Total Leadership: Be a Better Leader, Have a Richer Life (Hardcover)

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: total leadership, action metrics, attention chart, San Francisco, Green Beret, Self Domain (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Friedman, a former academic and leadership consultant, presents “Total Leadership,” his “four-way” win method that enables a leader to find mutual value at work, at home, in the community, and personally. He explains that his views are not work-life balance, which he considers a zero-sum game. Using exercises, stories, charts, and lists, the author describes Total Leadership as a program for becoming a leader who acts with authenticity by determining what is important, who acts with integrity by respecting all parts of his life, and who acts with creativity by experimenting to find new solutions. Claiming leadership can and must be learned, the author offers step-by-step instructions for using his principles to produce stronger business results while having a richer life and creating opportunities for others. Although this book appears to be a manual for client seminars and an infomercial for his consulting activities, Friedman nevertheless offers thoughtful insight into important leadership qualities that will improve results while allowing for a fulfilling life for leaders and their followers. --Mary Whaley

Review

Friedman...offers thoughtful insight into important leadership qualities that will improve results while allowing for a fulfilling life for leaders and their followers. --Booklist, June 1, 2008

Students talk about Stewart D. Friedman, a management professor at the Wharton School, with a mixture of earnest admiration, gratitude and rock star adoration. --The New York Times, May 28, 2008

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: Harvard Business School Press (June 8, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1422103285
• ISBN-13: 978-1422103289
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #67,203 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book - deceiving title, July 10, 2008

By	M. Henderson - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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I took two intercontinental flights recently and took the time to go through the "Total Leadership" program. And, before I begin my review, I want to say that over the past ten years or so I've seen an absolute avalanche of "leadership" books come out - most of them gimmicky and useless. This is not one of them and in fact I believe the title may deter people from purchasing this; do not be one of them.

"Total Leadership" is about finding your way when you have multiple responsibilities tugging you in different directions. Until now, I've often felt family pulling me one way, only to find the more time I spend with them the more I resent the time it takes away from work. Similarly, on business trips for example, I fight with feelings of guilt for being away from my family. And that's not to mention the the toll all of this takes on my health, when I'm too busy to exercise or just watch the game with friends. I'm here to say this book can help, like finding the long lost manual and finally figuring our how to do new things with a product, this book acts as a guide to finding a semblance of control in your life. It's not about sacrifice, and it's definitely not found in the idea of "balance", this book advocates a powerful third way: overlapping your domains and drawing boundaries.

What makes this book especially effective are the exercises the author puts the reader through. The reader is asked to define the issue, starting with the multiple responsibilities and challenges s/he faces, then it moves on to defining your domains, where is it that you spend your time? Most of the readers (including myself) would find four areas: self, family, work and community. Then, with domains defined, you can identify stakeholders in each domain and begin the process of finding ways "to live your life in accord with what really matters to you." The reader is asked to discuss his/her vision for a future life (post-change) with trusted individuals s/he has previously identified. A particularly effective step is then speaking with others about living your life differently, such as: your boss, significant other and friends, and getting their opinion and feedback on your plan, and as difficult and challenging as this may be it ends up providing the most powerful incentive to change through accountability and stakeholder buy-in. In many cases, I found that as much as I was building bridges between domains in my life, I was also creating boundaries (for example, no longer do I check my blackberry or the Internet between the hours of 6pm - 9pm.) But some of the biggest changes are personal ones that are for me and my family, other readers will likely find similar decisions they make without necessarily sharing them.

This book is not about easy decisions, or difficult ones, its about drilling down to what's most important in your life and building from there.

Ultimately, this book is required reading once, in my opinion, you are put in a position of responsibility. It is effective in maintaining a mindset conducive to responsible living, it provides a non-cookie cutter approach and it creates change in your life through practical exercises.

For these reasons, this reviewer highly recommends "Total Leadership."

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Better than The Four Hour Workweek!, June 9, 2008

By	Tech-shaman "-D" (Silicon Valley) - See all my reviews

Stew Friedman has hit the ball out of the park by writing a book about his real-world experience helping people combine and optimize their home life with their work life. I took a class from Stew at Wharton a few years ago as the ideas and techniques in this book were evolving. The basic idea is to use Stew's rating methodology to rank how much effort you put into different parts of your life and to measure it against the returns you get. It's surprisingly easy to do and very insightful. Then, the book shows you how to optimize where you focus your energy so you can get better results in all the parts of your life that matter. Very few business and leadership books admit that the link between your home life and your work life is an integral part of how you function in both. Total Leadership not only understands this idea, it teaches you how to strengthen the link, enriching your life at work and at home. Try it, it works!
-a happy VP somewhere in Silicon Valley

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great book that will make you think beyond "life balance", June 14, 2008

By	Thom Singer "Author of The ABC's of Networking" (Austin, TX USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I had the pleasure to see Dr. Friedman speak and received a copy of his book. I sat down and read the book with enthusiasm as he has a unique manner of inspiring his audience to make sure that their life is in alignment, as an out of balance leader is not an effective leader.

Friedman teaches that you have to assess your own life situation and align your actions with your values. A person who wants to accomplish more in any area must focus on achieving better results in all parts of their life. Spending too much time on any one thing will through the whole person out of whack and rob them of their potential.

The book is a good read, and heavy with stories of his students triumphs from using his theories.

I was especially drawn to his points of sharing your mission with your "shareholders" (those important in your life: spouse, boss, parents, coworkers, etc...) as I believe that all opportunities come from people and by making sure that others are engaged in your journey will assist the individual in achieving their goals.

This book is well worth the investment of money and time.