Great Leaders Grow - Book Report/Review Example

 Great Leaders Grow Choice of the book and its background information The book reflects the business society and provides qualities that compose a modern day leader. The book's title has a hidden meaning that the authors use to highlight a great leader's important traits. The authors, Ken Blanchard and Mark Miller, are leadership experts in the corporate sector who have had different experiences on the leaders that different situations create. They have used these skills to incorporate different character traits in their story. Characterization has been used to show the different procedures that an individual has to go through to become a ‘Great Leader.' Choosing the book was on the basis of past experiences where the authors have written other books pertaining leadership styles while sessions with the media caused their awareness. According to the book’s title, I expect to learn more ways of becoming a great leader and the different leadership styles present in the business sectors. I also expect to gain knowledge that will help me clarify the debate that argues whether a leader is born or made. Main objective with evidence from the book The book has portrayed several objectives through character evaluation. The main purpose of the book according Blanchard is to create awareness on the strategies and procedures of becoming a great leader (Blanchard and Miller 3). It is evident through how the authors have defined the acronym GROW. It includes the four steps that should be followed by potential leaders towards growth and become great leaders. The meanings have been allocated to different chapters in the book. The letter "G" represents ‘Gaining Knowledge' to help the leaders develop their skills. There are different ways that are illustrated in the book on how to help an individual obtain information at workplaces and organizations. Primarily, is to understand an individual’s personal strengths and weaknesses (Blanchard and Miller 33). The character Blake has been used to share his personal weaknesses with Debbie to help him get a job and become a leader. Once they are highlighted, the leader should seek solutions for their weaknesses to ensure there are no setbacks in the leadership process. After a personal exploration, the individual should try to understand other people in lower levels of the business (Blanchard and Miller 44). It will help in gathering knowledge on tastes and preferences of the followers in case the person is appointed as a leader. A great leader should also be open to change and at all time be a leadership student. Leadership is a continuous process and a leader should be ready to get new ideas from workmates both in higher and lower ranks (Snyder 15). The letter "R" ‘represents Reaching out to others.' A good leader should look for perfect methods to invest in the development others. Jeff, a character in the book, reaches out to one of his employees to help her attain her goals. The author recommends mentoring relationships where leaders can exchange ideas and strategies (Blanchard and Miller 54). Seizing of teachable, coachable and trainable moments will help the leader to gather more experience. Communication is also a great approach since it helps leaders to pass acquired information to their workmates (Snyder 22). The letter "O" stands for ‘Open your world.' A leader should look for more opportunities both in the internal and external environments of the workplace (Blanchard and Miller 75). The authors suggest that a leader should have a mentor who will provide help in seeking new opportunities to grow. The letter "W" represents ‘Walking towards wisdom.' Honesty is the main factor in helping a leader to acquire wisdom. Mentors can help in counseling the leaders and answer any raised questions. The pursuit for wisdom should be a lifelong event and not only happen when the leader wants to get information (Blanchard and Miller 95). Types of leadership styles demonstrated by different characters in the book Ken and Miller have used different personalities in their book to reveal a variety of leadership styles in the story. Charismatic leadership has been revealed in the story where Blake’s father, Jeff, was a charismatic leader and had become the company’s president (Blanchard and Miller 7). He was a very successful man and was loved by many workers at the workplace due to his integrity. He used his skills to help other employees who were not performing to their expectations. For example, he mentored Debbie who was improved her proficiency in handling work allocated to her in her departments (Blanchard and Miller 8). She later became a leader in her department after considering the CEO's help. Blake's father had a passion for leadership of the company and had made a significant contribution to its success. He has also influenced other workers through his personality and passion for work. The authors have demonstrated this leadership style to show how leaders have inspired workers who have later become leaders themselves. However, charismatic leaders such as Blake's father focus on personal gains and motivations (Snyder 20). For example, during his period as the CEO of his company, he directed his center of attention only to the company and the manner it would achieve its organizational goals and objectives. Innovative leadership styles have also been portrayed in the story. Use of Debbie as a character who uses her innovativeness and ideas to inspire other potential leaders has revealed innovative leadership skills in the book. Blake who is due to graduate is confused on whether and how to look for a job or follow his father's option of becoming a leader. After sharing his thoughts with Debbie, he gets the help he has been seeking (Blanchard and Miller 10). Debbie is innovative and has used ideas from the CEO to help his son. Innovativeness has helped Blake to unveil his capability by pointing out his strengths and weaknesses. Debbie also demonstrates transformational leadership that includes the use of emotional intelligence to motivate people on future leadership visions. According to Miller and Blanchard (9), she refers to Blake as a person who has a great future and could exercise the leadership styles that his father advised him to become. Throughout the story, Debbie’s advice has transformed Blake into a leader by triggering his self-esteem and self-confidence. Characters and their qualities that lead to success the business (Debbie - optimism) Characters have been assigned various personality traits that can be used to foretell whether they will be successful of not. Debbie has been a very optimistic worker since she started working with the company. While still new to the company, she underwent various setbacks that almost cost her job description. Nevertheless, she did not give up and continued struggling until Jeff noticed her deteriorating work performance (Blanchard and Miller 8). She had a positive attitude towards work and this led to Jeff’s decision to help her achieve her goals. Jeff referred to her as a woman who was always willing to change based on the provided information. She was able to take note of Jeff’s advice about becoming a great leader and having the best employee relationships. Her positive character was a major factor that contributed to her success. Having an open and self-motivated personality helped her change her approach towards work. She began improving and soon became one of the top ranked business employees. Her success solely depended on her optimism. The authors have proved this by introducing other pessimistic employees who did not make it as far as Debbie. In just a few years, she became her department’s leader. She narrates to Blake how his father’s advice and her optimistic attitude led to her success. She also offers advice to Blake to help him overcome his dilemma of whether he would become a leader or not. Main lessons and their expectations The book has revealed various lessons to its readers that are related to current working environments. The main lessons can be retrieved from the main objective of the story that is different leadership styles. Communication is an important factor in the making of a great leader. It includes a two way process where ideas can be relayed between workers and their leaders (Snyder 35). Remarkably, it is a gateway to obtaining more information for the growth of a leader. It also helps in exposing leadership approaches such as charismatic and transformational styles. Communication involves vertical and horizontal channels. Vertical channels facilitate communication between leaders and their junior staff in organizations. They can pass their orders to employees and at the time get feedback inform of ideas. Horizontal channels ensure same level workers can pass information and socialize leading to workplace relationships. Another lesson is how self-awareness and self-actualization help individuals to understand their capabilities. Both strategies help in understanding of strengths and weakness at a personal or group level. Personally, identifying weak points will eliminate chances of failure. A great leader should first settle his troubles before leading the public (Blanchard and Miller 101). Personal activities may affect the leader's ability on rational thinking and making decisions. At the office level, a leader should understand his/her employees deeply so that he/she can create a strategy that suits all employees. Leadership and position holding at the workplace are two different things (Blanchard and Miller 109). This lesson has been illustrated in the story where Debbie holds a management title but is not in a position to lead the department. The book shows that one can have a title at the workplace but does not have the qualities of a good leader. As a result, most people who confuse the two ideas end up failing in their positions. Leaders should be aware of what is expected from the in an organization. A great leader will balance his leadership skills so that they can fit his job title. After Debbie became aware of the difference between the two, she became a better leader than she was before and earned a promotion to manage a larger department. The main lessons met my expectations because the books proves that leaders can either be born with the qualities or learn them as they ‘GROW.' I have also learned the procedure that a leader has to undergo to become a ‘Great Leader.' The book has demonstrated various leadership methods and how their impact to business organizations. Most important lesson learnt from the book: Sharing The most important lesson is sharing and the role it serves in leadership. The lesson has dominated in the larger part of the story whereby it has proved that almost all objectives of leadership rely on sharing of ideas. According to Miller and Blanchard (23), information sharing facilitated by communication is a great resource to a leader. The book starts with the concept of sharing where Debbie shares her knowledge on leadership styles with Blake. Jeff's decision to share his charismatic leadership thoughts with her led to her success in the company. The authors also refer to Jeff as a respectable man who shared his integrity with his workers to ensure accomplishment of set goals. After Blake secures a job, his leadership skills grow due to sharing of data with other employees. Feedback from employees can only be attained through sharing of emotions towards a leader's style of approach. Some leaders may be authoritarians without their knowledge but through forming workplace relationships and sharing data, they are able to rectify their weaknesses (Snyder 36). Works Cited Blanchard, Ken & Miller, Mark. Great Leaders Grow Becoming a Leader for Life.. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2012. Print. Snyder, Steven. Leadership and the art of struggle how great leaders grow through challenge and adversity. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2013. Print Read More