Great Leaders Grow: Becoming a Leader for Life [Hardcover]

Ken Blanchard (Author), Mark Miller (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 6, 2012

Successful leaders don’t rest on their laurels. Leadership must be a living process, not a title on a business card, and life means growth. As Ken Blanchard and Mark Miller write in the introduction, “the path to increased influence, impact, and leadership effectiveness is paved with personal growth.… Our capacity to grow determines our capacity to lead. It’s really that simple.” Great Leaders Grow shows leaders and aspiring leaders precisely which areas to focus on so they can remain effective throughout their lives.

As the book opens, Debbie Brewster, an accomplished leader herself, becomes a mentor to Blake, her late mentor’s son, as he begins his career. Debbie tells Blake, “How well you and I serve will be determined by the decision to grow or not. Will you be a leader who is always ready to face the next challenge? Or will you be a leader who tries to apply yesterday’s solutions to today’s problems? The latter will ultimately fail. The difference: the decision to grow. And not a short-term decision but a decision to grow throughout your career and throughout your life. This single decision is a game changer for leaders.”

Over the next several weeks Debbie reveals what this means in practical terms. She and Blake explore four ways that leaders must continue to grow, both on the job and off, because who you are as a leader is inextricably connected to who you are as a person. Whether you’re a CEO or an entry-level employee, you’ll be inspired to reflect on your own life and to design your own unique long-term growth plan, leading to not only continuing professional success but personal fulfillment as well.
 

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Ken Blanchard is chief spiritual officer of the Ken Blanchard Companies. He is the author or coauthor of 50 books that have sold more than 20 million copies, including the iconic One Minute Manager®.

Mark Miller is vice president, training and development, for Chick-fil-A. During his career he has served in corporate communications, restaurant operations, quality and customer satisfaction, and numerous other leadership positions. He began his Chick-fil-A career in 1977 working as an hourly team member. He is the author of The Secret of Teams and the coauthor of The Secret.
 

Product Details

• Hardcover: 144 pages
• Publisher: Berrett-Koehler Publishers (February 6, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1609943031
• ISBN-13: 978-1609943035
• Product Dimensions: 5.8 x 0.6 x 8.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #27,166 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Great read, but fell a little short February 4, 2012

By Joshua Reich

Format:Hardcover

First off, what I loved about the book was how quick of a read it is. I finished it in one night. It is similar to Patrick Lencioni's books in that it is written as a fable.

The book hits on a topic that is important to every leader. How a leader grows and develops. No leader wants to stay put. By definition, leaders are about influence, change, pushing the status quo. But many leaders are not sure what that means, where that goes or how to do it.

This book gives a clear plan on how a leader develops, how they grow and use their talents to their full extent.

Here are a few things that jumped out in the book:

-Leaders who grow help others grow.
-There's certainly more to leadership than growth, but growth is at the heart of what creates and sustains great leaders. Growth is the leader's fountain of youth.
-Our capacity to grow determines our capacity to lead. It's really that simple.
-The best teams always do life together.
-We all make mistakes, and we do our best to learn from them. That's one thing leaders do extremely well.
-Anytime you influence the thinking, beliefs, or development of another person, you're engaging in leadership.
-When a person's core values are not aligned with a company's values, it's rarely a great situation - short term or long term.
-If you don't feel like you want to be a leader, you shouldn't pursue a leadership position.
-If, in your heart, you can't honestly say that you want to serve people, you shouldn't pursue leadership.
-Great leaders serve.
-Growing, for great leaders, is like breathing. It is not optional. It is not something you do in addition to your real job.
-Your capacity to grow will determine your capacity to lead. If you get too busy with your job to grow, your influence and leadership will stagnate and ultimately evaporate.

If there's one criticism I'd give about this book it is that it stops at the leader. At the end of the story, the CEO says, "Being a leader dedicated to lifelong learning and personal growth is not the same as creating a culture of growth." I was hoping that the authors would have dug into this topic because I believe this is one area so many churches and organizations struggle. It's one thing for the leader to grow, it's another thing to create a culture of growth within your organization.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Life Changing, Career changing title. February 11, 2012

By Curtis A. Cecil

Format:Hardcover

Successful leaders don't rest on their laurels. Leadership must be a living process, not a title on a business card, and life means growth. As Ken Blanchard and Mark Miller write in the introduction, "the path to increased influence, impact, and leadership effectiveness is paved with personal growth . . . Our capacity to grow determines our capacity to lead. It's really that simple." Great Leaders Grow shows leaders and aspiring leaders precisely which areas to focus on so they can remain effective throughout their lives.

As the book opens, Debbie Brewster, an accomplished leader herself, becomes a mentor to Blake, her late mentor's son, as he begins his career. Debbie tells Blake, "How well you and I serve will be determined by the decision to grow or not. Will you be a leader who is always ready to face the next challenge? Or will you be a leader who tries to apply yesterday's solutions to today's problems? The latter will ultimately fail. The difference: the decision to grow. And not a short-term decision but a decision to grow throughout your career and throughout your life. This single decision is a game changer for leaders."

Over the next several weeks Debbie reveals what this means in practical terms. She and Blake explore four ways that leaders must continue to grow, both on the job and off, because who you are as a leader is inextricably connected to who you are as a person. Whether you're a CEO or an entry-level employee, you'll be inspired to reflect on your own life and to design your own unique long-term growth plan, leading to not only continuing professional success but personal fulfillment as well.

Ken Blanchard, co-author of Great Leaders Grow: Becoming a Leader for Life, is one of the most influential leadership gurus in the world, respected for his groundbreaking work in leadership and management. He is the author or coauthor of dozens of books, including the blockbuster international bestseller The One Minute Manager® and the giant business bestsellers Raving Fans and Gung Ho!. His books have combined sales of more than 20 million copies in 27 languages. In 2005 Ken was inducted into Amazon's Hall of Fame as one of the top 25 bestselling authors of all time.
Ken is the cofounder and chief spiritual officer of The Ken Blanchard Companies, an international management training and consulting firm headquartered in San Diego, California. He serves on the board of trustees at Cornell University and the College of Business at Grand Canyon University bears his name.
Mark Miller, co-author of Great Leaders Grow: Becoming a Leader for Life, is vice president, training and development, for Chick-fil-A. During his career he has served in corporate communications, restaurant operations, quality and customer satisfaction, and numerous other leadership positions. He began his Chick-fil-A career in 1977 working as an hourly team member. He is the author of The Secret of Teams and the coauthor of The Secret.

Personal Thoughts:
It's amazing how a book comes along at the right time for you. This book has many tips, tools, and topics that line up directly with where I feel I am at in my leadership in my company.
We need some fresh perspective and this book does offer that.

I have already mentioned this book to many of my Store Managers, co-workers and pastor..
This will be a life changing, career impacting book for you!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Caught me by surprise February 14, 2012

By David Witt

Format:Hardcover

I read a lot of business books and I picked up Great Leaders Grow for a blog post I was writing. Career growth (or the lack of it) is a big issue in most of today's organizations but there hasn't been much written on the subject. Great Leaders Grow looks at the topic from the perspective of a 20-something. Being closer to 50 myself, I was enjoying the story as an observer, watching as the young lead character learns four important elements of growth: Gain Knowledge, Reach Out to Others, Open Your World, and Walk toward Wisdom.

I was jolted out of my observer role a little later in the story when a long time leader in the company is being let go for not keeping his skills current. Instead of growing during his 14 years with the company, he has simply repeated his first year's experience 14 times! He fell into the trap of complacency and it cost him his job.

Ouch--that hit close to home. I wasn't expecting that.

Let's just say that I read the remainder of the book a little more closely. I explored the material with the intent of applying it to my own career. (The authors make this easy by including some action steps and key questions at the end of the story.)

Great Leaders Grow is a good resource for someone just starting out on their leadership journey, but it might be an even better resource for someone who is in the middle of their career and needs a boost. I know that was my experience. It's a quick read (about 1 to 2 hours) and well worth the time--even potentially life changing. Highly recommended.