The Four Factors of Effective Leadership

How to read a business book

As I've discussed on my Freak Factor blog, I'm a reading freak. I love to read anything, including packages of sugar and Hardee's Thickburger bags. I like to read so much that I once read a book called How to Read a Book by Mortimer Adler and Charles Van Doren.

That is why I was so pleased to discover a recent post by Seth Godin about how to read a business book. One of the best ways to grow, to develop yourself and improve your leadership, is by reading. Godin's suggestions will help you get more out of what you read and will probably change your perspective on reading as well.

He makes two crucial points. First, books don't change your life. Applying what you've learned changes your life. Action is what matters. Are you doing anything about what you are reading?

Second, it's not about you. The most important part of learning is sharing what you've discovered with someone else. This is exactly what I suggested in the fourth factor of effective leadership, Improvement. Successful leaders are learners but it doesn't stop there. They learn and then teach others.

As Guy Kawasaki says, you need to "eat like a bird and poop like an elephant." Birds are voracious eaters just as we should be voracious readers. Elephants are unparalleled poopers and also enjoy spreading it around. Similarly, we should take what we have learned and spread it around.  

Who's helping you?

The fourth factor of effective leadership is improvement, which includes personal development. One development strategy that I recommend is to find a mentor. Penelope Trunk, author of Brazen Careerist, has some good suggestions about how to find a good mentor.

I've had two mentors in my life. The first was Elliott Anderson, who gave me the "Freak" nickname and found the strengths hidden inside of my weaknesses. The second is Tom Morris, who very recently volunteered to help me with my speaking and writing career.

It is impossible to quantify the value of a good mentor. I've been incredibly blessed by both of these men and definitely recommend that you let Penelope help you discover this life changing experience for yourself.

You get what you are

Penelope Trunk, author of Brazen Careerist, has a good post today about how what we choose is a reflection of ourselves. In jobs and in marriages, our choice of partners can help us learn a lot about who we are.

One of the key quotes is "a ten does not marry a one." In other words, if you think your spouse is really lame, then you are probably lame as well. If you think your co-workers are all idiots, then you need to ask yourself why you chose to work there. If your company is a poor performer, then what does that say about you?

Trunk argues that "you get what you are." So, if you don't like what you have, then maybe you need to consider who you are. This is difficult, but sound, advice.

It also reinforces the concept of Inside-Out from the 4 Factors book. Too many leaders focus their attention on fixing the inadequacies of others, instead of addressing their own failures. Leadership starts with you. If you are surrounded by losers, you need to stop complaining and take a look in the mirror.

* to read more about Penelope, you can check out Career Freak on my Freak Factor blog.

Circling Back

Stosh has another great post about vision, leadership and communication. I encourage you to check it out. Here is a sample.

"Virtually everyone agrees that vision is an essential component of leadership. Call it forward looking, inspirational or vivid – the message is the same. Leaders must concern themselves with what’s next.

In order to accomplish this, leaders have to scout the territory. When pioneers were exploring this country, they had scouts, parties who would go before the rest of the convoy to determine the best way forward and forecast danger when it lay ahead.

That, however, was not the most essential part. The absolutely indispensible action was circling back to inform and brief the rest of the party before riding on again.

Failing to “circle back” causes many leaders to fail."

Have you circled back lately? Are you sharing what you've seen with your team? It is one thing to have a vision and another to communicate it to your people. Effective leaders do both.