The Intangibles of Leadership: The 10 Qualities of Superior Executive Performance [Hardcover]

Richard A. Davis (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 10, 2010

It's the Subtleties that Matter!
What is the real difference between competent leader and extraordinary executive? Is it pedigree, experience, intelligence? The answer is yes...and much more. Exceptional leadership hinges on a complex interaction between individual psychology and unique business needs. At the top rung of the ladder, where the dynamics are most complicated, subtle adjustments in style can produce outstanding results. 

In his new book, The Intangibles of Leadership, Management Psychologist Richard Davis, Ph.D., uncovers patterns in the attributes that truly distinguish those who succeed at the top. What he found was that extraordinary leaders possess certain characteristics that fall between the lines of existing leadership models, yet are fundamental to executive success. Davis explains each of these qualities, the people who exemplify them, how to detect them in others, and most importantly, how to develop the subtle characteristics that will enable them to stand out from the pack.
 
Learn why...

• It's often better to aim for silver than for gold
• Playing hard to get attracts people to you
• It's important to have a slightly inflated view of your abilities
• Your peripheral vision is so important
• It's ok to get angry with your team
• So many extraordinary executives have gone through crises early in their lives

Editorial Reviews

Review

‘…Davis uncovers patterns in the attributes that truly distinguish those who succeed at the top.' (Public Net.co.uk, October, 2010).

From the Inside Flap

What Makes a Good Leader Great?

Businesses have been struggling for decades to identify and develop the qualities that make exceptional leaders. While numerous studies, benchmarks and tests have been successful in identifying the basic traits that narrow the field to people with leadership potential, a crucial gap remains. No single model for leadership holds the promise of working across all businesses and organizations, because there is a spectrum of leadership qualities that informs success in different areas. Not only is leadership highly contextual, but the difference between good leaders and extraordinary ones is subtle, underpinned by thoughtful, often tactical nuances of personality and behavior.

As a partner of RHR International, which is a pioneer in the field of corporate psychology, Dr. Richard Davis has deep first-hand experience providing advice and counsel to companies to increase individual and organizational effectiveness. He brings this rich experience-both within the private and public sectors-to bear in this book.

To distinguish truly exceptional leaders, one must look beyond standard competencies, skills and personality traits. The factors that lie between the lines of existing leadership models must be identified and qualified. These are the keys to success-the intangibles of leadership. In his work assessing and developing top leaders, Dr. Davis has identified ten attributes that help distinguish certain leaders from the rest. In The Intangibles of Leadership, he explores each of these attributes in detail and describes how various leaders cultivate and apply them in their work and in their lives. By using the assessments and implementing the recommended steps and strategies, you can enable the very attributes that are utilized by top leaders. As you will soon see, there are many dividends that will be realized by an organization and its stakeholders guided by revitalized, focused and infectious leadership principles.

There are lots of good leaders; there are few exceptional ones. By revealing the subtle yet powerful traits exhibited by those at the top rungs of the ladder, The Intangibles of Leadership will help you take your own leadership journey as far as it can go.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Jossey-Bass; 1 edition (August 10, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0470679158
• ISBN-13: 978-0470679159
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #616,610 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 10 things Leaders can work on, October 18, 2010

By 

Jim Estill (New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Intangibles of Leadership: The 10 Qualities of Superior Executive Performance (Hardcover)

I am a big believer that leadership is mostly about intangibles - this book reinforces that view.

The first intangible is wisdom. Daunting although Davis gives hope that we all have wisdom and that it can be developed:

"Often we think of wisdom as something inborn, an attribute some possess and others do not." "...these conceptions of wisdom miss the mark. First, none of us is born wiser than anyone else...Second, wisdom is not passively obtained, it is the result of conscious reflection, evaluation and decision."

Davis goes on to explain tangible ways to gain wisdom - things like "seek out new ideas", "find a mentor", "designate time for reflection" etc.

"Knowledge is the process of piling up facts; wisdom lies in their simplification" Martin Fischer

Makes me think. Perhaps I pursue knowledge too much and do not allow myself enough time to find wisdom.

One of the intangibles is Fortitude. The closing line in that chapter:

"Your leadership destiny will be determined largely by the strength with whcih you confront challenges"

The book continues with other intangibles like integrity (the obvious one), presence, will, self-insight etc.

It is a good book that provokes thought.

Gives me a new list of 10 things I can work towards.