Leadership is the ability of an individual or an organization to influence or guide other individuals, groups, or organizations. Leaders inspire others and bring out the best in them. Organizations, too, focus on inspiring their workforce to encourage innovation and to sustain their productivity. One of the most powerful ingredients for effective leadership is team empowerment. Leaders unlock higher performance through empowerment, rather than control. They aim to create more leaders than followers.
Andrew Carnegie, one of the richest Americans and a successful industrialist, said, “No man will make a great leader who wants to do it all himself, or to get all the credit for doing it.”
There are several great leadership books available, such as:
- The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey
- Good to Great by Jim Collins
- Start with Why by Simon Sinek
- The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership by John C. Maxwell
You might wonder if there are so many leadership books out there, why did I write another one? The fact is that not everyone has enough time to read long books. Life has become very busy these days. Some of us are managing full-time day jobs, running a 10% business, or being busy parents. I, too, face challenges in blocking my time during the day to read and write books. Most of the books that I read have key takeaways that I want to remember or act upon. I wondered how many more books I could read if all books were short and crisp. This is the reason that I am writing a new leadership series.
Few Leadership Quotes:
- A leader knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way. - John C. Maxwell
- The quality of a leader is reflected in the standards they set for themselves. - Ray Kroc
- Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality. - Warren Bennis
- Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower. - Steve Jobs
- Think of little goals and expect small achievements. Think big goals and achieve big success. - David J. Schwartz
- If you think you can do a thing, or think you can’t do a thing, you’re right. - Henry Ford
- Leadership is a way of thinking, a way of acting, and, most importantly, a way of communicating. - Simon Sinek