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.

Acknowledgments ix Foreword by Dr. Bernard W. Franklin xiii Introduction xvii 1 Welcome to the Work of Leaders 1 Vision 11 2 Introduction to Crafting a Vision 13 3 Crafting a Vision Through Exploration 23 4 Crafting a Vision Through Boldness 33 5 Crafting a Vision Through Testing Assumptions 43 6 Summary of Crafting a Vision 53 Alignment 59 7 Introduction to Building Alignment 61 8 Building Alignment Through Clarity 69 9 Building Alignment Through Dialogue 79 10 Building Alignment Through Inspiration 89 11 Summary of Building Alignment 99 Execution 105 12 Introduction to Championing Execution 107 13 Championing Execution Through Momentum 113 14 Championing Execution Through Structure 125 15 Championing Execution Through Feedback 135 16 Summary of Championing Execution 147 Afterword: Using VAE in Your Organization 153 Appendix A: The Development of the Work of Leaders VAE Model 161 Appendix B: Feedback Outtakes 189 References 193 Resources 197 About Inscape Publishing 201 About the Authors 203 Index 207