52 Leadership Gems: Practical and Quick Insights for Leading Others

by John Parker Stewart

Overview

Based upon the LEAD NOW! Leadership Development Model, created from interviews, coaching, training, research, and feedback from more than 20,000 leaders worldwide over a period of more than three decades, the Award-winning Stewart Leadership Series is a tool kit for the time starved leader. 52 Gems contains a set of tested insights that will guide all leaders as they face today's challenges. These Gems are tied into the essential 21 leadership dimensions of a successful leader. This book supports every phase of your company's leadership development, team improvement, and one-on-one coaching. Each Leadership Gem is referenced to applicable Leadership Dimensions and color coded to the applicable quadrant in the LEAD NOW! Model. It is a powerful coaching toolkit for all executives, managers, supervisors, and future leaders.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780997200607
Publisher:	Conductor Publishing
Publication date:	05/31/2017
Series:	Stewart Leadership , #1
Edition description:	2nd ed.
Pages:	270
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.63(d)

About the Author

John Parker Stewart is the founder and CEO of Stewart Leadership, which he started in 1980. He is globally recognized as a leadership coach, consultant, educator, speaker, and team performance specialist. Under his guidance, Stewart Leadership is recognized internationally for its feedback assessments, training tools, and solid, results-focused coaching services designed to guide teams and individuals to adapt, grow, and reach new levels of performance. John has coached and trained tens of thousands of leaders worldwide including CEOs, presidents, military, government, and business leaders resulting in significant, measured improvement in individual and team performance.John began his undergraduate studies at the University of Colorado, finished his bachelor's degree at Brigham Young University, and earned his master's degree in organizational communication where he wrote his thesis at Parliament in London. He began his doctoral work and teaching at Michigan State University, and continued doctoral studies under management guru Peter Drucker in executive performance and leadership at Claremont Graduate University. John started his career managing leadership and management development for 86,000 employees at Lockheed Corporation. He was selected "National Trainer of the Year" by the American Society for Training & Development (ASTD). In addition to training and coaching all levels of management at Kennedy Space Center over an eight-year period during the high-pressure space shuttle program, John has worked with Citibank, Chevron, Lockheed Martin, Toshiba, CSL-Hong Kong, Xerox, GM, Kaiser Permanente, Telstra, US Department of Energy, Shell, and other government agencies and commercial firms. John has published several articles, manuals, workbooks, and the three-book award-winning Stewart Leadership Series. The first edition of his title book, Lead Now! A Personal Leadership Coaching Guide for Results-Driven Leaders, won the National Indie Excellence Award for the best leadership book published over the last five years. His 52 Leadership Lessons is also nationally recognized. John's latest book is titled Mastering the Art of Oral Presentations, published by John Wiley & Sons. This book is an essential tool for oral teams seeking to win government contracts, as well as a valuable guide for presenters in any field. John lives with his wife, Debra, near Portland, Oregon, and has four sons and sixteen grandchildren.

Table of Contents

1. It’s amazing what can be accomplished if you don’t care who gets the credit

2. An action deferred is a tension retained.

3. We judge ourselves by our intentions. Others judge us by our actions

4. The biggest hurdle to effective communication is the assumption that it has taken place

5. A problem well defined is a problem half solved

6. Twenty-seven years of genuine growth or one year repeated 27 times?

7. Four magic words: “What do you think?”

8. People tend to support what they help create

9. If you don’t take care of your customer, someone else will

10. Ask yourself: “What is it like to work for me?”

11. When you’re green you grow. When you’re ripe you rot

12. Listen with your ears and your eyes

13. People only care how much you know when they know how much you care

14. In the decision-making process, voice your opinion last!

15. Ownership or rentership

16. Beware the #1 Syndrome

17. Good is the enemy of great

18. No one likes surprises!

19. Swim in their tank

20. Doing the same thing the same way will not produce different results

21. What you do speaks so loudly that I cannot hear what you say

22. Remember the fifth year of the bamboo tree

23. Identify and build your strengths

24. Assign someone to play the fool

25. Allow people the right to fail, but don’t sanction incompetence

26. A leader who stands for everything stands for nothing

27. Greatness is not where you stand, but the direction you are moving

28. Prescription without diagnosis is malpractice

29. Every transaction begins with a relationship

30. Activity vs. results

31. The most important game of the season is the next one

32. A fish rots from the head down

33. Just when you think you are winning the rat race, along comes a faster rat!

34. Plan and achieve small wins

35. They won’t remember what you said, but they will remember how you made them feel

36. Obstacles are things you see when you take your eye off the goal

37. A desk is a dangerous place from which to view the world

38. Just because you are good with a hammer gives you no right to view the world as a bunch of nails

39. Change is bad until it succeeds

40. How you respond is the real test

41. You can buy hands and feet, but you must earn the heart

42. Give them the ball and let them run with it

43. Silence is your ally, not your enemy

44. A turtle moves only after it first sticks its neck out

45. Even if you’re on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there

46. Remember the Voice of David: Seek a different opinion

47. Don’t sacrifice the entire war for the sake of winning a single battle

48. Culture is defined and redefined every day

49. In times of stress, leaders tend to revert to their natural tendencies

50. Tell them why

51. The quickest way to strip people’s dignity is to reprimand them publicly

52. A coil pulled too tight loses its spring

Editorial Reviews

“A wonderful compilation of leadership tips and insights vital to leaders and managers at any level. . . . invaluable guidance that will help leaders and managers build a successful career.” Chris Jedrey, former Executive Director, NASA Headquarters

“A must-read for all managers who wish to continuously improve their management skills. It is one of the most compelling books on leadership in years. John Parker Stewart has successfully condensed 35 years of executive training and coaching to provide insight and practical advice into a common-sense format to enable managers to achieve success and prepare for future uncertainties in today’s competitive marketplace.” Bill Gillan, Chief Operating Officer, Dynanet Corp

“I have had the privilege of attending several of John Parker Stewart’s leadership sessions over the years. Consistently, the aspect that resonates with all participants are the gems that John shares. For those who have not had the good fortune to witness this first hand, 52 Leadership Gems is the next best thing. Enjoy the gems and pass them on.” Kenneth S. Reightler, Jr., former astronaut and space shuttle pilot, former President, Lockheed Martin Space Operations

“A fantastic collection of leadership wisdom presented in a short, condensed format that makes them an easy-to-use reference guide. I am carrying it in my work bag alongside my laptop every day so that I can have proper food for thought! John taught them to my entire executive team and we referred to them often as pillars of our corporate culture. John is a world-class coach—the best one there is.” Tarek Robbiati, Chief Executive Officer, CSL, Hong Kong

“This is one of the most practical books on leadership I have seen in years. These gems will be very helpful to you and your management team in leading your organization in its climb to new heights of success.” Bill Brett, Senior Executive, Kennedy Space Center, Florida, Johnson Space Center, Houston

“Looking inside the mind of John Parker Stewart is like having an encyclopedia for executives in your hip pocket. Imagine having 30 years of wisdom geared toward the consolidated knowledge of a brilliant and insightful executive coach available to you in a handy, organized, easy-to-use guide.” Ben Bartine, Director of Delivery, CIBER

“. . . extremely useful . . . Practicing these insightful 52 Leadership Gems will guarantee that you and your team will excel as leaders and managers. John Parker Stewart taught us these gems as he coached us through the challenges of constant change that all executives are facing today.” Jack Nealon, former Chief Information Officer, National Agricultural Statistics Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture

“John Parker Stewart has provided a way to solve every challenge facing organizations today. Move over One Minute Manager here comes 52 Leadership Gems—an essential guide for every leader for what to do next. Keep this book in your top desk drawer, you will find it invaluable. In time of crisis, pull it out and you will find your answer. John has done a masterful job of providing an amazing amount of help in an accessible, quick-to-use guide. It is an outstanding handbook by an exceptional executive coach!” Rob Roe, Managing Director, AirWatch, Australia and New Zealand

From the Publisher