Literature of Leadership - Motive: Why So Many Leaders Abdicate Their Most Important Responsibiliti
MOTIVE: WHY SO MANY LEADERS ABDICATE THEIR MOST IMPORTANT RESPONSIBILITIES. Patrick Lencioni. (2020, Kindle Edition)
Have you ever stopped to consider why you want to be a leader? Is it predominantly for the personal rewards leadership brings with it (e.g., status, power)? Is it because of a deep feeling of responsibility to serve others? The likelihood is that it is a bit of both. Patrick Lencioni, The New York Times Best-selling Author of The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, The Ideal Team Player and The Advantage, addresses this important question in his newest book, The Motive.
While this is the shortest and simplest book Lencioni has written, it definitely is not short in its importance and value. Knowing thyself as a leader is one of the first tenets of leadership and, therefore, is an integral component of most leadership development programs—including The Chair Academy’s Professional Development Programs.
As with most of Lencioni’s books, The Motive begins with a business fable (a story that teaches), along with lessons to be learned. In the fable, he depicts “reward-centered” leaders as those who tend to avoid difficult situations; and “responsibility-centered” leaders as those who do what is necessary to realize what is needed for the good of the people and organization they serve. He then prompts readers to reflect on their own true motivations for becoming a leader by focusing on five responsibilities most frequently abdicated by reward-centered leaders. These include:
1. Developing the leadership team
2. Managing sub-ordinates (and making sure they manage theirs)
3. Having difficult and uncomfortable conversations
4. Running great team meetings
5. Communicating constantly and competitively to employees.
For each abdicated responsibility, Lencioni offers reflective questions and a call to action with tips for making a mindset shift. A definite must-read for anyone in, or aspiring to be in leadership.
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