​I received this book through NetGalley and read it immediately. The author, Trevor Jarrett acknowledges early on in this book how many other books have been written about leadership and teams. And, truthfully, I believe many hit on the same recommendations just using different words and phrases to describe the process. What I really enjoyed about this book is it is different and gets the points across in just 90 pages. How many leadership books have you closed half-way through them because you "got it"? There was no need to read more. There’s still a bit of fluff in this book; it could have been even better with just 60 pages but so much less fluff than many others.

This book reads like a fable but is actually based on a true experience of the author while delivering a full-day facilitated session. It describes a “game” that he uses regularly to help leadership teams understand and define a problem. I have read many, many business books and hadn’t come across this game before and found it very illuminating. The book also illustrates good coaching behavior by the author with his client.

Great quote from President Theodore Roosevelt.

​What a great approach to avoiding micro-managing. I also wrote a short blog post with similar conclusions on how to avoid micromanaging at MY BLOG POST.

​Overall this is an enjoyable 60-90 minute read and the value you gain from reading it will exceed the effort that was required. A good indicator of a successful endeavor.

 Most everyone agrees there is increased complexity within leadership roles today and the need for resiliency to address change, as the CEO of a Fortune 500, the founder of a startup, the member of any management team or an individual contributor has never been stronger. “Leaders who maintain confidence and resilience in high-pressure situations can make the difference between organisational success and failure." (Reid 2008). Learning to work at your peak with those with different styles and attitudes can make the difference between a good leader and a great one.
 
Leaders have developed a stronger awareness of their own attitudes and other’s perceptions that might be holding them back or making the path forward more difficult.  Coaching brings clarity to decision making by giving us the opportunity to think aloud and with a partner who can probe to help you think deeper and who brings their own experiences and resources to the process.  Our environments are moving extremely quickly and without creating planned time slots for thinking, the day can pass you by while you spend all of your time and energy working and responding to urgent requests.  Coaching allows you to slow down and work on the business and the business strategy while assessing and learning skills necessary to reach you and your team’s peak performance.  Erik Schmidt is quoted as saying that getting a coach was the best advice he ever received.  Bill Gates, in the Ted Talk clip below, simply says everyone should have one.

Top Image courtesy of Renjith Krishnan at FreeDigitalPhotos.net