Reading List

The message at Multipliers’ core is how and why some leaders create genius around them (Multipliers) while others drain intelligence and capacity from organizations (Diminishers).

In today’s economy, companies have to accomplish more with fewer resources, so it’s critical for leaders and managers to get the most from the talent on hand. Energy is spent figuring out how to leverage existing resources, unleash their potential, get greater productivity, and multiply the intelligence of the organization.

Wiseman calls this the rule of multiplication. Leaders who are Multipliers stand out because they get more simply by tapping into more of people’s intelligence and capability. Instead of being overworked and under-utilized, employees thrive in this environment, and the organization outperforms its competitors.

Multipliers uses stories and examples to contrast Multipliers and Diminishers and their impact on people and organizations. It also describes Accidental Diminishers – managers who don’t realize they are stifling their teams. The authors lay out strategies for learning how to think and operate like a Multiplier, and show why it matters. The authors outline a 30-day challenge help accelerate becoming a Multiplier.

Find out more – and take the challenge for yourself.

I highly recommend this book.

I found this book inspiring and recommend it as a must read for every woman. Sheryl Sandberg draws from her own experiences and observations to explore why there aren’t more women in corporate leadership positions – and what can be done to change that. She describes how women inadvertently limit themselves by pulling back when they should be leaning in.

Sandberg says that staying quiet and fitting in may have worked for the first generations of women in corporate America, but this strategy is not paying off for women as a group. She encourages women to take a seat at the table, speak up, take risks, challenge themselves, and hold their own against the men. She is annoyed when media refer to her as the female COO of Facebook. She asks would they refer to a man as the male COO of Facebook?

Women have come a long way in the workplace, but gender bias still exists. Some of this is coming from the women themselves. Sandberg encourages women to make the life they want for themselves, and not to feel guilty about the choices they make to balance work and family. She makes it clear that balance doesn’t mean being all things to all people – the impossible quest to be the perfect wife, mother, and employee.

The book is filled with humor and stories from various aspects of her work and personal life. One story relates a question and answer session held after one of her speeches. She told the group she had time for only 2 more questions. After the 2nd question, all the women put their hands down. There were still many hands in the air, so she decided to answer a few more questions. Only afterwards did she realize what had happened. The women had ‘followed the rules’ and put down their hands, while the men pressed on – and got their questions answered.

I recently read Resilience: Why Things Bounce Back by Andrew Zolli & Ann Marie Healy.

The authors take a look at why some systems, people and communities fall apart in the face of disruption, and ultimately how they can learn to bounce back. They define resilience as “the capacity of a system, enterprise or a person to maintain its core purpose and integrity in the face of dramatically changed circumstances.”

The book presents a philosophical and interesting look at personal resilience, as well as resilience in communities and systems such as cultures, corporations, the military, and even our own genetics.

I enjoyed reading a remarkable story about a collaborative response to the earthquake in Haiti. Volunteers all over the world worked together to monitor social media to map the disaster and develop a digital disaster response system. They organized radio broadcasts to inform Haitians of a special text message number. Victims needing food, water or medical attention could send texts to this number for help. Over 100,000 texts were received, translated, mapped, and connected to the emergency first responders. This was a huge, immediate collaborative effort, using and adapting existing digital technology in new ways in response to a new situation.

Not a fast read, but a thought provoking change from the ordinary.

The 4 Disciplines of Execution by Chris McChesney, Sean Covey, and Jim Huling.

The 4 Disciplines of Execution are rules for translating strategy into action at any level of the organization.  What I liked about the book is that it incorporates principles of focusing on what’s most important, using leverage, 80-20, commitment and follow-up.  The authors promote narrowing a company’s focus to a few Wildly Important Goals at a time, and then applying a disciplined process of execution.   

One really interesting concept is that of setting leading measures to reach the goal.  We tend to measure what has happened in the past, instead of what we need to do in order to make something happen.  Leading measures define small outcomes and behaviours that you want to team to perform. These are measurable, within the team’s control, and predictive of success in reaching the goal. 

As the name suggests, these results can be measured objectively and posted so that the members of the team can see how well they are doing in moving toward the results. 

Take a look for yourself.  I found this book an interesting read. 

I just finished reading Fierce Leadership by Susan Scott, author of the bestselling Fierce Conversations. My team tells me I’ve been talking about this book a lot, so I thought I would share my discovery.

With a direct, down to earth writing style, Scott takes a fresh look at six common best practices that she argues no longer work: anonymous feedback, hiring for intelligence, holding people accountable, employee engagement programs, customer centricity and legislated optimism. At first glance these seem counter-intuitive but Susan deftly makes a case for leaving the old ways behind in favor of a more honest and engaged leadership style.

She describes how to spot the tells that signal a need for change, and presents alternative “fierce” practices that provide better results. While reading, I was inspired to think about the way that I lead, and I highly recommend this book  for anyone wishing to improve their effectiveness as a leader.