As I contemplate how to best describe this book, a flood of thoughts come to my mind. Some of the thoughts are clichés and others seem to not this book justice. I guess to start off with, this book is an easy read. There are no complex concepts, deep psychological ideas, or Rube Goldberg machinations of cascading events being prescribed. The ideas, the 10 truths described are simple…but not easy.
The authors go through 10 unique, and interwoven truths about leadership. Each of these truths are valuable and necessary in leadership. The very 1st truth is, “You Make a Difference”. As a leader, we have to believe this truth…100%. There are those around us who look to us for guidance, direction and see us as a model of how to lead successfully.
The 1st truth is directly related to the 2nd truth, “Credibility is the Foundation of Leadership”. If others are going to follow our lead, we need to have a level of understanding of the topics about which we speak. We also need to know those with whom we surround ourselves and lean on them to lead in their area of expertise. A credible leader knows their strengths and weaknesses and has pride in the strengths of those around them. They seek to put others in a position to succeed and thrive.
All of this ties into the 8th truth which is, “You Either Lead by Example or You Don’t Lead at all.” We often do not realize this, but when we are in a position of leadership, others are watching. Are we trusting others to succeed in their strengths? Our example of placing trust in them will often be reciprocated and they will trust us when we ask others to do hard things.
This write-up just notes 3 of the 10 truths in the book. I will be keeping this book on my leadership bookshelf for easy and regular reference. The examples, descriptions, and stories are relatable. In a world that is adjusting to a lot more of a remote workforce, having these 10 truths at my fingertips is extremely helpful.