Are You Ready to Step Up to Leadership?


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Learn to spot “leadership moments” and develop the valuable skill of being the “observer” of your own behavior and that of others.

Are You Ready to Step Up to Leadership?

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I was talking to a friend of mine recently who shared that a client of hers was constantly changing her mind.  Her business was successful, but she was also involved in several coaching groups and whenever she received feedback from the coaches, she would change her mind about something.

This prompted an entire conversation around leadership and what determines a leader:  Title, level of success, followers?

We went round and around in this conversation.  It’s too bad we didn’t have a copy of Step Up: Lead in Six Moments that Matter by Henry Evans (@HenryJEvans) and Colm Foster (@DrColmFoster).  If we had would have learned a few things that I’m going to share with you here.

What’s In It For The Small Business Owner Or Solopreneur

Every time I pick up a review copy of a book, I ask myself, what will a small business owner get from this book – especially if it seems like it’s written for a corporate audience.

Step Up is a book that is written for leaders at every level; corporate, small business and even for volunteers.  If you are working with at least one other person – this is a book that you’ll want to explore.

I give the authors kudos for sharing my belief that leadership isn’t for everyone.  As you’ll see in the book, being a leader requires some very specific behaviors and skills; most prominent in the book is the skill of being the “observer” of your own behavior and the behavior of others.

Some folks do this naturally, and the rest of us require a little bit of practice.  For those of us that require some practice, Step Up will give you the tools you’ll need to – at the very least – improve your leadership skills and maybe even change the world.  But that result depends on you.

The Key To Leadership Success Is Spotting Those Leadership Moments

The authors focus on helping you spot what they call “leadership moments” and the entire book is written around these very valuable skills.  Throughout the book, they’ve also included handy QR codes that lead you to additional content such as assessments and videos that will give you examples to help you integrate what they are teaching.

Here are the six moments that are included in Step Up:

  1. Using anger intelligently:  Instead of viewing anger as something to be avoided, the authors ask you to notice when you’re feeling it and then notice that anger or upset is really what you feel when what’s happening is going against your commitment to a specific outcome.
  2. Recognize and deal with “terminal politeness:”  We all want to be liked, the question is; are you letting terminal politeness undermine your ability to lead?
  3. Make decisions when no one is making them:  A leader steps up to make difficult decisions and takes responsibility for them – that’s why you are the leader.  This chapter allows you to embrace the possibility of being wrong.
  4. Take ownership when others are externalizing the problem:  Are you brave enough to own-up to being part of the problem?  Learn how to observe when you’re contributing to the problem and transform it into a leadership victory.
  5. Identifying and leveraging pessimism:  If you see pessimism in your organization, turn it around and see where YOU are being pessimistic.  Once you understand yourself, you will understand those around you.
  6. Inspiring others to action:  This is the traditional leadership role.  In this section of the book, you’ll learn how to recognize when you and others are stuck in unproductive conversations and actions.

About The Authors

The forward of this book is written by Marshall Goldsmith, management guru and author of What Got You Here Won’t Get You There  and he praises the authors for taking the complex topic of leadership and simplifying it in a way that leaders in all walks of life can embrace.

Henry Evans is the managing partner for Dynamic Results, a company that specializes in strategy execution, executive development and emotionally intelligent leadership.  Colm Foster specializes in working with executives and their teams to improve effectiveness.

What About YOU!

The question you have to ask yourself is, “Do I want to read another book about leadership?” Or maybe, “How is this leadership book any different?”

I can tell you, I wasn’t really into reading another book about leadership.  What you should really be asking yourself is, “Is this all I’m up to in the world?”

If the answer to that question is NO – then you’re ready to Step Up.

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2 Comments ▼

Ivana Taylor Ivana Taylor is the Book Editor for Small Business Trends. She is responsible for directing the site’s book review program and manages the team of professional book reviewers. She also spearheads the annual Small Business Book Awards. Ivana publishes DIYMarketers, where she shares daily do-it-yourself marketing tips, and is co-author of "Excel for Marketing Managers."

2 Reactions
  1. Great Article. I love your point about making decisions when no one is making them and inspiring others to action as these are some key factors to leadership. These are some of the thing learned on our Leadership and Management which have
    been really popular so far.