, share fifty-two Simple Truths about leadership that will help leaders everywhere make commonsense leadership common practice.
Readers will discover profound, memorable, and in some cases counterintuitive leadership wisdom such as
• Who should make the first move to extend trust
• What role a successful apology plays in building trust
• When to use different strokes (leadership styles) for different folks—and for the same folks
• Where the most important part of leadership happens
• How to create autonomy through boundaries
• Why the key to developing people is catching them doing something right
A fun, easy read that will make a positive difference in leadership and organizational success, Simple Truths of Leadership will show readers how to incorporate simple but essential practices into their leadership style, build trust through servant leadership, and enhance their own lives and the lives of everyone around them.
Table of Contents
- Cover
- Title Page
- Copyright Page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Introduction: Simple Truths
- Part One: Servant Leadership
- The Essence of Servant Leadership
- 1. Servant leadership is the best way to achieve both great results and great relationships.
- 2. Every great organization has a compelling vision.
- 3. Servant leaders turn the traditional pyramid upside down.
- Secrets of the One Minute Manager
- 4. All good performance starts with clear goals.
- 5. The key to developing people is to catch them doing something right.
- 6. Praise progress!
- 7. When people are off track, don’t reprimand them—redirect them.
- 8. The best minute servant leaders spend is the one they invest in people.
- A Situational Approach to Servant Leadership
- 9. Effective servant leaders realize they have to use different strokes for different folks.
- 10. Effective servant leaders don’t just use different strokes for different folks, they also use different strokes for the same folks.
- Create a Motivating Environment
- 11. Profit is the applause you get for creating a motivating environment for your people so they will take good care of your customers.
- 12. Create autonomy through boundaries.
- 13. You get from people what you expect.
- 14. The best use of power is in service to others.
- 15. Never assume you know what motivates a person.
- Characteristics of Servant Leaders
- 16. People with humility don’t think less of themselves, they just think of themselves less.
- 17. It’s okay to toot your own horn.
- 18. Don’t work harder; work smarter.
- 19. “No one of us is as smart as all of us.”—Eunice Parisi-Carew and Don Carew
- 20. Love is the answer. What is the question?
- What Servant Leaders Need to Know
- 21. Servant leaders don’t command people to obey; they invite people to follow.
- 22. People who plan the battle rarely battle the plan.
- 23. Servant leaders love feedback.
- 24. People who produce good results feel good about themselves.
- 25. “It’s not about you.”—Rick Warren
- 26. Great leaders SERVE.
- Part Two: Building Trust
- Trust in Leadership
- 27. Leadership begins with trust.
- 28. Building trust is a skill that can be learned and developed.
- 29. “Self-trust is the first secret of success.”—Ralph Waldo Emerson
- 30. Someone must make the first move to extend trust. Leaders go first.
- 31. “People admire your strengths, but they respect your honesty regarding your vulnerability.”—Colleen Barrett
- Trust in Relationships
- 32. There’s no trust without us.
- 33. Fear is the enemy of trust.
- 34. A relationship with no trust is like a cell phone with no service or internet—all you can do is play games.
- 35. People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.
- 36. “People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”—Maya Angelou
- Characteristics of Trusted Leaders
- 37. “Your actions speak so loudly I cannot hear what you are saying.”—Anonymous
- 38. Tell the truth. Always. It’s that simple.
- 39. Don’t ever make a promise you can’t keep.
- 40. “There’s nothing so unequal as the equal treatment of unequals.”—Anonymous
- 41. #Trust is always trending. Doing the right thing never goes out of style.
- 42. True servant leaders admit their mistakes.
- 43. Since we were given two ears and one mouth, we should listen more than we speak.
- Trust and Control
- 44. The most important part of leadership is what happens when you’re not there.
- 45. The opposite of trust is not distrust—it’s control.
- 46. People don’t resist change; they resist being controlled.
- 47. People without accurate information cannot act responsibly, but people with accurate information are compelled to act responsibly.
- Restoring Broken Trust
- 48. Building trust is a journey, not a destination.
- 49. A successful apology is essential in rebuilding trust.
- 50. Apologizing is not necessarily an admission of guilt, but it is an admission of responsibility.
- 51. Choosing not to forgive someone is like taking poison and waiting for the other person to die.
- 52. Forgiveness is letting go of all hope for a better past.
- Making Common Sense Common Practice in Your Leadership and Life
- Simple Truths of Leadership Discussion Guide
- Works Cited
- Acknowledgments
- Index
- Services Available
- Join Us Online
- About the Authors