The Work of Leaders

The culmination of six years of research and development, The Work of Leaders presents a simple structure that neatly captures the complexity of contemporary leadership. The goal of this book is to make this wealth of leadership insight accessible to anyone who wants better results as a leader. The work that leaders do the work that really matters is boiled down to three areas: crafting a vision, building alignment, and championing execution. Vision, Alignment, and Execution are magic words. They strike a chord that turns the goal of leadership into tangible steps. With passion and insight, the authors draw from the best-known leadership authorities, while leveraging their unparalleled access to data from thousands of leaders and followers and their connections to hundreds of organizational development consultants. Interwoven with humor and drawing from real-world scenarios, The Work of Leaders distills leadership best practices into a simple, compelling process that helps leaders at all levels get immediate results.

The culmination of six years of research and development, The Work of Leaders presents a simple structure that neatly captures the complexity of contemporary leadership. The goal of this book is to make this wealth of leadership insight accessible to anyone who wants better results as a leader.The work that leaders do--the work that really matters--is boiled down to three areas: crafting a vision, building alignment, and championing execution. Vision, Alignment, and Execution are "magic words." They strike a chord that turns the goal of leadership into tangible steps.With passion and insight, the authors draw from the best-known leadership authorities, while leveraging their unparalleled access to data from thousands of leaders and followers and their connections to hundreds of organizational development consultants. Interwoven with humor and drawing from real-world scenarios, The Work of Leaders distills leadership best practices into a simple, compelling process that helps leaders at all levels get immediate results.

Acknowledgments ixForeword by Dr. Bernard W. Franklin xiiiIntroduction xvii1 Welcome to the Work of Leaders 1Vision 112 Introduction to Crafting a Vision 133 Crafting a Vision Through Exploration 234 Crafting a Vision Through Boldness 335 Crafting a Vision Through Testing Assumptions 436 Summary of Crafting a Vision 53Alignment 597 Introduction to Building Alignment 618 Building Alignment Through Clarity 699 Building Alignment Through Dialogue 7910 Building Alignment Through Inspiration 8911 Summary of Building Alignment 99Execution 10512 Introduction to Championing Execution 10713 Championing Execution Through Momentum 11314 Championing Execution Through Structure 12515 Championing Execution Through Feedback 13516 Summary of Championing Execution 147Afterword: Using VAE in Your Organization 153Appendix A: The Development of the Work of Leaders VAE Model 161Appendix B: Feedback Outtakes 189References 193Resources 197About Inscape Publishing 201About the Authors 203Index 207