Why Should Anyone Be Led By You

Too many companies are managed not by leaders, but by mere role players and faceless bureaucrats. What does it take to be a real leader—one who is confident in who she is and what she stands for, and who truly inspires people to achieve extraordinary results? Rob Goffee and Gareth Jones argue that leaders don’t become great by aspiring to a list of universal character traits. Rather, effective leaders are authentic: they deploy individual strengths to engage followers’ hearts, minds, and souls. They are skillful at consistently being themselves, even as they alter their behaviors to respond effectively in changing contexts. In this lively and practical book, Goffee and Jones draw from extensive research to reveal how to hone and deploy one’s unique leadership assets while managing the inherent tensions at the heart of successful leadership: showing emotion and withholding it, getting close to followers while keeping distance, and maintaining individuality while “conforming enough.” Underscoring the social nature of leadership, the book also explores how leaders can remain attuned to the needs and expectations of followers. Why Should Anyone Be Led By You? will forever change how we view, develop, and practice the art of leadership, wherever we live and work.

Too many companies are managed not by leaders, but by mere role players and faceless bureaucrats. What does it take to be a real leader—one who is confident in who they are and what they stand for and who truly inspires people to achieve extraordinary results? In this lively and practical book, Goffee and Jones draw from extensive research to reveal how to hone and deploy one’s unique leadership assets while managing the inherent tensions at the heart of successful leadership. Why Should Anyone Be Led By You? will forever change how we view, develop and practice the art of leadership, wherever we live and work.

Are you an authentic leader? Too many companies are managed not by leaders but by mere role players and faceless bureaucrats. What would it take to replace these empty suits with real leaders--men and women who are confident in who they are and what they stand for and who truly inspire people to achieve extraordinary results? Rob Goffee and Gareth Jones argue that leaders don't become great by aspiring to a list of universal character traits. Rather, effective leaders are authentic: they deploy individual strengths to engage followers' hearts, minds, and souls. Authentic leaders are skillful at consistently being themselves, even as they alter their behavior to respond effectively to changing contexts. In short, the authors present a powerful case: that it takes "being yourself, in context, with skill" to be a successful, authentic leader--and they show you how to do exactly that. In this lively and practical book, Goffee and Jones draw from extensive research to reveal how to hone and deploy your unique leadership assets while managing the inherent tensions at the heart of successful leadership: when to show emotion and when to withhold it, how to get close to followers while maintaining an appropriate role distance, and maintaining your individuality while "conforming enough" to gain traction and lead change. Underscoring the inherently social nature of leadership, the book also explores how leaders can stay attuned to the needs and expectations of followers. Why Should Anyone Be Led by You? will forever change how we view, develop, and practice the art of leadership, wherever we live and work.

Are you an authentic leader? Too many companies are managed not by leaders but by mere role players and faceless bureaucrats. What would it take to replace these empty suits with real leaders--men and women who are confident in who they are and what they stand for and who truly inspire people to achieve extraordinary results? Rob Goffee and Gareth Jones argue that leaders don't become great by aspiring to a list of universal character traits. Rather, effective leaders are authentic: they deploy individual strengths to engage followers' hearts, minds, and souls. Authentic leaders are skillful at consistently being themselves, even as they alter their behavior to respond effectively to changing contexts. In short, the authors present a powerful case: that it takes "being yourself, in context, with skill" to be a successful, authentic leader--and they show you how to do exactly that. In this lively and practical book, Goffee and Jones draw from extensive research to reveal how to hone and deploy your unique leadership assets while managing the inherent tensions at the heart of successful leadership: when to show emotion and when to withhold it, how to get close to followers while maintaining an appropriate role distance, and maintaining your individuality while "conforming enough" to gain traction and lead change. Underscoring the inherently social nature of leadership, the book also explores how leaders can stay attuned to the needs and expectations of followers. Why Should Anyone Be Led by You? will forever change how we view, develop, and practice the art of leadership, wherever we live and work.

Imagine designing the best company on earth to work for . . . What would that company be like? How would you build and sustain it? As a leader, you need to know. In the past, businesses made people conform to the organization’s needs. But the old paradigm has shifted. Now leaders must transform their organizations so that they attract the right people, keep them, and inspire them to do their best work. How do you create a culture people want to belong to? In this powerful and necessary follow-up to the classic Why Should Anyone Be Led by You?, leadership and organizational sages Rob Goffee and Gareth Jones identify and illuminate the six key organizational attributes to do just that. In separate chapters, they delve deeply into each one: 1. Let people be themselves 2. Practice radical honesty 3. Magnify people’s strengths 4. Stand for authenticity (more than shareholder value) 5. Make work meaningful 6. Make simple rules With vivid stories and examples from global companies, the authors illustrate the kind of strong, attractive workplace culture that leads to sustained high performance. They also provide ways of assessing how your company is doing and describe the tensions and trade-offs that leaders must manage as they transform their organizations. Why Should Anyone Work Here? is the question all contemporary organizational leaders must constantly ask themselves if they want to survive and thrive in the new world. This book will help them answer that question.

This Harvard Business Review digital collection showcases the ideas of Rob Goffee and Gareth Jones, authors of Why Should Anyone Be Led by You? and Why Should Anyone Work Here? In Why Should Anyone Be Led by You?, Goffee and Jones argue that leaders don’t become great by aspiring to a list of universal character traits. Rather, effective leaders are authentic: they deploy individual strengths to engage followers’ hearts, minds, and souls. In Why Should Anyone Work Here?, the authors argue that it used to be that businesses could ask individuals to conform to the organization’s needs but that now today’s leaders are charged with creating the best company on earth to work for: they must transform their organizations to attract the right people, keep them, and inspire them to do their best work.

What does it mean to be yourself at work? As a leader, how do you strike the right balance between vulnerability and authority? This book explains the role of authenticity in emotionally intelligent leadership. You'll learn how to discover your authentic self, when emotional responses are appropriate, how conforming to specific standards can hurt you, and when you need to feel like a fake. This volume includes the work of: Bill George Herminia Ibarra Rob Goffee Gareth Jones This collection of articles includes: "Discovering Your Authentic Leadership" by Bill George, Peter Sims, Andrew N. McLean, and Diana Mayer; "The Authenticity Paradox" by Herminia Ibarra; "What Bosses Gain by Being Vulnerable" by Emma Seppala; "Practice Tough Empathy" by Rob Goffee and Gareth Jones; "Cracking the Code That Stalls People of Color" by Sylvia Ann Hewitt; "For a Corporate Apology to Work, the CEO Should Look Sad" by Sarah Green Carmichael; and "Are Leaders Getting Too Emotional?" an interview with Gautam Mukunda and Gianpiero Petriglieri by Adi Ignatius and Sarah Green Carmichael. How to be human at work. The HBR Emotional Intelligence Series features smart, essential reading on the human side of professional life from the pages of Harvard Business Review. Each book in the series offers proven research showing how our emotions impact our work lives, practical advice for managing difficult people and situations, and inspiring essays on what it means to tend to our emotional well-being at work. Uplifting and practical, these books describe the social skills that are critical for ambitious professionals to master.

"Leadership and change experts Rob Goffee and Gareth Jones call these invaluable individuals 'clevers'. They can be brilliant, difficult - and sometimes even dangerous. Your organization's competitiveness depends on how well you lead them, but traditional leadership strategies won't be effective. In Clever, Goffee and Jones outline a set of unconventional guidelines for setting up your clevers - and your organization - for success. Based on extensive research inside international organizations in a wide range of industries, the authors identify common traits clevers share and decode the dynamics of clever teams. Through vivid real-world stories, they reveal the secrets to getting the most from clevers."--BOOK JACKET.