The Leadership Handbook

Over the past two decades I have had the incredible experience of leading people and changing culture.  I have led people through both mundane and extraordinary circumstances. 

I have learned from and been inspired by other great leaders either through their books or through personal interactions (Check out my reading list).  And I have observed regular and consistent examples of cause and effect that have caught my attention. 

My goal in this leadership series is to equip you to become an extraordinary leader through specific examples and experiences.

Leadership Topics I’ll Cover

For this series of blog posts, I am going to candidly share some of the things I’ve learned about leadership through the following topics:

• Leadership is not Management
• How to Move Up
• Make a Decision
• You Aren’t Smart Enough
• Oops! I Did it Again, How to Avoid Bad Counsel
• Leadership is a Trait not a Trade
• How to be a Fearless Leader
• Dealing with Difficult People
• Leaders are Always Learning
• Leader, Your Faith Matters!
• An IT Leaders Must Read – The Phoenix Project
• Status Quo is Too Risky to Change
• Develop Your Intellect
• Candidate to Contractor – Avoiding Epic Fails
• Too Busy to Hire!
• Battling Chaos with Stability
• Breaking Bread to Build Relationships
• How to deal with Under-Performing Employees – Part 1
• “The Talk” Having Tough Conversations with Under-Performing Employees – Part 2
• After “The Talk” with an Under-Performing Employee – Part 3
• Developing a Leadership Paradigm
• Having Tough Conversations
• Making Good Decisions
• Loving People
• Self-Awareness
• Managing Contention
• Getting Away, to Think
• Avoiding Burn-out
• Getting Ready for the next level
• Insecure Leadership
• The value of your team
• Being Available, But Not Desperate
• Clear Communication
• Breaking Bread to Build Relationships
• Empowerment vs Abandonment
• French and Raven’s Sources of Power Study
• Responding With Kindness
• When Good People Leave
• What Poor Leadership Looks Like
• Guiding Books
• My Sherpas
• Getting Feedback
• Handing Out Credit
• Hierarchy – We Have it Wrong
• Clarifying Ambiguity
• My DiSC Style
• Money Matters
• Maintaining a 40 Hour Work Week

When does the Finding Leadership Series Begin?

I will be writing about each of these topics over time, with the first one, “People Leadership vs. People Management” being published next week.  I chose to begin with this topic because I think a lot of people consider leadership and management the same thing, and they are not. 

I will not be going through this list in order.  In fact, if one or more of the topics above seem interesting to you, please comment and I will write those blog posts first.  If you think something is missing in the list above, or If you have a question about a specific topic let me know in the comments below. 

Lastly, I would love to connect with you on LinkedIn.  That’s typically where I post updates to my blog and where you can find more about my professional experience.  You can view my profile, here.  Additionally, if you are interested in my professional services, please head over to Stephens Insight Group LLC.

Cheers!
Josh