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Glorious Leadership: A Holistic Approach to Achieving Leadership Mastery and WorkLife Balance

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If anything is as critical as clinical accuracy for a doctor, it is leadership to a leader. Quite obvious you might say, but not really. How do you explain the rise and fall of kingdoms in the past, and or MNC's in the present? How do you explain a great workplace/family and one that has only left your blood to drain? How to you explain great personal fulfilment cum achievements and the hole in the human spirit that is so deep and wide that it seems nothing from gurus of the east or west to the most beautiful maiden, can fill, leave alone masses and tons of monies and power?

In these three instances, the differentiating factor between one happy ending and a tragedy, is someone we refer to as leader and to his calling called `leadership'. In the first instance, the leader is the king, president, prime-minister, dictator(!), the CEO, the CFO, the GM. In the second instance, the leader is our team leader, the manager, the supervisor, the parents, the spouse. In the third instance, the leader is our own self.

Catching up from the three instances I cited above, if you fall under either one of the three categories of leaders then this book will prove very enlightening and helpful as well.

Life of a leader was never easy. Many times it is either this or that. It is in many cases the abdication of the self for the rest (or for many corrupt leaders vice versa), of compassion for task, of freedom for law and order, of joy for work, of sanity for ambition.

In the midst of this sea of confusion, Glorious Leadership! Comes sailing with its captain, the writer, Steve, at the helm, with a map of what he calls "A Holistic Approach to Achieving Leadership Mastery and Worklife Balance". What previously was segregated into different models, he managed to link all possible ways of leadership and living, into this very simplified map.

In Steve's vision of the "Glorious Leader", leaders see themselves as the captain of a ship, roving the seas in search of land, new opportunities. While the crew might not have a clue about the ship and the journey, busy in their tasks the captain cannot forget the sea, with respect to the ship, and both with respect to the destination, and all three with respect to the journey. But have you heard of a captain without a map or without a gyroscope? And then why are we leaders so directional-less, or unidirectional?

You might be wondering of what map I am talking about? Is it the geographical map? No. To explain this, let me introduce to you a concept outlining Glorious Leadership! There are four planes or dimensions - the physical, the emotional, the psychological and the spiritual (page 13). Yes, we have political maps of our world to navigate in the physical world. Yes, we have maps of the business world, which helps us navigate our decision-making, learning processes at the mental or psychological plane. Yes, we have maps for a spiritual life like four-fold life of Hinduism (celibacy, marriage, contemplation, and renunciation). Yes we have life for a healthy emotional life, relationships by many contemporary authors of new-age books. All these maps are either unidirectional or at the best bi-directional.

So far most contemporary authors have used two methodologies to help leaders make changes in their leadership, and individuals in their self-development. They are - the behaviour approach and the other is the cognitive approach. The first one deals with actions to take, habits to form. It is about doing. The second one is about altering ways to thinking and feeling. It is about doing but in the emotional and psychological planes.

Not so in vogue now-a-days, is the virtues approach to self-development and leadership development. It is about being. Being a good leader, or a compassionate leader, or an authorative leader or a cool leader or a popular leader. Though the eastern literatures from ancient China, like the Tao, mostly teach self-improvement using the Virtues approach, I have found the limitations in the presentation of the concept owed to the lack of a metaphor to give life to the concept and a dose of "doing".

So I come to the differentiating factor of Glorious Leadership! against its contemporaries both of old and today. Steve, has taken with this book, the power of the virtue approach, and fused it with the behavioural and cognitive approach, laid around the model of a map and cards serving as gyroscope, with four major directions, as cited earlier and 28 sub-directions like (N-E, S-W, etc) to help the leader navigate in the space of values...

Values affect attitudes that affect behaviours that affect actions, that affect events that affect history. Using this cause and effect analysis, and agreeing it is true, we reason thus that `values' are the original causes. It follows to say that the most effective changes, happen at this level.

Armed with this knowledge, Steve in his book Glorious Leadership! gives you the map and gyroscope of values to bring out the holistic leader in you.

The Glorious leader would be one who despite his physical absence, his legacy of values would be as vibrant and present as he were seated in every one's heart guiding their actions.

The Glorious leader would be forever young, always learning, surprised by the never-ending wonders of life, exploring always.

The Glorious leader would be always calm amidst the most pressing crisis, in war and in peace, in stagnation and in growth.

The Glorious leader would be the servant-leader, the steward leader.

Such is one the destination of Glorious Leadership!, that I personally I have detemined for my ship in the journey to glory.

But mind you, the outcome for you would be different or may be the same. You have the map and 28 Discovery Cards as gyroscope, to trace your path - the choice is yours...

The author of this book is a successful leadership consultant but instead of preaching the usual Harvard or other text book models of leadership he has fused the best of the west with elements of the east to create a unique holistic model of leadership.
The fundamental philosophy behind this model is that leadership is not based of techniques of influence, communication or education but who we are as people. He makes us aware that great leadership has a spiritual center.
This resource which includes diagnostic cards can help a wide range of leaders to excel and develop personally as well as professionally.
It is more than just a book that dictates various methods of leadership rather it is a guide and map to discover your own strengths and weaknesses as a leader. There are over 500 thought provoking questions and it is very much a tool for reflection and development of self.
The author has used this on hundreds of senior leaders in mulitnational organisations through out Asia which is a reflection of the esteem to which it is held as a valid and worthy tool.

Perhaps the most innovative and interesting approach to leadership and professional development I have come across. Written by a highly successful, international leadership coach this book and card set is a self directed guide that takes a holistic appoach to developing oneself as a leader.
The cards offer a practical solution to assessing one's own leadership style and there are additional exercises for self reflection.
The book encourages the reader to discover their authentic self and translate this into a unique style of leadership that is more effective and enjoyable than a more traditional outdated approach to leadership.
A refreshing approach to leadership that has been embraced by CEO's of large dynamic multinationals. Leaders of all levels, in all organisations should be encouraged to use the cards.