The Twelve Absolutes Of Leadership

ALL IN, ALL THE TIME For Gary Burnison, CEO of the world’s largest executive search firm, these five simple words perfectly capture the essence of great leadership. There can be no half measures. Complete commitment, total engagement, and a powerful sense of personal responsibility are the criteria for true leadership excellence. It’s more than a job; it’s a way of life. But how do you get there? In this groundbreaking book, Burnison provides the answer. As the leader of Korn/Ferry International, Burnison is particularly well qualified to write a guide to effective leadership. On a personal level, he experiences every day what it’s like to be responsible for the lives of others, the careers of his employees, and the expectations of stakeholders. He also deals one-on-one with some of the world’s top leaders. In The Twelve Absolutes of Leadership, Burnison distills this vast experience into an actionable plan for building world-class leadership skills. You’ll learn how to train your focus on the twelve most critical elements of leadership, so you can Establish your vision and develop a strategy for achieving it Inspire your people to embrace the change you envision Measure the effectiveness of your leadership Build powerful teams that are aligned in purpose and strategy Foresee new opportunities and adjust your course to meet them Nothing in business or life generates greater personal satisfaction than affecting peoples’ lives in a positive way through excellent leadership. Burnison refers to it as the “eighth wonder of the world.” The prospect might seem daunting, but Burnison makes it more accessible than you thought possible. He presents a framework based on enduring human truths, which is applicable in every leadership role and arena. All you have to do is apply it with dedication and determination. You have the ability. Take your first steps to leadership excellence with The Twelve Absolutes of Leadership. Praise for The Twelve Absolutes of Leadership: “In The Twelve Absolutes of Leadership, Gary Burnison captures the timeless principles that leaders must possess, beyond intelligence, courage and heart. These essential elements speak to the integrity and authenticity that underscore all effective leadership.” —Carlos Slim, entrepreneur, Investor, and the world’s richest man “Only a few good leaders have paused to reflect seriously on being leaders. Xenophon and Ulysses S. Grant did, and now Gary Burnison can be added to the list. This is not a business book. This is a book about the business of life.” —P.J. O’Rourke, political satirist, journalist, and author “Gary Burnison has distilled leadership into its essential elements—the absolute truths about leadership that apply in every arena. For those who want to know what leadership is all about, this book has the answers.” —Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Franklin “Buster” Hagenbeck “Leadership is the most important ingredient in any successful organization. Gary Burnison explores the essential elements of leadership through conversations with some of the world’s most seasoned and accomplished leaders.” —Eli Broad, founder of The Broad Foundations, KB Home, and SunAmerica ”Gary Burnison’s wisdom and insight cut straight to the heart of the matter—to the essential elements of any leadership framework. His stories, observations, and conversations with leaders artfully illustrate these principles, applicable to everyone.” —Vicente Fox, former President of Mexico

Leadership is learnable A Warren Bennis Executive Briefing Series Book Crosby is taking his message to a different audience--a growing army of intelligent young men and women who are setting out to become executives by choice and for the right reasons. --Central Florida Business In this, his eleventh book, world-renowned consultant Philip Crosby offers readers a simple, yet ingenious method for assessing the skills of those they've been assigned to follow, as well as their own leadership abilities. Leaders, he says, come in five versions?Destructor, Procrastinator, Caretaker, Preparer, and Accomplisher. And by examining each of those character types in relation to his four Absolutes of Leadership, the author establishes a framework would-be leaders can use to build quality leadership skills of their own. Crosby also discusses the leader's role in organizational finance and quality, and in dealing with customers, suppliers, employees, and bosses. You know a leader when you meet one, he asserts and he maintains that those people who already have leadership potential will blossom once they understand and epitomize the precepts set forth in this groundbreaking work.

While there are hundreds of books on leadership, no other book links epidemiological concepts to leadership. Epidemiologists look for treatments by matching the determinants to the disease. As such, this book not only identifies leadership determinants, but also matches research-based antidotes to them at the end of each chapter. The book includes over 550 references on leadership, psychology, epidemiology, management, systems theory, and others, as well as over 60 case studies analyzed to illustrate points about leadership and determinants. Additionally, each chapter includes a list of key terms and concepts, discussion items, and highlights of lessons learned. At the end of the book, there is a section on leadership and motivation theories and models, as well as a section that provides leadership style surveys and assessments that can help readers identify their leadership style, while also becoming aware of what changes in leadership style can improve workplace climate.

Candid conversations with top leaders around the world on how they approached pitvotal moments in their careers No Fear of Failure offers insightful, candid conversations with some of the world's top leaders in business, politics, education, and philanthropy—each giving a first-person account of how they approached crucial, career defining moments. Gary Burnison, CEO of Korn/Ferry International, the world's largest executive recruiting firm, sits down one-on-one with a highly select and elite corps, and together they openly discuss how they handled (often very publicly) war, economic downturn, corporate turnover, and even retirement. Together these world-class leaders show the risks one must be willing to take, as well as the vision, resilience, and compassion necessary to lead. Includes original interviews with Michael Bloomberg, Carlos Slim, Eli Broad, Indra Nooyi, Drew Gilpin Faust, Anne Mulcahy, Vincente Fox, Lt. General Franklin L. "Buster" Hagenbeck, Coach John McKissick, Liu Chuanzhi, Daniel Vasella, and Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo Explores the common traits great leaders exhibit: vision, compassion, resilience, competitiveness, purpose, humility, team-building skills, entrepreneurial spirit, perseverance, self-awareness, empowerment, and being a catalyst Taking readers into executive suites, government offices, battlefields, and football fields, No Fear of Failure shows how great leaders make lasting impact. #7 New York Times Best Seller (Advice, How-To and Miscellaneous) #13 New York Times Best Seller (Hardcover Business) #5 Wall Street Journal Best Seller (Hardcover Business) #3 USA Today Best Seller (Money) #17 Publishers Weekly Best Seller (Hardcover Nonfiction)

Effective leadership does not occur by chance. Leaders must be trained and groomed for the daunting responsibility of leading organizations. Research shows that half of the people currently in leadership positions will fail. Why they fail and what can be done to prevent failure are the main subjects of this book. It shows that effective leadership is possible and illustrates why and how, based on research and case studies from an epidemiological perspective. The epidemiological word “determinant” is used frequently, and is a word that no other book on leadership uses. Epidemiologists work from two basic principles: namely, that all diseases have determinants and that diseases do not occur randomly. In other words, there are always causes for diseases and patterns that describe how diseases spread. Effective and ineffective leadership always have determinants that are not randomly distributed; the impacts are uniformly and deeply spread throughout an organization. Like the epidemiologists, this book not only identifies leadership determinants, but also provides research-based “antidotes” at the end of each chapter, along with a summary of the most salient points in the chapter. This book offers examples of leadership and governance from the non-profit sector, businesses, public and private education, higher education, and other organizations, highlighting over 50 case studies to illustrate concepts about leadership.

Lead is a different kind of book. Rather than being the “last word” on leading others, it is meant to be the “first word”—an invitation to the reader to reflect on what the leadership journey means to each and every individual. At its core, Lead will benefit anyone who seeks to inspire, influence, or lead others, whether they are coaches, teachers, pastors, community organizers, politicians—or are in the C-suite. Lead offers an exploration of the essential elements of leadership, which author Gary Burnison defines as: purpose, strategy, people, measure, empower, reward, anticipate, navigate, communicate, listen, and learn—all of which culminate in leading. Instead of taking the left-brain approach of “paradigm shifts” and “leadership models,” the author focuses on right-brain constants such as emotional connection, compassion, focusing on others, humility, and managing oneself. Lead readers will find inspiring stories, easy to digest analogies, reflective exercises and evocative images meant to give them pause, draw them in, and encourage introspection.

Balancing timeless principles with emerging research, this book serves as an integrated growth experience that helps leaders understand how to harness their authentic, value-creating influence and elevate their impact. --

Accelerating Through the Crisis Curve Leadership is all about others—inspiring them to believe, then enabling that belief to become reality. That’s the essence of Leadership U: it starts with ‘U’ but it’s not about ‘U.’ Those timeless words are timelier than ever today, as leaders look to accelerate through the crisis curve. As author Gary Burnison observes, “There will likely be more change in the next two years than we have seen in the last twenty.” Now, in Leadership U: Accelerating Through the Crisis Curve, Burnison lays out a framework—his “Six Degrees of Leadership”—to show leaders how to create change. Anticipate – foreseeing what lies ahead, amid ambiguity and uncertainty that are throttled up like never before Navigate – course-correcting in real time, to keep the organization on an even keel Communication – constantly connecting with others; the leader is both the messenger and the message Listen – breaking down the organizational hierarchy to gather insights at all levels—especially what the leader doesn’t want to hear Learn – applying learning agility, to “know what to do when you don’t know what to do” Lead – empowering others in a bottom-up culture that is more nimble, agile, innovative, and entrepreneurial than ever before. Only by embracing these truths can leaders master another ‘U’—the “crisis curve” that will completely disrupt the business landscape. The world has changed—forever. The old days are fine to reminiscence about, but you can’t stay there. Today leadership means becoming comfortable with being uncomfortable. As Burnison says, when a door closes, leaders cannot afford to stand there, staring at it. It’s a “get up or give up” moment. For leaders, the only choice is to find and open another door. Leadership U defines and inspires the pathway through that door.