Ordinary Leader

Randy Grieser

Description

An ordinary leader is someone who leads a small organization or team that is doing great things. They manage the majority of the world's workforce, but they don't lead large corporations or big government agencies. Ordinary leaders are rarely written about in books or quoted in magazines. They are, however, important. Maybe not globally, but in their own realm of influence, their leadership makes a difference. The term "ordinary" is also used to highlight the belief that no one ever arrives as a leader. In fact, if someone thinks of themselves as extraordinary, they will not be a very effective leader. Author Randy Grieser presents 10 key insights for building and leading a thriving organization. These are the principles he identifies as instrumental to success as a leader. Writing for leaders everywhere, he inspires, motivates, and explains how to make each insight a reality in your organization. Become a more passionate, productive, and visionary leader by exploring and embracing these 10 insights:Motivation and Employee Engagement: Organizations flourish when employees go beyond what is expected of them. Passion: A passionate, inspired workforce begins with the leader. Vision: Visionary leaders energize and inspire people to work towards a future goal. Self-Awareness: Knowing your strengths and weaknesses is vital for leading any organization. Talent and Team Selection: The right employees must, first and foremost, fit the workplace culture. Organizational Health: Employees are most engaged when leaders are committed to the emotional well-being of everyone. Productivity: Focusing on how and what things get done increases efficiency. Creativity and Innovation: Building processes for innovation puts creativity to work. Delegation: As you free up your time, you will also increase employee engagement. Self-Improvement: Personal development makes all the other principles easier to achieve. Also included are the perspectives of 10 ordinary leaders from a range of professions, survey feedback from over 1,700 leaders and employees, and a resource section that provides detailed guidance and examples for putting these ideas into action.

Informations

• Publié par: ACHIEVE Publishing
• Date de parution: 17 janvier 2017
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781988617015
• Langue: English

Extrait

Become a more passionate, productive, and visionary leader by exploring and embracing these 10 insights:
Motivation and Employee Engagement: Organizations flourish when employees go beyond what is expected of them.
Passion: A passionate, inspired workforce begins with the leader.
Vision: Visionary leaders energize and inspire people to work towards a future goal.
Self-Awareness: Knowing your strengths and weaknesses is vital for leading any organization.
Talent and Team Selection: The right employees must, first and foremost, fit the workplace culture.
Organizational Health: Employees are most engaged when leaders are committed to the emotional well-being of everyone.
Productivity: Focusing on what and how things get done increases efficiency.
Creativity and Innovation: Building processes for innovation puts creativity to work.
Delegation: As you free up your time, you will also increase employee engagement.
Self-Improvement: Personal development makes all the other principles easier to achieve.
Also included are the perspectives of 10 ordinary leaders from a range of professions, survey feedback from over 1,700 leaders and employees, and a resource section that provides detailed guidance and examples for putting these ideas into action.

Copyright 2017 by Randy Grieser. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any manner without written permission.
Published by ACHIEVE Publishing
62 Sherbrook Street, Winnipeg, Manitoba R3C 2B3
www.achievecentre.com

Bulk discounts available. For details contact:
ACHIEVE Publishing at 1-877-270-9776 or [e-mail]
This book is typeset in Minion Pro and Brandon Grotesque.
Printed with vegetable-based inks on 100% PCW paper.
ISBN: 978-1-988617-00-8
ISBN: 978-1-988617-01-5 (ebook)
Printed and bound in Canada
First edition, first printing
Book design by Ninth and May Design Co.
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Disclaimer: The publisher and author disclaim any implied warranties for a particular purpose. The advice and strategies contained in this book may not be suitable for your situation. Readers should also be aware that URLs offered as citations and/or sources for further information may have changed or disappeared after the publication date. Furthermore, the author or publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for third-party websites or their content.
For Heidi, my partner in life,
and for Ben and Ana,
because why starts with family.
CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION
Ordinary but not average
Who are ordinary leaders?
The extraordinary leader myth
Insights and guiding principles
Origins of The Ordinary Leader
My story
The making of a leader
The identity of a leader
Leadership survey results
What lies ahead
MOTIVATION AND EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT
What matters most
Motivation 101
Progress is my motivation
Sustained motivation
Disciplined and continual effort
A is for attitude
Employee motivation and engagement
I was just thinking
The disengaged
Assessing engagement
The number one culprit
Characteristics of engagement
Autonomy, mastery, and purpose
What about money?
Financial bonuses
Finding meaning in the mundane
Talent motivates talent
Engagement as viewed by employees
PASSION
A vocation of passion
Why passion matters
Passion is rooted in purpose
Start with why
Building passion in employees
Passion for a positive work environment
Warren Buffett and passion
It s finally Friday
Life, not work-life
The problem with unbalanced passion
Glimpses of passion
VISION
The future
Visionary leaders
Seeing things early
Visionary leaders take risks
Seeing things that impact your future
Changing visions
Communicate your vision
Making vision a reality
Using strategy to achieve vision
Strategy in action
Our vision
Be a visionary leader
SELF-AWARENESS
The confident leader
Mindful leadership
Self-awareness matters
Relational and operational domains
My relational strengths
My relational weaknesses
My operational strengths
My operational weaknesses
Strength in vulnerability
Finding strengths and weaknesses
Focus on both strengths and weaknesses
Mitigating weaknesses
Blind spots
The issue of power and feedback
Who are you?
TALENT AND TEAM SELECTION
It s about the people
The talent shortage myth
Quality over speed and cost
Repeat
Focus on culture
Assess cultural fit
Talent and task
Hiring for both culture and task
Interviewing for fit
Keep the focus on core values
The likability factor
Oops
Hiring for senior positions
Keep the talent
Talent is key
ORGANIZATIONAL HEALTH
Worst summer job
The human impact
The cost of unhealthy organizations
The three big culprits
On employees minds
The case for organizational health
Liking where we work
The rotten apple effect
Always an ambassador
From unhealthy to healthy
A better place to work
PRODUCTIVITY
Work smarter, not harder
I m so busy
What s important
The to-do list
I m not available
Procrastination and resistance
Be realistic
Pings, pongs, and multitasking
Email time-suck
The dreaded meeting
The hours we work
The ideal amount of work?
Sleep and health
Leading for productivity
Driving productivity
CREATIVITY AND INNOVATION
Moonshining
Embracing your inner child
What s next?
Filter ideas
Start working
Keep working
Move on
Creativity and innovation
Types of innovation
Incremental innovation example
Major innovation example
The innovative culture
What problems are people having?
What do people want?
What do people need?
What s bugging you?
Innovating together
Focused innovation
Marketing innovations
Authentic innovation
Leading creativity and innovation
DELEGATION
What comes next
My head hurts
Eliminate first
Four-hour workday
Why delegate?
What not to delegate
The list
The specifics of delegation
Be available
Barriers to delegation
Delegation saves money
Free time
Changes in what is most important
Delegating what we like to do
Delegation requires trust
SELF-IMPROVEMENT
Sharpen the saw
Becoming better
Our life story
Living in the moment
Halfway there
Places of solitude
Taking time to think
Leaders don t arrive
Reading for improvement
Meeting people where they are
Authentic leadership
Focus on integrity
Be better
CONCLUSION
Connections
Our approach to leadership
Parting thoughts
SURVEY RESPONSES
Leader survey responses
Employee survey responses
BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS
My top 10 leadership books
RESOURCES
Employee engagement assessment
Conflict resolution and respectful workplace guidelines
Mission, beliefs, vision, and core values
Organizational health assessment
Leadership strengths and weaknesses assessment
Sample job posting
Sample interview questions
Creativity and innovation discussion questions
REFERENCES
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
SPEAKING AND TRAINING
Randy Grieser
ACHIEVE
CTRI
INTRODUCTION

ORDINARY BUT NOT AVERAGE
I am an ordinary leader, and I am not the only one. There are many of us, and while we may be ordinary, we are far from average. Between us, we ordinary leaders lead the majority of the world s workforce. We lead many small organizations and teams that do great things.
Most ordinary leaders don t follow all the neat and tidy formal norms. I, for one, don t wear a tie, my desk looks like a hurricane hit it, and I chew on the end of my pen while I m thinking. The files on my computer are a mess - I have one main folder that runs on and on.
I have my fair share of weaknesses (see Chapter 4 for full disclosure). I don t hide them or pretend they are not there. Absolutely, I am exceptional in some areas, but in others, not so much. I see myself, quite simply, as an ordinary leader. Yet I m anything but average, and the organization I lead is extraordinary!
WHO ARE ORDINARY LEADERS?
In using the term ordinary, I am referring to me, and likely you - ordinary leaders of small organizations and teams. We are not leading large corporations or big government agencies. Nor are we often written about in books or quoted in magazines. We are not Jeff Bezos of Amazon or Howard Schultz of Starbucks. We are, however, important. Maybe not globally, but in our own realm of influence, our leadership makes a difference.
Look around you and you will see ordinary leaders everywhere. In the course of a typical day, I might connect with the following leaders:

My children s principal, when I drop them off at school.
A client at a lunch meeting, who is a manager at a social service agency.
The owner of the local bike shop where I pick up supplies for my mountain bike after work.
A friend I have supper with, who is an executive director of a not-for-profit arts organization.
Most leadership books seem to be written, either explicitly or implicitly, with leaders of large organizations in mind. While the strategies and ideas in those books can sometimes translate to leaders of smaller organizations, the insights often just don t fit. The insights in this book, while still applicable to large organizations, are written for and from the perspective of someone leading a small to medium-sized team or organization.
THE EXTRAORDINARY LEADER MYTH
Some people are very quick to name extraordinary leaders based on accomplishments and notoriety. In their eyes, recognizable politicians, athletes, and entrepreneurs are shining examples of leadership.
Yet when you look closely, behind most people the world identifies as extraordinary due to their fame or fortune, you will find an ordinary person whose circumstances are extraordinary.
INSIGHTS AND GUIDING PRINCIPLES
Most leaders I know can clearly identify two or three, perhaps even ten or more, insights and principles that guide them. These are