People Follow You: The Real Secret to What Matters Most in Leadership [Hardcover]

Jeb Blount (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 15, 2011

Discover the secrets to influencing the performance of the people you lead

Managers don't get paid for what they do but rather for the performance of their people; therefore, a manager's most important job is coaching behaviors in order to improve performance. In People Follow You managers will learn five easily understood and implemented levers critical to influencing the performance of the people they lead. Ultimately, people follow people that they like, trust, and believe in. Understand how to build stronger relationships with direct and indirect reports that lead to loyalty, higher productivity, and long-term development.

Relevant to middle and high level managers, People Follow You provides a foundation for managing people. Practical lessons help managers employ winning interpersonal skills to move others to take action.

• Learn how to leverage the basics of interpersonal relationships to inspire others to take action
• Get a simple and actionable formula for connecting with employees and indirect reports and gaining their buy-in through the use of personal power vs. the power of authority
• Discover the fundamental on-the-job coaching skills that deliver instant performance improvement
• Author Jeb Blount is the most downloaded sales expert in iTunes history; his Sales Gravy and Sales Guy audio programs have been downloaded more than 3 million times

When all else is stripped away, people don't work for companies, paychecks, perks, or slogans, people work for you. Become a manager people will follow, and lead your team to greater achievements and measurable gains.

Editorial Reviews

Review

People Follow You! is a book that gets leadership right - by concept, by ideas, and most important, by example. If you're looking for leadership understanding and know-how, this book is a money-in-the-bank answer.
—Jeffrey Gitomer author of The Little Book of Leadership

From the Inside Flap

Most of us have suffered through a bad boss. The jerk who belittles subordinates in front of their coworkers. The guy who storms through the office and puts everybody on edge. The boss who talks over you just as you're about to explain your problem or the one who can never make a decision. There's a high cost to this poor leadership. Employees slow their production in retaliation, and top producers bail. Revenues shrink, just as turnover costs rise. And noincentive or benefits package can undo the damage. On the other hand, the most effective leaders aremasters at inspiring their peopleto take action. The fact is, people don'tfollow companies, paychecks, incentives, stock options, fear, power, or fancy slogans—PEOPLE FOLLOW YOU.

People Follow You delivers a simple and actionable formula for building strong relationships with employees and gaining their buy-in. Ultimately, people follow leaders they like, trust, and believe in, leading to higher productivity and long-term development. Managers don't get paid for what they do but rather for the performance of their people. By putting your people first, you'll position yourself and your company for success.

People Follow You offers five easily understood and implemented levers critical to influencing your people's performance. You'll learn the real secrets to:

• Motivate and position your employees to perform at the highest level

• Retain top talent by building trust and loyalty

• Create an environment where people grow, develop, and thrive

• Communicate effectively so that you're heard

• Increase productivity and take your team to a new level of success

Become a manager people will follow, and you'lllead your team to greater achievements andmeasurable gains.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (November 15, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1118094018
• ISBN-13: 978-1118094013
• Product Dimensions: 5.9 x 0.8 x 8.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #64,400 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Jeb Blount, CEO of SalesGravy.com, is a respected thought leader on sales and sales leadership. He is the author of three books, People Buy You: The Real Secret to what Matters Most in Business, Sales Guy's 7 Rules for Outselling the Recession, and Power Principles. Jeb is host of the popular Sales Guy podcast on the Quick and Dirty Tips network. His audio programs have been downloaded in excess of 4 million times. He publishes the weekly Sales Gravy eMagazine which is subscribed to by more than 100,0000 sales professionals and sales leaders. In addition, he has written more than 100 articles on the sales profession. He is a regular guest lecturer for the University of Central Florida School of Business and a frequent speaker at the MIT Sales Conference. He provides coaching and mentorship for students participating in the National Collegiate Sales Competition and a judge at the International MBA Sales Competition sponsored by the MIT sales club.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great advice on a critical aspect of leadership November 10, 2011

By John Gibbs TOP 500 REVIEWER

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

Bad bosses are oblivious to the fact that leading people requires humility, savvy, authenticity, and keen interpersonal skills, according to Jeb Blount in this book. Many organizations have elaborate incentive schemes in place designed to improve employee satisfaction and retention, yet fail to deal with the one thing which causes most employee dissatisfaction: poor leadership.

The book provides a broad range of leadership wisdom, including:

* Leadership success is directly related to the quality of the relationships that leaders build and sustain with the people they lead.
* You need your people more than they need you.
* Because you are the boss, people watch and analyse your every move, looking for meaning and clues as to what you are thinking.
* If you put the interests of your followers before your own, that helps you build an emotional connection which opens them to accepting your coaching and directing.
* Leaders maximise their own performance by doing whatever it takes to help their followers be more successful.
* Trust between leaders and followers is built by leaders doing what they say they will do, keeping promises, and behaving in a consistent and professional manner.
* Positive emotional experiences strengthen a relationship and engender loyalty sufficient to withstand difficult conditions.

There are many different books on leadership, offering many different opinions about what leaders should and should not do. In my opinion this book is one of the better ones. Instead of prescribing a broad variety of different actions that leaders are supposed to take, it concentrates on the critical aspect of leadership which is most often overlooked: the relationship which a leader has with his or her followers. I would recommend this book to anyone who is responsible for supervising someone else.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars This is the blueprint to become a perfect leader!!!! November 15, 2011

By Dub Taylor

Format:Hardcover

Jeb has outlined the five key levers that will give an aspiring leader the blueprint to become a successful, proven leader. I have been following Jeb's teachings for about nine years, and I must admit that my career has benefited from his series of books and podcasts. I'm a firm believer of "the proof is in the pudding" and I can truly say that when I started listening and following Jeb's teaching, my career went from an individual Sales Rep in Birmingham, AL to a Regional Sales Manager managing half of the country in New York City. I highly recommend this book.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Whose Chair Will You Sit In? April 10, 2012

By Dr. Joey Faucette

Format:Hardcover

Jeb Blount says: "Most people would rather spend an hour in the dentist's chair getting a root canal than an hour with their boss."

Really?

After spending a few seconds remembering some of my bosses, I had to agree.

And I imagine you will, too as you remember.

Proof positive that yes, we need another book on leadership, and yes, one written differently from the typical. We need one that will get us out of the dentist's chair and into the boss'...

Jeb Blount follows his very successful, PEOPLE BUY YOU, with this equally excellent book on leadership. Echoing some of the same themes in PBY, Blount expertly relates leadership principles--levers--that can truly transform our preferred seating arrangements.

Blount marvelously weaves together these levers with stories and anecdotes from his stellar sales consulting/coaching career, bringing life to data, people to principles, and putting flesh on the five core value bones of leadership that all of us wish our bosses possessed:

1. Put People First
Be likeable. Flex your style. Be polite and respectful. Act with kindness. Invest in yourself. Be passionate and enthusiastic about helping others win.

2. Connect
Ask easy questions. Be prepared. Coach. Listen--deeply. Stay connected person-to-person.

3. Position People to Win
"Leaders get paid for what their people do, not what they do."

4. Build Trust
Trust trumps status quo. Apologize and admit when you are wrong.

5. Create Positive Emotional Experiences
What we experience, we remember. What goes around really does come around. Help your people win and recognize it big-time because "It don't cost nuthin' to be nice."

Blount instills this wisdom in the reader repeatedly, such as: "As a leader, you need your people more than they need you. Your job as a leader is to help your people succeed."

If you are a follower who would choose the dentist chair, but are afraid to change jobs in this negative world and get a worse boss, buy a copy of PEOPLE FOLLOW YOU, and leave it in the boss' chair. Anonymously if you have to...

If you are a leader and can only pick one business book on leadership to read this year, make it Jeb Blount's PEOPLE FOLLOW YOU. Then go lead accordingly.

But be forewarned: you're gonna need more chairs in your office.