Nigel Cumberland - 100 Things Successful Leaders Do: Little lessons in leadership

THINGS SUCCESSFUL LEADERS DO

LITTLE LESSONS IN LEADERSHIP

NIGEL CUMBERLAND

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This book is dedicated to my son, Zeb, my step-daughter, Yasmine, and to all those wishing to become outstanding leaders. May each of you find your own unique paths to leadership success.

If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.

- John Quincy Adams

Nigel Cumberland is the co-founder of The Silk Road Partnership, a leading global provider of executive coaching and leadership training solutions to some of the worlds leading organizations. He has lived and worked in locations as diverse as Hong Kong, Glasgow, Budapest, Santiago, Guatemala City, Kuala Lumpur, London and Shanghai, gaining experiences and wisdom that have helped teach him what it takes to succeed in life.

Previously, Nigel worked as a multinational finance director with Coats plc, as well as for some of the worlds leading recruitment firms including Adecco. He is a Fellow of the UKs Chartered Institute of Management Accountants. He co-created an award-winning recruitment firm based in Hong Kong and China, which he later sold to Hays plc. Educated at Cambridge University, UK, Nigel is an extensively qualified executive coach and leadership training professional.

He is the author of a large number of self-help and leadership books, among the most recent of which are: 100 Things Millionaires Do: Little Lessons in Creating Wealth (Nicholas Brealey Publishing, 2019), The Ultimate Management Book (John Murray Learning, 2018), 100 Things Successful People Do: Little Exercises for Successful Living (John Murray Learning, 2016), Secrets of Success at Work: 50 Techniques to Excel (Hodder & Stoughton, 2014), Finding and Hiring Talent in a Week (John Murray Learning, 2016) and Leading Teams in a Week (John Murray Learning, 2016).

Nigel is married to a wonderful woman named Evelyn, who spends her time as an artist. He has two inspiring children a son, Zeb, and a stepdaughter, Yasmine.

Everything you have thought, done and said in your life has prepared you to become the leader you are today.

Are you ready to kick-start your leadership journey? Well done, you have picked up the perfect book to serve as your guide. This book will help you master the key habits, skills and behaviours to enable you to excel in whatever types of leadership roles you take on.

Leadership comes in all shapes and sizes from leading a voluntary group in the evenings, managing a childrens sports team at weekends, or heading a large and busy family, to taking on a managerial or supervisory role for the first time, launching your own start-up business with only yourself to manage, or as CEO of one of the worlds largest corporations.

It doesnt matter how little or large, how trivial or important. Leadership is leadership. The art of inspiring, organizing and motivating your kids at home is not a million miles away from successfully being a Board Chairperson of one of the largest listed groups in the world.

Its so fantastic that youre reading this book and that you want to strengthen your leadership knowledge and capabilities. The world is awaiting you to turn into the most amazing leader youre capable of.

The need for better leadership is everywhere:

Governments struggle to find focus, to lead not just their communities and countries, but also themselves. So many political leaders struggle to even complete their full terms of office.

Companies of all sizes are facing so much disruption, complexity and competition that their management teams are stretched to perform well.

Sports teams struggle to find consistency, with so many teams churning through coaches and trainers.

Public sectors are challenged in part by a lack of funds to cope with issues such as weak schooling systems and hospitals at breaking point.

Scandals remind us of weak leadership in our own communities from the church in crisis through to family units breaking up.

Perhaps its those in very visible, formal and often very large leadership roles such as Sir Richard Branson or Donald Trump. Perhaps youre inspired by those in smaller but still crucial roles such as your boss, former headteacher, head of your local council, your MP or congresswoman, your business partner or spouse. The 100 lessons in this book are designed to turn you into the type of leader that others will admire and want to learn from too.

Ive coached hundreds of leaders working in organizations as diverse as the United Nations, World Bank Group, global banks and multinationals through to local tech start-ups, governments, schools and NGOs such as Teach for India. Ive heard every leadership aspiration and dream you can imagine. Ive listened to all the challenges and difficulties youll likely face when taking on a leadership role.

The main lesson I have picked up is a simple one - too many people fail to work on all aspects of their leadership toolbox leaving them with underutilized skills and strengths, while hanging onto weaknesses which hold them back. Not you working through this book is your opportunity to sit down and think about yourself, giving you time to ask yourself how you want to develop and grow as a leader, to create followers and future leaders, and to explore how you want to remembered by those you have led.

Treat this book as your trusted companion. Through 100 short chapters, youll learn to make sense of the pieces you need to slot together to achieve your leadership ambitions. Youll explore what leadership means to you through topics including:

Self-leadership

Your motivations

Leadership styles

Leadership mindsets and behaviours

Thinking and communicating as a leader

Motivating and inspiring followers

Dealing with leadership challenges

Leading through change

Creating leaders and handing over.

Every chapter in this book features a new idea that will help you get closer to your goals. In each chapter, the ideas are introduced and explained on the first page and the second page features exercises and activities, some small and some large, for you to start doing today.

Dont overlook the activities. The tasks youve been set have been specifically designed to give you the optimal mindset, habits, skills, relationships and behaviours needed to maximize your chances of leadership success. Some of them will surprise you, some will challenge you, others will seem simple and obvious. All of them are important in building the portfolio of skills you need to become a talented leader. Completing them will set you on the path to developing a leadership mindset and a leader-focused to do list. These things arent easy to achieve and few people are willing to invest the required time and effort. Successful leaders do.

This book draws on the wisdom I have gained from coaching and mentoring leaders from all over the world for the past 20 years. From global CEOs to struggling entrepreneurs, through to leaders in the public sector and charities to first-time managers just starting out on their leadership careers, all of them have something to share about the journey of becoming an outstanding leader. Their experiences combine with my own wisdom gained through some incredibly personal leadership highs and lows.