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
Foreword xi
Introduction xiii
The Pressures Leaders Face Today xvii
Redefining How You Lead to Meet Ever-Increasing Expectations xviii
The Leadership Contract xxi
Why I Wrote the Third Edition of This Book xxiii
A Word of Warning xxiv
Chapter 1 My Personal Leadership Story 1
Is Leadership Worth Dying For? 2
Why Are Some Leaders Such Jerks? 8
Why Are Many Leaders So Lame? 10
Has Anyone Noticed That We’ve Stopped Talking about Our Values? 12
How Do You Create a Vibrant Culture? 13
How Do You Lead through Ambiguity? 15
How Do You Transform Your Leaders? 16
Reflecting on My Leadership Story 18
Chapter 2 What’s Wrong with Leadership Today? 20
Leadership Is Disappointing 21
Leadership Is Disconnected 24
Leadership Is Disgraceful 26
How Did We Get Here? 28
We Need the Leadership Development Industry to Step Up and Be Accountable 32
It’s Time We Stop Settling - and Start Expecting More 35
Chapter 3 The Leadership Accountability Gap 37
Understanding the Leadership Accountability Gap: Study Findings 3
The Satisfaction with Leadership Accountability by Level of Leader 41
The Relationship between Leadership Accountability and Company Performance 42
The Three Dimensions of Leadership Accountability: Behaviors, Organizational Practices, and Culture 43
The Behaviors of Truly Accountable Leaders 44
The Organizational Practices to Build Strong Leadership Accountability 47
The Attributes of Leadership Culture 49
Final Thoughts–Building Strong Leadership Accountability: The Road Ahead 52
Chapter 4 Why We Need a Leadership Contract 54
Do You Know What You’ve Signed Up For? 57
The Leadership Contract and Its Four Terms 58
Chapter 5 Leadership Is a Decision - Make It 63
Why Doesn’t Anyone Want to Be a Leader Anymore? 64
Why You Need to Make the Leadership Decision 65
The Two Kinds of Leadership Decisions 68
Big D and small d Leadership Decisions - Clarity and Commitment 72
A Real Leadership Decision Is Visceral 75
Deciding Not to Lead Is an Important Leadership Decision 76
Chapter 6 Leadership Is an Obligation - Step Up 82
The Iron Ring Ceremony 83
What’s It Going to Take? 86
The Five Core Obligations of Leadership 87
The Five Core Obligations in Action 97
Revisiting the Iron Ring Ceremony and What It Means for Leaders 100
Final Thoughts - Leadership Is an Obligation 101
Chapter 7 Leadership Is Hard Work - Get Tough 102
Do We Have Wimps or Leaders in Our Organizations? 105
The 10 Ways Leaders Make the Hard Work Harder 108
Final Thoughts - Leadership Is Hard Work 121
Chapter 8 Leadership Is a Community - Connect 124
The Missed Opportunity 126
We Are Wired for Community 127
A Rotting of Zombies 128
A League of Heroes 129
A Stable of Thoroughbreds 130
It’s Time to Build a Community of Leaders 132
A Strong Community of Leaders - Clarity and Commitment 133
Has Everyone Noticed the Change in the Room? 136
Do You Have What It Takes to Be a Community Builder? 138
Final Thoughts - Leadership Is a Community 140
Chapter 9 Sign the Leadership Contract 142
It’s Time to Sign the Leadership Contract 143
The One Thing You Cannot Do 145
Signing the Document 147
Final Thoughts - Signing the Leadership Contract 148
Chapter 10 The Turning Points of Leadership 150
Revisiting the Turning Points of Leadership 151
Final Thoughts - the Turning Points of Leadership 163
Chapter 11 Living the Four Terms of the Leadership Contract 165
The Four Foundational Practices for Living the Leadership Contract 167
Regular Practices for Living the Leadership Contract 178
Final Thoughts - Becoming a Truly Accountable Leader 183
Chapter 12 Embed the Leadership Contract in Your Organization 184
The Four Strategies to Drive Strong Leadership Accountability 187
Final Thoughts - Building Strong Leadership Accountability in Your Organization 206
Afterword 207
Acknowledgments 209
Notes 212
Index 215
About the Author 231
Commit to Great Leadership and Implement it Today 233
Bring the Leadership Contract into Your Organization 235
About The Adecco Group 237
About Lee Hecht Harrison 239
