The Leadership Contract, 3rd Edition

The Leadership Contract, 3rd Edition

by Vince Molinaro
Released November 2017
Publisher(s): Wiley
ISBN: 9781119440536

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Book description

Step up, get tough, and commit to your decision to lead

The Leadership Contract provides the manual that leaders around the world need. With only seven percent of employees feeling confident in senior leadership, the problem is evident: disappointing, and often disgraceful leaders. Employees deserve better than that; organizations need better than that—and this book provides a robust framework for stepping up and making the decision to lead. This new third edition has been updated, featuring a new foreword by Adecco CEO Alain Dehaze, new findings from the Global Leadership Accountability Study, and more insights to help you chart your own path to build strong leadership accountability at a personal and organizational level.

Great leadership doesn’t happen by accident. It’s more than just being in charge; it’s a decision, an obligation and potentially your legacy. Mediocre is no longer good enough—in today’s business climate, organizations need stellar leadership. If you’re not exceptional, step up or step aside — this book helps you toughen up and put your commitment to great leadership in writing for yourself as much as everyone else.

  • Learn how a leadership contract is vital for truly accountable leadership
  • Discover the mindset and practices needed to be a deliberate and decisive leader
  • Communicate to inspire, motivate, and drive high performance
  • Become the leader your organization needs today and into the future

Leadership is not a birthright, not an accident, and not for everyone. It is the only differentiator between an organization’s success and failure, and it has been entrusted to you. Can you step up to the challenge? Can you execute strategy while inspiring peak performance, nurturing top talent, managing complexity, creating value, conquering uncertainty, and yes, developing new leaders? Put your name on the line—literally—by drawing up a contract for leadership accountability. The Leadership Contract provides a proven and practical framework used by companies and leaders around the world. Join them and take your leadership to next level.

Table of contents

  1. Cover
  2. Title Page
  3. Copyright
  4. Dedication
  5. Foreword
  6. Introduction
    1. The Pressures Leaders Face Today
    2. Redefining How You Lead to Meet Ever-Increasing Expectations
    3. The Leadership Contract
    4. Why I Wrote the Third Edition of This Book
    5. A Word of Warning
  7. Chapter 1: My Personal Leadership Story
    1. Is Leadership Worth Dying For?
    2. Why Are Some Leaders Such Jerks?
    3. Why Are Many Leaders So Lame?
    4. Has Anyone Noticed That We've Stopped Talking about Our Values?
    5. How Do You Create a Vibrant Culture?
    6. How Do You Lead through Ambiguity?
    7. How Do You Transform Your Leaders?
    8. Reflecting on My Leadership Story
  8. Chapter 2: What's Wrong with Leadership Today?
    1. Leadership Is Disappointing
    2. Leadership Is Disconnected
    3. Leadership Is Disgraceful
    4. How Did We Get Here?
    5. We Need the Leadership Development Industry to Step Up and Be Accountable
    6. It's Time We Stop Settling—and Start Expecting More
  9. Chapter 3: The Leadership Accountability Gap
    1. Understanding the Leadership Accountability Gap: Study Findings
    2. The Satisfaction with Leadership Accountability by Level of Leader
    3. The Relationship between Leadership Accountability and Company Performance
    4. The Three Dimensions of Leadership Accountability: Behaviors, Organizational Practices, and Culture
    5. The Behaviors of Truly Accountable Leaders
    6. The Organizational Practices to Build Strong Leadership Accountability
    7. The Attributes of Leadership Culture
    8. Final Thoughts—Building Strong Leadership Accountability: The Road Ahead
  10. Chapter 4: Why We Need a Leadership Contract
    1. Do You Know What You've Signed Up For?
    2. The Leadership Contract and Its Four Terms
  11. Chapter 5: Leadership Is a Decision—Make It
    1. Why Doesn't Anyone Want to Be a Leader Anymore?
    2. Why You Need to Make the Leadership Decision
    3. The Two Kinds of Leadership Decisions
    4. Big D and small d Leadership Decisions—Clarity and Commitment
    5. A Real Leadership Decision Is Visceral
    6. Deciding Not to Lead Is an Important Leadership Decision
  12. Chapter 6: Leadership Is an Obligation—Step Up
    1. The Iron Ring Ceremony
    2. What's It Going to Take?
    3. The Five Core Obligations of Leadership
    4. The Five Core Obligations in Action
    5. Revisiting the Iron Ring Ceremony and What It Means for Leaders
    6. Final Thoughts—Leadership Is an Obligation
  13. Chapter 7: Leadership Is Hard Work—Get Tough
    1. Do We Have Wimps or Leaders in Our Organizations?
    2. The 10 Ways Leaders Make the Hard Work Harder
    3. Final Thoughts—Leadership Is Hard Work
  14. Chapter 8: Leadership Is a Community—Connect
    1. The Missed Opportunity
    2. We Are Wired for Community
    3. A Rotting of Zombies
    4. A League of Heroes
    5. A Stable of Thoroughbreds
    6. It's Time to Build a Community of Leaders
    7. A Strong Community of Leaders—Clarity and Commitment
    8. Has Everyone Noticed the Change in the Room?
    9. Do You Have What It Takes to Be a Community Builder?
    10. Final Thoughts—Leadership Is a Community
  15. Chapter 9: Sign the Leadership Contract
    1. It's Time to Sign the Leadership Contract
    2. The One Thing You Cannot Do
    3. Signing the Document
    4. Final Thoughts—Signing the Leadership Contract
  16. Chapter 10: The Turning Points of Leadership
    1. Revisiting the Turning Points of Leadership
    2. Final Thoughts—The Turning Points of Leadership
  17. Chapter 11: Living the Four Terms of the Leadership Contract
    1. The Four Foundational Practices for Living the Leadership Contract
    2. Regular Practices for Living the Leadership Contract
    3. Final Thoughts—Becoming a Truly Accountable Leader
  18. Chapter 12: Embed the Leadership Contract in Your Organization
    1. The Four Strategies to Drive Strong Leadership Accountability
    2. Final Thoughts—Building Strong Leadership Accountability In Your Organization
  19. Afterword
    1. The Future of Leadership Is You
  20. Acknowledgments
  21. About the Author
  22. Commit to Great Leadership and Implement it Today
  23. Bring The Leadership Contract into Your Organization to Build Strong Leadership Accountability
  24. About The Adecco Group
  25. About Lee Hecht Harrison
  26. Index
  27. End User License Agreement

Product information

  • Title: The Leadership Contract, 3rd Edition
  • Author(s): Vince Molinaro
  • Release date: November 2017
  • Publisher(s): Wiley
  • ISBN: 9781119440536