A Passion For Leadership

From the former secretary of defense and author of the acclaimed #1 best-selling memoir Duty, a characteristically direct, informed, and urgent assessment of why big institutions are failing us and how smart, committed leadership can effect real improvement regardless of scale. Across the realms of civic and private enterprise alike, bureaucracies vitally impact our security, freedoms, and everyday life. With so much at stake, competence, efficiency, and fiscal prudence are essential, yet Americans know these institutions fall short. Many despair that they are too big and too hard to reform. Robert Gates disagrees. Having led change successfully at three monumental organizations—the CIA, Texas A&M University, and the Department of Defense—he offers us the ultimate insider’s look at how major bureaus, organizations, and companies can be transformed, which is by turns heartening and inspiring and always instructive. With practical, nuanced advice on tailoring reform to the operative culture (we see how Gates worked within the system to increase diversity at Texas A&M); effecting change within committees; engaging the power of compromise (“In the real world of bureaucratic institutions, you almost never get all you want when you want it”); and listening and responding to your team, Gates brings the full weight of his wisdom, candor, and devotion to civic duty to inspire others to lead desperately needed change.

Having led change successfully at three sprawling, monumental organizations—the CIA, Texas A&M University, and the Department of Defense—Robert M. Gates offers the ultimate insider's look at how leaders can transform large organizations and companies. For many Americans, bureaucracy and corporate structure are code words for inertia. Gates knows that it doesn't have to be that way. With stunning clarity, he shares how simple plans, faithfully executed, can cut through the mire of bureaucracy to reform organizational culture. And he shows that great leaders listen and respond to their teams and embrace the power of compromise. Using the full weight of his wisdom, candor, and devotion to duty, he empowers leaders at any level to effectively implement his leadership strategies.

A Passion for Leadership by Robert Gates | Summary & Analysis Preview: A Passion for Leadership is an advice manual for those who want to enact reform from a position of leadership in a bureaucratic organization. It also examines the challenges of reforming public sector institutions in the United States and some of the related experiences of Robert Gates, the author. For the determined leader, reform is possible in any organization, especially if a leader sets goals and applies a clear strategy to meet those goals. Reform is even possible in the federal government so long as the leader of a bureaucracy is sufficiently determined to achieve it and to make a lasting impression. Reform requires that leaders… PLEASE NOTE: This is key takeaways and analysis of the book and NOT the original book. Inside this Instaread Summary of A Passion for Leadership: · Overview of the book · Important People · Key Takeaways · Analysis of Key Takeaways

How policymakers use the power of their convictions to lead in international relations

Do you do what you love and love what you do? How many of us are stuck in day jobs that really don't suit us? Has our heart left the building? It is so easy to go through the motions in leadership and management and lead with our heads, while our hearts long to be elsewhere. In this short new passion-packed book by Dr. Hans Finzel, you will learn what it means to work in your "passion zone." Hans explains from his own journey, how to find your passion zone and what action steps to take if you are far from that place of fulfillment. Specifically you will learn about how to match up your profile and wiring to just the right assignment. People love following leaders whose hearts are fueled by passion. This book will help you uncover what passion in your work really is, and how to find it, no matter what stage you are at in your career. The advice in this book is especially powerful for anyone in a role of leadership that is experiencing boredom or burn out. Life is too short to settle for less than the best-especially if we are called to lead other people. Leading from the heart is working and leading from your passion zone. Why does leading from the heart really matter? It can be natural to think, "If I am smart enough, gifted enough and work hard enough, of course people will respond to my leadership." The more gifted you are, and the smarter you are, the more that this can be a temptation and the easy default. The problem is, that kind of leadership does not inspire people and build deep loyalty. The opposite is often true. People follow people who they know, trust and believe. That trust is built between leader and follower within their hearts. People follow leaders who are operating in their "passion zone." There is some sort of a magnetic loyalty that grows in followers who respond to leaders who lead with passion out front. It seems that in today's fast paced always on digital world, less is more. So that is what the author is offering up this first in a series of mini books on big leadership topics.

Motivation...Success...Leadership...Passion. Hall of Fame college basketball coach Jim Calhoun shares his secrets for success for the first time ever in A Passion to Lead. Coach Jim Calhoun is one of the most successful coaches in college basketball history. Having sent countless players to the NBA, Coach Calhoun is known for producing not just great athletes but great human beings. He is both an exceptional leader and self-made man whose ability to motivate and inspire young men is unsurpassed. In A Passion to Lead, he shares the fundamental principles that have allowed him to have an impact on so many. When he took command of the Connecticut Huskies, the team had had a losing record for five straight seasons. In twenty-one years of leadership, Calhoun has transformed a middling regional program into a national powerhouse with two NCAA championships. But what makes Coach Calhoun such an excellent leader? How did he take a program with a modest tradition and turn it into a national champ and perennial title contender? What is his management style? What are his motivational techniques? Calhoun reveals them here and includes anecdotes about his life as a coach, family man, and, ultimately, a teacher--as well as the following key principles: *Win Every Day: Talent determines what you can do in life. Motivation determines what you decide to do. Attitude determines how well you do it. *Standards, Then Victories: To build a winning organization, establish a culture of winning and make everyone accountable. Out of high standards come victories. *Tough Love: Pushing is only half the equation. Individuals perform best when they feel good about themselves. *And much more. A Passion to Lead is for all those who are serious about making their dreams a reality. It's a motivational tool for achieving success both at work and in life, and it can help turn any adversity into an advantage.

Afrika Mhlophe tackles the timely issue of leadership and how it can be misused in today’s society. He turns us back to the true definition of godly leadership, as defined by the Lord, reminding leaders that their purpose is to serve.

In this internationally bestselling sequel to the classic business book In Search of Excellence, Tom Peters and Nancy Austin reveal the secrets of a management revolution. The authors show how by mixing attention to detail with values, vision and integrity, you can achieve long-term excellence. The heart and soul of the management revolution is leadership which mixes tough-mindedness with tenderness, enabling every employee to take possession of their own achievements, and which demands that each person becomes an innovative contributor to the company's success. Dedicated to imaginative leaders everywhere, this book is for all concerned about the pursuit of excellence in the business world and in public service.