Remarkable Leadership: Unleashing Your Leadership Potential One Skill at a Time (J-B US non-Franchise Leadership) [Hardcover]

Kevin Eikenberry (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 17, 2007 | Series: J-B US non-Franchise Leadership (Book 49)

Remarkable Leadership is a practical handbook written for anyone who wants to hone the skills they need to become an outstanding leader. In this groundbreaking book, Kevin Eikenberry outlines a framework and a mechanism for both learning new things and applying current knowledge in a thoughtful and practical way. Eikenberry provides a guide through the most important leadership competencies, offers a proven method for learning leadership skills, and shows approaches for applying these skills in today’s multitasking and overloaded world of work. The book explores real-world concerns such as focus, limited time, incremental improvement, and how we learn.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Predicated on the notion that leaders are not born, but are made and remade and made over again, author and consultant Eikenberry provides a guide to honing leadership skills that's succinct and sensible, demonstrating that leading is as much about listening, asking questions and empowering others as it is about charisma and vision. Thirteen chapters enumerate what remarkable leaders do-"learn continually," "communicate powerfully," "influence with impact," "think and act innovatively," etc.-and how they do it. In hopes of narrowing the gap between those who aspire to remarkability and those who've already achieved it, Eikenberry provides plenty of "Now Steps," exercises for evaluating and improving one's position that can be implemented in short order. Obvious but edifying techniques include storytelling practice, journaling and building a network of well-nurtured relationships. Eikenberry also offers online resources ("Bonus Bytes") tied to specific points in the text, available on the book's web site. A solid leadership primer, this book will instruct, if not exactly inspire, anyone looking to manage others more effectively.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

Predicated on the notion that leaders are not born, but are made and remade and made over again, author and consultant Eikenberry provides a guide to honing leadership skills that’s succinct and sensible, demonstrating that leading is as much about listening, asking questions and empowering others as it is about charisma and vision. Thirteen chapters enumerate what remarkable leaders do—"learn continually," "communicate powerfully," "influence with impact," "think and act innovatively," etc.—and how they do it. In hopes of narrowing the gap between those who aspire to remarkability and those who’ve already achieved it, Eikenberry provides plenty of "Now Steps," exercises for evaluating and improving one’s position that can be implemented in short order. Obvious but edifying techniques include storytelling practice, journaling and building a network of well-nurtured relationships. Eikenberry also offers online resources ("Bonus Bytes") tied to specific points in the text, available on the book’s web site. A solid leadership primer, this book will instruct, if not exactly inspire, anyone looking to manage others more effectively. (Sept.) (Publishers Weekly Annex, September 2007)

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Jossey-Bass; 1 edition (August 17, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 078799619X
• ISBN-13: 978-0787996192
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #517,305 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Kevin Eikenberry is the author of Vantagepoints on Life and Learning and an expert in developing organizational and individual potential who lives with his family in Indianapolis, Indiana. Kevin holds a B.S. with honors from Purdue University.
Upon graduation from Purdue, Kevin began his professional career with Chevron Chemical Company, where he held a number of sales, marketing, training, and consulting positions. In 1993, he formed his own training and consulting organization, now known as The Kevin Eikenberry Group.
The Kevin Eikenberry Group is a learning consulting company that provides a wide range of services, including training delivery and design, facilitation, performance coaching, organizational consulting, and speaking services. They have worked with Fortune 500 companies, smaller firms, universities, government agencies and more. His client list includes various Chevron companies, John Deere, National Institute of Health, Purdue University, Southwest Airlines, the U.S. Marine Corp, and the U.S. Mint.
Kevin has spent the last 12 years helping organizations all across North America reach their potential. His specialties include: teams and teamwork, creativity, developing organizational and individual potential, facilitation, training trainers, presentation skills, consulting and the consulting process and more. Kevin's students and clients consistently rave about his effectiveness, many calling him "the best trainer I've ever experienced."
As a speaker, Kevin gives keynotes for organizations and non-profit groups on life-long learning, developing human potential, teams and teamwork, creativity and more. He has presented to the National Speaker's Association (NSA), to international conventions of the North American Simulation and Gaming Association (NASAGA), the International Society for Performance Improvement, the Association of Internal Management Consultants, and the National Association for Experiential Learning. He has also presented at regional meetings of the American Society for Training and Development, and the International Society for Performance Improvement. Clients for his speaking services include American Farm Bureau Federation, Lions, Purdue University, The American Red Cross and MECA.
Kevin is a contributing author of the best-selling book, Walking with the Wise (Mentors Press 2003) and has been a contributing author to more than a dozen other books. He publishes four email-based publications: Unleash Your Potential, a weekly publication, to assist organizations and individuals in turning their potential into desired results; Powerquotes, a weekly publication, read by more than 90,000 people worldwide, featuring a quote along with questions to reflect on; Powerquotes Plus, a fee-based daily publication that adds personal coaching to the Powerquotes offering; and Vantagepoints, an email essay of learning from everyday events and activities, distributed to over 5,900 subscribers worldwide. Kevin is the developer of the Million Dollar Skills Learning System, a top flight learning system on valuable life skills delivered in bite-sized pieces that create powerful and productive habits. He hosted an internet radio program for two and a half years, Magical Movies. A former weekly contributing editor to the TechRepublic web site, his articles have been published in over 100 internet newsletters and web sites.
In 2004 Kevin received Distinguished Agricultural Alumni award from Purdue University . He was named an Outstanding Alumnus of Purdue University in 2002, and serves on the Dean's Advisory Council at Purdue. He has been recognized in the Who's Who in the Midwest and Who's Who Worldwide.
Kevin's goal is to reach organizations and individuals who believe in the power of action ' organizations and individuals who are passionate about succeeding at their highest level.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Remarkable Guide to Leadership Development, January 31, 2008

By 

Walter H. Bock "Wally Bock - Author, Blogger,... (Charlotte NC) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Remarkable Leadership: Unleashing Your Leadership Potential One Skill at a Time (J-B US non-Franchise Leadership) (Hardcover)

Kevin Eikenberry has experience in the real world. It makes this book better. He is an avid learner and experienced trainer. They make this book better. And he's worked with real people one-on-one to help them improve their leadership. That, too, makes this book better.

If you're looking for an informed, practical and effective way to accelerate your own leadership development, you should buy, read, and use Remarkable Leadership. This will also be a good book for you if you're responsible for the leadership development program in a company or for the development of a protégé.

Like the experienced trainer he is, Kevin states his goal at the beginning of the book. "This book is designed to help you identify the parts of your personal leadership package working in your favor and help you develop those parts, and any others you wish to work on, to become the leader you are capable of becoming."

He moves directly from that statement to setting up the material that will fill the rest of the book. He has you do an exercise I've done with groups in training for years: identify a great leader you know and define why you rate them as great or remarkable. Then he shares the core competencies as he sees them. Here's the list.

Remarkable leaders ...

Learn continually

Champion change

Communicate powerfully

Build relationships

Develop others

Focus on customers

Influence with impact

Think and act innovatively

Value collaboration and teamwork

Solve problems and make decisions

Take responsibility and have accountability

Manage projects and processes successfully

Set goals and support goal achievement.

After anchoring his thinking in the principle of building on strength, Eikenberry moves to the next chapter where he discusses leadership development in the real world. His model matches my Apprenticeship Model in all important respects.

The three most important are that most leadership development happens on the job, not in the classroom, good leadership development makes extensive use of feedback, and your boss and other more experienced leaders play a crucial role in your development.

Chapter 3 tells you how to get the most out of the book. Then comes the real meat of the book, a chapter on each of the competencies.

Each chapter includes examples and stories to help you get the concept. There are resources to help you develop. And there are two features that make this book stand out. "Now Steps" offer you suggestions for immediate ways to apply the principle of the chapter. And "Bonus Bytes" give you a link to a web site where more resources and ideas await.

This book is for you if you want a guided way to take charge of your own personal development. You'll get solid information and insight, coupled with learning tools and suggestions for action.

This is also a book for you if you're responsible for the development of leaders in a smaller company or for a protégé. The structure of the material and learning tools should make you more effective at that task.

If you support leadership development in a larger corporation you'll find many good ideas here that you'll be able to incorporate. You should also consider buying multiple copies to share with the working managers in your company to help them assume a mentor role.

Now, who should not buy the book? If you expect to learn leadership from simply reading this or any other book, save your money. Leadership is an apprentice trade and learning it takes work on the job. Remarkable Leadership can help you do it better.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Remarkably Useful, August 19, 2007

By 

Darryl Sopoci - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Remarkable Leadership: Unleashing Your Leadership Potential One Skill at a Time (J-B US non-Franchise Leadership) (Hardcover)

Kevin Eikenberry makes it clear that leadership can be learned. Remarkable Leadership is a book that I will pick-up again and again to sharpen my skills as a leader. He makes it clear early on that leaders are continous learners and then helps you learn leadership through a straight forward approach.

The online Bonus Bytes are also great

Read it, then keep it nearby and keep on learning as you go.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Comprehensive, common sense approach to leadership development, August 14, 2007

By 

M. C. Huebner - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Remarkable Leadership: Unleashing Your Leadership Potential One Skill at a Time (J-B US non-Franchise Leadership) (Hardcover)

This book is a great resource for leaders interested in their own development and for those responsible for organizational leadership development efforts.

It is easy to skim, comprehensive in detail, and packed with great tips. I particularly liked the bonus bytes website site for extra resources.