Book Summary

The Truth about Leadership: The No-fads, Heart-of-the-Matter Facts You Need to Know is a book about leadership fundamentals.  Kouzes and Posner have rolled their 30 years of experience research, writing, and presenting on leadership into this very readable guidebook to the art and skill of leading.  In preparation for a speech they were to deliver they sought to highlight some groundbreaking discovery they had recently made on leadership.  As they thought and wrestled over the writing of this speech they were struck by the fact that over their 30 years of experience the fundamentals remained the same.  They captured the fundamentals in 10 “truths” about leadership.  Each chapter of the book expounds on one of the ten truths highlighted below.

Ten Truths About Leadership

1.  You make a difference.

“Before you can lead other, you have to lead yourself and believe that you can have a positive impact on others.  You have to believe that your words can inspire and your actions can move others.  You have to believe that what you do counts for something.  If you don’t, you won’t even try.  Leadership begins with you.” (p. 1)

2.  Credibility is the foundation of leadership.

“Leadership begins with you and your belief in yourself.  Leadership continues only if other people also believe in you.” (p. 15)

3.  Values drive commitment.

“People want to know your values and beliefs, what you really care about, and what keeps you awake at night.  They want to know what drives you, what makes you happy, and what ticks you off.  They want to understand your personal story.  They want to know why they ought to be following you.” (p. 29)

4.  Focusing on the future sets leaders apart.

“The capacity to imagine and articulate exciting future possibilities is the defining competence of leaders.  Leaders are custodians of the future.  They are concerned about tomorrow’s world and who will inherit it.” (p. 45)

5.  You can’t do it alone.

“Leaders are here to serve others, and not the other way around.” (p. 61)

6.  Trust rules.

“Trust rules your personal credibility.  Trust rules your ability to get things done.  Trust rules your team’s cohesiveness.  Trust rules your organization’s innovativeness and performance.  Trust rules your brand image.  Trust rules just about everything you do.” (p. 75)

7.  Challenge is the crucible for greatness.

“The historical leaders whom people admire most always faced and led others through major challenges.” (p. 91)

8.  You either lead by example or you don’t lead at all.

“Walk the talk, practice what you preach, put your money where your mouth is, and follow through on your promises…they all mean the same thing.  Your actions had better be consistent with your words.  In the final analysis, people believe what you do over what you say.” (p. 106)

9.  The best leaders are the best learners.

“The potential to lead exists in you.  If you apply your head, your heart, and your courage, you can learn to lead.” (p. 119)

10.  Leadership is an affair of the heart.

“Nothing important ever gets done without heart.  Purely and simply, exemplary leaders excel at improving performance because they pay great attention to the human heart.” (p. 135)

Top Twelve Quotes

“Leadership is a demanding, noble discipline not to be entered into frivolously or casually. It requires an elevated sense of mastery. And, you can do it. It’s a matter of technique, of skill, of practice. It’s also a matter of desire and commitment.”

“Myth and legend treat leadership as if it were the private reserve of a very few charismatic men and women. Nothing is further from the truth. Leadership is much more broadly distributed in the population, and it’s accessible to anyone who has passion and purpose to change the way things are.”

“Everything you need to be a successful leader you already have: your intelligence to see an issue and a way to fix it, your heart to stay motivated, and your courage not to give up. You can’t look for the man behind the curtain to solve your concerns. Everything you need you already have. It’s all about taking the first step.”

“No one can make you a leader, either. You have to take that first step for yourself. You have to be willing to take actions that others will want to follow.”

“Only credible leaders earn commitment, and only commitment builds and regenerates great organizations and communities.”

“Before anyone is going to willingly follow you—or any other leader—he or she wants to know that you are honest, forward-looking, inspiring, and competent.”

“If you don’t believe in the messenger, you won’t believe the message.”

“If people are going to willingly follow you, it is because they believe you are credible.  To be credible in action, you must do what you say you will do.”

“The brick walls are there for a reason. They’re not there to keep us out. The brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something.”

“While leadership can be learned, not everyone learns it, and not all those who learn leadership master it. Why? Because to master leadership you have to have a strong desire to excel, you have to believe strongly that you can learn new skills and abilities, and you have to be willing to devote yourself to continuous learning and deliberate practice. No matter how good you are, you can always get better.”

“Leaders put their hearts in their businesses and their businesses in their hearts.”

“To become the best leader you can be, you have to fall in love with the work you are doing and with the reason you are doing it.”

Personal Reflection

As I read this book I was reminded of three key concepts that shape my own leadership.

First, leadership flows out of who I am.  In order to lead, I need to be credible and trustworthy.  In order to be credible and trustworthy, I must be a person of character.  Who I am plays a major role in determining the quality of the leadership I provide.  I cannot develop my leadership without working on the interior aspects of my spirituality, character, and integrity.

Second, leadership requires continual learning and ongoing development.  Leadership is made up of key practices and behaviors.  Kouzes and Posner make it clear that these aspects of leadership can be learned if a person is committed to the journey of personal growth and development.  To faithfully steward my calling and capacity as a leader, I must keep learning, stretching, growing, and developing.

Third, leadership is done with others for others.  Leaders rally people.  They forge unity.  They shape culture.  They build teams.  They inspire commitment to a greater cause.  They give of themselves and compel others to do the same.  They work with others to accomplish things that help others.  This is what makes leadership a noble pursuit.

How About You?

As you read this book summary and reflect on the key ideas presented here, what thoughts about leadership do you have?  What strikes you about these leadership truths?  What resonates?  What causes dissonance?  Share your thoughts below.  I’d love to hear from you.