Leadership Development in a Box
“Managers help people see themselves as they are; Leaders help people to see themselves better than they are.” — Jim Rohn
Actually, it's leadership development in a book. The book is, Intelligent Leadership: What You Need to Know to Unlock Your Full Potential, by John Mattone.
Intelligent Leadership is seriously a breakthrough book.
You should be able to tell from my book review, that it's one of the best books on leadership development.
It works the inner and outer you – in a very deep and skillful way. It’s among the best self-paced leadership development books available (and ultimately leadership is powerful personal development in action, as you learn to groom and grow your capabilities, and the capabilities of others with skill.)
It's the real deal, and the book includes significant leadership tools for helping you make the most of what you've got. Mattone is an executive leadership coach and it shows. His book is deep and his leadership tools are powerful. The beauty is just how much he's packed into an actual book, so the tools are right there at your fingertips.
I like the fact that Mattone organizes leadership styles into a set of 9 leadership types:
- The Perfectionist
- The Helper
- The Entertainer
- The Artist
- The Thinker
- The Disciple
- The Activist
- The Driver
- The Arbitrator
He says we're a mix of all of them, and that's where our power comes from -- if we know how to harness it. To harness our personal power and to mature our leadership capabilities, we need to learn how to sharpen our strengths, and address our weaknesses. We can use these leadership types to see ourselves and to see others, and to better integrate our strengths when we interact with others.
Another powerful aspect of the book is how Mattone connects your inner goo with your outer you and shows the flow and relationships:
Self-Concept and Character (values, beliefs, and references) -> Thoughts -> Emotions -> Behavioral Tendencies -> Tactical/Strategic Competencies -> Self-Concept and Character.
This is a book that can be your short-cut for getting ahead in today's super competitive world. You don't have to hope for somebody to identify you as high potential. You can own this. You can take your leadership abilities to the next level, using Mattone's prescriptive guidance and leadership tools. You can immediately use his leadership tools to assess where you are, and to identify a very specific leadership development plan.
I would put this book up there wither Stephen Covey's The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, and Tony Robbins’ Unlimited Power. It's more than a book. It's a framework. It's a playbook for building your personal leadership dojo.
When you read the book, John Mattone's 30+ years of experience, and his insight as a leadership coach, will quickly become apparent.
For a "movie trailer" style review of the book, and some of my favorite parts, check out my book review of Intelligent Leadership.