Book description
With Leadership Lessons from West Point as a guide, leaders in the business, nonprofit, and government sectors can learn leadership techniques and practices from contributors who are teaching or have taught at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and have served in positions of leadership that span the globe. These military experts cover a broad range of topics that are relevant to any leadership development program in any sector. The articles in this important resource offer insight into what leadership means to these experts—in both war and peacetime—and describe their views on quiet leadership, mission, values, taking care of people, organizational learning, and leading change.
Table of contents
- Copyright
- leader to leader Institute
- A NOTE FROM THE LEADER TO LEADER INSTITUTE
- FOREWORD
- ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
- ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTORS
- INTRODUCTION
-
I. LEADERSHIP AND VALUES DEVELOPMENT
- 1. BECOMING A LEADER DEVELOPER
- 2. LEARNING FROM FAILURE
- 3. YOU MUST LEAD YOURSELF FIRST
-
4. INFLUENCING YOUR ORGANIZATION'S MORAL PHILOSOPHY
- 4.1. Being Preyed on Taught Me a Hard Lesson
- 4.2. The Army's Case for Shaping Moral Philosophy
- 4.3. Recruiting and Selecting People Who Match Organizational Values
- 4.4. Socializing Recruits to Embrace Organizational Values
- 4.5. Establishing Clear Rules of Acceptable Conduct in the Organization
- 4.6. Clarifying Boundaries by Punishing Those Who Step Outside Them
- 4.7. Pushing Beyond Compliance: Toward Internalization
- 4.8. The Next Level: Embodying Your Organization's Values
- 4.9. Teaching Ethics
- 4.10. Policing Their Own Ranks
- 4.11. The Problem of Tolerating Unacceptable Behavior
- 4.12. Conclusion
- 4.13. Notes
-
5. DEVELOPING ORGANIZATIONAL VALUES IN OTHERS
- 5.1. The Enduring Nature of Army Values
- 5.2. Why Values Are So Important
- 5.3. How Leaders Get Others to Internalize Organizational Values
- 5.4. Step One: Self-Identification and Selection
- 5.5. Step Two: Early Socialization Process
- 5.6. Step Three: Use of Role Models
- 5.7. Step Four: Sharing of Stories and Examples
- 5.8. Step Five: Feedback and Performance Evaluations
- 5.9. Conclusion
-
6. THE AUTHENTIC HIGH-IMPACT LEADER
- 6.1. Challenges to Authenticity
- 6.2. Components of Authentic Leadership
- 6.3. High-Impact Leadership: The Multiplying Effects of Authentic Leadership
- 6.4. Authentic Leadership in Operation
- 6.5. Authentic Leadership Development
- 6.6. Taking Authenticity to the Collective Level: A Culture of Authenticity
- 6.7. Authenticity Revisited
- 6.8. Notes
- 7. LEADER DEVELOPMENT AND SELF-AWARENESS IN THE U.S. ARMY BENCH PROJECT
-
II. LEADERSHIP STYLES AND SITUATIONS
-
8. TEAMING HIGH-POTENTIAL TALENT
- 8.1. The Problem with High-Potential Talent
- 8.2. How We Became World Champions
- 8.3. Strategy One: Share Responsibility Among All Team Members
- 8.4. Strategy Two: Set and Maintain High Standards for the Team
- 8.5. Strategy Three: Develop Respect Among Team Members for Each Other
- 8.6. Strategy Four: Ensure Humility and Recognize Individual Differences
- 8.7. Strategy Five: Communicate Constantly
- 8.8. Conclusion
- 8.9. Notes
-
9. LEADING AS IF YOUR LIFE DEPENDED ON IT
- 9.1. What Is In Extremis Leadership?
- 9.2. How We Learned About In Extremis Leadership
-
9.3. Characteristics of In Extremis Leadership
- 9.3.1. Characteristics 1 and 2: Inherent Motivation and the Learning Orientation
- 9.3.2. Characteristic 3: Shared Risk
- 9.3.3. Characteristic 4: Elements of a Common Lifestyle
- 9.3.4. Characteristic 5: Competence
- 9.3.5. Characteristic 6: Trust
- 9.3.6. Characteristic 7: Loyalty
- 9.3.7. Broadening the Exploration
- 9.4. In Extremis Leadership Is Authentic Leadership
- 9.5. Is In Extremis Leadership Values Based?
- 9.6. Putting the Theory to Work: Developing In Extremis Leaders
- 9.7. Does Conventional Leader Development Fall Short?
- 9.8. How to Develop In Extremis Leaders
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9.9. In Extremis Lessons for Business and Life
- 9.9.1. Lesson 1: Motivation Is Most Powerful When Paired with an Emphasis on Learning
- 9.9.2. Lesson 2: Sharing Risk Enhances Credibility and Can Improve a Leader's Effectiveness in Risky Situations
- 9.9.3. Lesson 3: Your Lifestyle Reveals to Your Followers What You Value
- 9.9.4. Lesson 4: When You Develop Competence, You're Also Developing Trust and Loyalty
- 9.9.5. Lesson 5: Extreme Threat Reveals the True Character of Leaders and Followers
- 9.9.6. Lesson 6: Followers Care About What You Bring to the Table Today; Your Résumé Is Irrelevant
- 9.9.7. Lesson 7: Most Leaders Are Blind to Their Dependence on Mere Positional Authority, Rather than Leadership, Until a Threat Emerges
- 9.10. Conclusion: The Best Leaders Want to Be Leaders with Passion
- 9.11. Notes
- 10. CREATING URGENCY AND INSPIRING YOUR TEAM
- 11. QUIET LEADERSHIP
-
12. LEADING WITHOUT WORDS
- 12.1. How Communication Affects Leadership
- 12.2. The Leader Communication Process
- 12.3. What Leaders Need to Know About Nonverbal Communication
- 12.4. Body Language Basics
- 12.5. Dimensions of Nonverbal Communication
- 12.6. Enhancing Your Nonverbal Communication
- 12.7. Conclusion: Gestalt Communication Facilitates More Effective Leadership
-
13. DEVELOPING CHARISMA WITH CAUTION
- 13.1. Leadership Lessons Can Come Early in Life
-
13.2. The Impact of Charisma on Organizations and Individuals
- 13.2.1. Charismatic Leaders Are a Tough Act to Follow
- 13.2.2. Charismatic Leaders Instill Devotion to Themselves, But Maybe Not to the Organization
- 13.2.3. The Power We Find in Charismatic Leaders Is the Type of Power They Personally Derive
- 13.2.4. Charismatic Leaders Can Create Organizational Cultures Where Dissenting Views Do Not Exist
- 13.2.5. Charismatic Leaders Can Weaken Creativity
- 13.2.6. We Spend More Time Developing Charismatic Leaders While Neglecting Other Leaders
- 13.2.7. It Is Hard to Evaluate a Charismatic Leader's Effectiveness
- 13.3. How to Avoid the Pitfalls of Charisma
-
14. TRUST: THE KEY TO COMBAT LEADERSHIP
- 14.1. Trusted Combat Leaders
-
14.2. Ten Attributes of a Leader Who Can Be Trusted in Combat
- 14.2.1. 1. Leader Competence
- 14.2.2. 2. Loyalty
- 14.2.3. 3. Honesty/Integrity
- 14.2.4. 4. Leadership by Example
- 14.2.5. 5. Self-Control
- 14.2.6. 6. Confidence
- 14.2.7. 7. Courage
- 14.2.8. 8. Sharing Information
- 14.2.9. 9. Personal Connection with Subordinates
- 14.2.10. 10. Strong Sense of Duty
- 14.2.11. The Universality of the Leadership Attributes
- 14.3. The Link Between Trust and Combat Leadership
- 14.4. Notes
-
8. TEAMING HIGH-POTENTIAL TALENT
-
III. LEADING ORGANIZATIONS
- 15. SOCIALIZED LEADERSHIP
-
16. LEADING AT THE BUSINESS END OF POLICY
- 16.1. What Happens When Your People Ignore Your Policies
- 16.2. Identifying the Gap Between Espoused Policies and In-Use Policies
- 16.3. A Beginner's Mistake: Attempting to Force Compliance with the Organization's Policies
- 16.4. One Person Enforcing a Policy Is Not a Policy—It Is Micromanagement
- 16.5. An Alternative Approach: Placing the Development of Your People Ahead of Results
- 16.6. Development Produces Empowerment That Produces Lasting Results
- 16.7. The Lesson Learned: A Leader Cannot Force Success
- 16.8. A Lesson in Leadership: Positional Power Does Not Facilitate Enduring Leadership
- 16.9. Note
-
17. HARNESSING THE POWER OF CULTURE AND DIVERSITY FOR ORGANIZATIONAL PERFORMANCE
- 17.1. What Culture Is, and Why It Matters to Organizations
- 17.2. Cultural Diversity?
- 17.3. Why the (Un)Lucky Seven Receive Special Focus in Terms of Diversity
- 17.4. The Danger of Stereotyping and Overgeneralizing
-
17.5. Diversity as a Force Multiplier in Organizations
- 17.5.1. Effectively Processing Cultural Diversity
- 17.5.2. Leveraging Culture and Diversity and Leading in the U.S. Army
- 17.5.3. Effective Army Leaders Leverage Culture to Maximize the Performance of Their Missions
- 17.5.4. Assessing the Culture of an Army Unit
- 17.5.5. Diversity Repercussions: When Army Leaders Fail to Lead
- 17.5.6. Changing the Culture of a Unit: A Case Study
- 17.5.7. Recap on Harnessing the Power of Organizational Culture
- 17.6. Examples of Diversity Success in the U.S. Army
- 17.7. The Leading Diversity Initiative: An Emerging Next Step in the Project
- 17.8. An Example of a Cultural Diversity Challenge Confronting the U.S. Army
- 17.9. Benefits to Society of Leveraging Cultural Diversity Effectively
- 17.10. Conclusion
- 17.11. Notes
-
18. DEVELOPING ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITMENT BY PUTTING PEOPLE FIRST
-
18.1. Developing Multiple Supportive Commitments
- 18.1.1. Purpose: "I Will Always Place the Mission First"
- 18.1.2. Values: "I Serve the People of the United States and Live the Army Values"
- 18.1.3. People: "I Will Never Leave a Fallen Comrade"
- 18.1.4. Esprit de Corps: "I Will Never Accept Defeat, Never Quit"
- 18.1.5. Higher Commitments: "I am a Guardian of the American Way of Life"
- 18.1.6. Leader Lessons for Developing Multiple Supportive Commitments
- 18.2. A Climate of Caring
- 18.3. Soldier Training, Education, and Development
- 18.4. Opportunities for Excellence and "Being All You Can Be"
- 18.5. Lessons for Leaders
- 18.6. Conclusion
- 18.7. Notes
-
18.1. Developing Multiple Supportive Commitments
-
19. MANAGING EXPECTATIONS WHEN LEADING CHANGE
- 19.1. As a Change Agent, You Must First Identify Your Stakeholders
- 19.2. Managing Expectations Defined
-
19.3. Lessons Learned in How to Manage Expectations
- 19.3.1. Lesson 1: Underpromise and Overdeliver
- 19.3.2. Lesson 2: Set Short-Term Goals with Key Stakeholders
- 19.3.3. Lesson 3: Have Stakeholders Commit in a Public Setting
- 19.3.4. Lesson 4: Use Message Repetition to Communicate Clarity
- 19.3.5. Lesson 5: Changing the Message Is a Strength, Not a Weakness
- 19.3.6. Lesson 6: Set Up Regular Meetings and a Communication Center
- 19.3.7. Lesson 7: Managing Expectations Calls for Establishing Two-Way Communication
- 19.3.8. Lesson 8: Always Communicate What Is Not Possible and Why
- 19.3.9. Lesson 9: The Organizational Leader Should Lead the Managing Expectations Efforts
- 19.3.10. Lesson 10: Being Positive Is a Catalyst in Managing Expectations
- 19.3.11. Lesson 11: Don't Fear Inevitable Incidents; Just Respond Promptly to Them
- 19.4. Know Your Context to Focus Your Efforts
- 19.5. A Nonmilitary Case Study: Managing Expectations at a Troubled High School
- 19.6. Conclusion
- 19.7. Notes
Product information
- Title: Leadership Lessons from West Point
- Author(s):
- Release date: November 2006
- Publisher(s): Jossey-Bass
- ISBN: 9781118009123
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