A colleague recently asked about my go-to leadership book or resource... I have too many favourites to choose just one, but if I had to limit my choices, I'd say Stephen Covey's classic?7 Habits of Highly Effective People?is a must-read for any leader looking to understand and refine essential leadership qualities:
- Be proactive: Take responsibility for your thoughts, words, and actions, and focus on what you can control.
- Begin with the end in mind: Have a clear vision of your goals and align your actions with them.
- Put first things first: Prioritize the most important and urgent tasks and avoid distractions.
- Think win-win: Seek mutually beneficial solutions and relationships with others.
- Seek first to understand then to be understood: Listen empathetically and communicate effectively.
- Synergize: Combine the strengths of different people and perspectives to achieve more than individually.
- Sharpen the saw: Renew yourself physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.
A close second would be Brene Brown's?Dare to Lead: Dare to Lead Hub - Brené Brown (brenebrown.com)
- Vulnerability as a strength: Embracing vulnerability is crucial for authentic leadership. Leaders who are willing to show vulnerability build trust and connection with their teams.
- Courageous conversations: Leaders must engage in tough and uncomfortable conversations to address conflicts and foster a culture of open communication.
- Trust-building: Trust is the foundation of strong leadership. Leaders need to show reliability, transparency, and accountability to gain the trust of their team members.
- Empathy and compassion: Understanding and empathizing with the experiences of others create a more inclusive and supportive work environment.
- Resilience: Effective leaders must learn to bounce back from setbacks and failures, embracing resilience as a critical aspect of leadership.
- Setting boundaries: Leaders need to set clear boundaries to prevent burnout and maintain their own well-being.?
And lastly, Amy Edmonson's?The Fearless Organisation,?how leaders and organisations can cultivate psychological safety to create a culture of trust, collaboration, innovation and high performance. Building a psychologically safe workplace | Amy Edmondson | TEDxHGSE - YouTube
As for resources, it's hard to go past Atlassian's 'Playbook' a wealth of free resources for leaders and teams:?Atlassian Team Playbook - Build strong teams with Plays
And Google's??re:Work (rework.withgoogle.com)?with research-based guides on goal setting, hiring, innovation, learning & development, managers, people analytics, teams and un-biasing.
What would you add to the list?
