Personal Leadership : Taking Control of Your Work Life [Hardcover]

John Baldoni (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 2001

First-time managers are gripped by two overriding emotions: the thrill of being in charge, and the terror of being in charge. First-time managers want to do what is right for themselves, their people, and their organization, but all too often they do not have the resources to help them.

Now they do!

Personal Leadership: Taking Control of Your Work Life provides skill-building information that first-time managers can use to become leaders.

Accessible and easy to scan, this book combines insightful profiles of leaders in action with practical essays on leadership skills such as vision, planning, communication, recognition, and supervision.

Featuring an easy-to-use, high-impact graphic format, Personal Leadership delivers hard-hitting, real-world tips on how to become the leader that others will respect, trust, and follow.

To help leaders develop their skills, Personal Leadership features: Self-Assessments to assess personal leadership attributes Action Planners to develop personal leadership skills

Among the leaders featured in Personal Leadership are:
Jac Nasser, CEO & President, Ford Motor Company
Eleanor Josaitis, Executive Director, Focus: Hope
Rick Snyder, venture capitalist and former COO of Gateway, Inc.

Editorial Reviews

Review

His insights into the importance of conviction, character, and compassion are right on the mark. -- Don J. Debolt, President and COO, International Franchise Assoc.

John's new book drives a fresh approach to personal leadership. -- John M. Renfro, Senior Vice President, Human Resources, Gateway, Inc.

About the Author

For nearly 20 years, executives from entrepreneurial startups to Fortune 100 companies have turned to John Baldoni to help them develop their communications, learning and leadership skills. The author of two books on management, "Personal Leadership, Taking Control of Your Work Life" and "180 Ways to Walk the Leadership Talk," he has written more than three dozen articles, essays and commentaries on leadership.

When Baldoni is not advising clients, or consulting on management development at the University of Michigan, he takes his message on the road and to the airwaves.

A graduate, with honors, from the University of Michigan's Master's program in organizational behavior and adult instruction, Baldoni is also holds degrees from Georgetown University and London International Film School. He uses all parts of this diverse background to design programs that make learning exciting and effective. He combines straight-forward speaking with a variety of tools including videos, games, simulations, guest lectures and participant materials.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 219 pages
• Publisher: Elsewhere Press (MI) (January 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 096573451X
• ISBN-13: 978-0965734516
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.7 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,110,996 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

John Baldoni is an internationally recognized leadership consultant, coach, author and speaker.

John has taught what it means to inspire at the top of a mountain in the Canadian Rockies. At sea level in Orlando, Florida, John spoke to nearly one thousand USAF/JAG commissioned and non-commissioned officers on leadership and communication. And his book, Lead Your Boss, The Subtle Art of Managing Up, was selected as a notable leadership book for fall 2009.

In 2011, Leadership Gurus International ranked John No. 11 on its list of global leadership gurus. In 2010 for the second consecutive year, John was named one of the world's top 25 leadership experts by Top Leadership Gurus International.

John established a career as a highly sought after communications and leadership consultant, where he had the privilege of working with senior leaders in virtually every industry from pharmaceutical to real estate, packaged goods to automobiles, and finance to health care.

John speaks widely to corporate, professional, military and university audiences. Those who attend John's keynotes and workshops find his advice to be practical and his advice inspirations. Mixed with stories of great men and women, and leavened with light hearted humor, John seeks down-to-earth practical advice that individuals can apply immediately. John's presentations blend his passion for leadership with genuine enthusiasm for helping people achieve their leadership ambitions.

In Fall 2011 John published his tenth book, Lead With Purpose: Giving Your Organization a Reason to Believe in Itself. Over the past decade, John has established himself as a world authority on on topics that matter to leaders who are seeking insight into leadership challenges of the day. Through his books and many columns for leading business publications, John has become a source of practical wisdom on topics such as influencing without authority, applying power appropriately, leading with grace and conviction, and developing genuine followership. All of these topics complement John's mission to help individuals and their organizations achieve positive results.

As a recognized global thought leader, John's executive coaching helps managers to achieve positive results by focusing on communication, influence, motivation and supervision. John specializes in leadership presence, which he defines as "demonstrating earned authority." John's coaching clients including Fortune 1000 companies as well as non-profits.

John is a regular online contributor to CBSi/BNET, Bloomberg/Businessweek, and Harvard Business Review. John's columns have appeared in the online versions of FastCompany, Forbes, Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post well as Leader to Leader and the Wharton Leadership Digest.

John has been quoted by scores of publications including the New York Times, Boston Globe, Chicago Tribune, Christian Science Monitor, Globe and Mail (Canada), HR Management, and the Washington Post. Additionally John has appeared on many radio programs, including the national version of the Michael Smerconish Show. Reviews of his work have appeared in a number of publications including Investor's Business Daily, Training & Development, Sales & Marketing Management, WashingtonPost.com and The Hindu.

John has created a video coaching series for Athena Online and a series of coaching podcasts for CXO Media. These forms of media give John the opportunity to reach a wider audience with his leadership insights designed to help managers become effective leaders.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Practical, Engaging, and Inspiring, May 11, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Personal Leadership : Taking Control of Your Work Life (Hardcover)

My first response was, "Not another book about leadership!" But I was surprised to discover a very special book with an amazing amount of practical and inspiring information packed into 219 pages. His framework of insights for leaders is coupled with a selection of leadership profiles of real-life leaders.

Most leadership books stay at 30,000 feet. Baldoni brings us down to ground level. He tells us what we actually have to do to be effective leaders at work, at home, or any other place. He hones in on the values, beliefs, and personality that are found in effective leaders, making a distinction between constructive leaders and destructive leaders.

The stories about leaders provide a wonderful variety of types of leadership and kinds of organizations. In the profiles a CEO of a Fortune 100 business, two startup entrepreneurs, a school principal, a college coach, and a military commander, we see the same basic principles applied over and over again. It is a pleasure to have the nuts and bolts of day-to-day leadership and real-life examples together in one easy to read book.

Adding to the book's appeal is the way Baldoni has embedded the process of reflection into the book. He explains it as an essential leadership skill and then he demonstrates the skill by asking the reader reflective questions at the end of each short chapter. These questions had me thinking about what the chapter meant to me and what I could learn about leadership.

The author's engaging writing style is not often seen in management texts. The mix of advice and stories is done with humor and flows easily from topic to topic and chapter to chapter. I recommend this book highly.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Fast Read and Great Guidlines, December 22, 2001

By 

Joel R. Deluca (Berwyn, PA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Personal Leadership : Taking Control of Your Work Life (Hardcover)

I found this book to be practical and chock full of useful stories that bring home leadership points in the book. Personal Leadership is an excellent book for front line supervisors. It provides many useful frameworks for things leaders may already know but don't have a way to be systematic about. It also brings out issues new leaders may not have even considered but are important to their success. As a trainer in leadership I have seen many books on leadership but few that I feel would be as useful as this one in helping new leaders hit the deck running.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Down-to-earth wisdom, August 2, 2001

By 

Sarah Fenson, Ivy Sea, Inc. (San Francisco, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Personal Leadership : Taking Control of Your Work Life (Hardcover)

Despite how common the word is in business lexicon, `leadership' can be perceived and defined in many ways - from an executive title to behavior that influences others. What's not in question is that many of us aspire to become leaders, and aren't sure where to start.

In Personal Leadership: Taking Control of Your Work Life, author John Baldoni cuts through the intellectual theory of leadership, and shares with readers the inspirational essays, stimulating questions and practical tips that can help anyone cultivate valuable skills on his or her journey towards leadership. His blending of down-to-earth wisdom and powerful anecdotes (all presented in bite-sized pieces) make for an easy-to-read book that's a good addition to the reference libraries of businesses large and small.

Rather than falling into the traditional trap of citing only corporate executives as leaders, Baldoni provides examples from the spectrum of life - including Swiss watchmakers, educators, film directors and U.S. presidents - allowing readers to notice the leadership skills within, rather than see leadership as simply a title assigned by a corporation to a select few. Each chapter of Baldoni's book also includes exercises and action planners that transition concepts into action, which is the foundation of any successful personal-development practice. (As Baldoni writes, "Leadership begins with the individual!")

The "stories from the front lines" make a lasting impression, serving as windows into the world of leadership that showcase the challenges and triumphs, and the required mindset and mettle. Curiously, all but one of the featured leaders is based in the Detroit, Michigan-area, making one wonder if there's something extra-special in the water supply out there, or if Baldoni's reach extended only so far. This is not to diminish the information that he generously offers in the book, but an element that stands out as unusual in a book that otherwise features a nice depth. Some prospective or actual readers of Baldoni's book might see this as credibility-busting, but that would be a self-limiting mistake.

Any current or aspiring leader - regardless of organizational title - will find gems of new information or poignant reminders in this book, and will return to its pages for inspiration and fine-tuning.

Bottom line: Personal Leadership is recommended reading.