Jerry Toomer - The Catalyst Effect

12 Skills and Behaviors to Boost Your Impact and Elevate Team Performance

The Catalyst Effect cuts straight to the chase on what it takes to be a true leader through collective trust and empowerment. When one chooses to give up their own personal victory for the progression of the team, the results are powerful and real. This book shows you how. A superbly inspiring read!

Stephen M. R. Covey, The New York Times and # 1 Wall Street Journal bestselling author of The SPEED of Trust and coauthor of Smart Trust

I truly love the ideas in the book. Thoroughly researched and full of practical suggestions, The Catalyst Effect lights the path for every person in every organization to see themselves as leaders. It shows us that everyone is a leader and can get better at leading, if they recognize that truth.

Angela Duckworth, Founder and CEO, Character Lab, Christopher H. Browne Distinguished Professor of Psychology, and bestselling author of GRIT

When Yo-Yo Ma brought together master musicians from different cultures to form The Silk Road Ensemble, he sought to instill a unique sound and a cohesive spirit. I have had the privilege of being part of the Ensemble and experiencing performances that achieve heights beyond our dreams.

The Catalyst Effect engagingly describes the leadership and teamwork principles that bring his vision to life. Through Yo-Yos natural style, he embodies the ideas presented in this book. The Catalyst Effect shows how these skills and behaviors can be applied in all types of organizations to produce superb results.

Sandeep Das, Tabla player and composer, collaborator with Yo-Yo Ma for the Silk Road Ensemble, Grammy Award Winner

The Catalyst Effect is at once inspirational and pragmatic. The authors offer a fresh perspective of what teamwork and leadership can look like in flatter organizations. Through the rare combination of a strong narrative and solid research, the authors deliver the insights and tools needed to lead, regardless of his or her formal title. Each of us can learn something from this book. I did.

Daniel H. Pink, Author of DRIVE and TO SELL IS HUMAN

With society seeming more fragmented and divided, the responsibility of leaders to bring people together to accomplish great things can be more difficult than ever before. The Catalyst Effect is a practical primer to help all leaders inspire teamwork and collaboration to boost team performance and achieve great results.

Bill Stanczykiewicz, Director, The Fund Raising School, Senior Lecturer, Philanthropic Studies, IU Lilly Family School of Philanthropy

The Catalyst Effect competencies fit hand-in-glove with Servant Leadership principles. The model invites readers, whether they are in informal or formal leadership roles, to identify and develop the key skills that will increase their effectiveness and impact.

Pat Falotico, CEO, Robert K. Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership

Some leaders are viewed as solitary gems. They outshine their peers with an intense luminosity that makes them stand apart. That view, however, may be erroneous or at least incomplete, according to Jerry Toomer, Craig Caldwell, Steve Weitzenkorn, and Chelsea Clark, authors of The Catalyst Effect. The writers argue that some of the most impactful leaders succeed by elevating the performance of their team, by making not just the solitary gem but the entire necklace dazzle. The Catalyst Effect highlights a dozen competencies that anyone can cultivate to become better at catalyzing leadership and teamwork. Whether you are a leader or a team member, you will learn a lot from this book.

Mukul Pandya, Editor-in-Chief, Knowledge@Wharton

The best leaders and colleagues have something in common: they make everyone around them better. This is a hands-on playbook for building that capability in your team.

Adam Grant, New York Times bestselling author of GIVE AND TAKE, ORIGINALS, and OPTION B with Sheryl Sandberg

The Catalyst Effect has given me a number of useful tools and new approaches in leading my organization and civic partnerships and in supporting my teammates as they lead. I also believe it will be a big help to my college-student son as he prepares to find his way in his career. The books framework makes it very easy to review the most important advice and relevant wisdom in each leadership situation and for each individual. I highly recommend it.

Brian Payne, President and CEO of the Central Indiana Community Foundation and the Founder of the Indianapolis Cultural Trail

The Catalyst Effect illuminates the elements of leadership that are essential in any successful ensemble endeavor in business, sports and certainly in the arts. Outstanding orchestra performances require each individual to focus on the team goal, understand when to lead and when to follow and uphold a standard of excellence that inspires their colleagues and their audience. This book provides incredible insight into the way these key concepts apply across sectors and what they look like in practice.

Gary Ginstling, Executive Director, National Symphony Orchestra, Artistic Affiliate of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts

What is important is not a formal title, but how you impact your teams and your organization as a catalyst from wherever you are. The authors skillfully blend real life examples from business, sports and not for profit organizations with sound research in a highly readable manner. You will learn the why, what and how of being a catalytic leader.

This is a highly valuable book for professionals and leaders at all levels who work in teams across different settings and cultures!

Julie Fasone-Holder, CEO JFH Insights, Independent Board Member, Retired SVP Dow Chemical

Building successful groups rarely happens by chance. It takes wisdom. This book offers such wisdom by focusing on specific skills that team members can develop to enhance each others success, thereby enhancing overall team performance. Catalytic leadership makes the whole much more than the sum of its parts.

Hersh Shefrin, Mario Belotti Professor, Santa Clara University

At a time when the social contract between employer and employee is changing, The Catalyst Effect provides a valuable perspective on how employee engagement can thrive. Investing in everyones ability to lead at the appropriate time in team settings can foster a vibrant culture and drive impact. The book is filled with ideas for application and was a pleasure to read.

Bryan Adkins, CEO, Denison Consulting

The authors have brilliantly uncovered a powerful component of team structure, appropriately coined it catalyst, and provided a great guide to apply the concept. The catalyst concept coupled with strong leadership cannot deliver anything but powerful results. Effectively and clearly written with colorful and real life examples to supplement the concept, this is a must read for those interested in leading from wherever they are. I will recommend this book to all I know, not just in the business world.

Wahida Saeedi, Global Finance Leader, Pharmaceutical Industry

The Catalyst Effect is fun, engaging, insightful, theoretically sound, highly useful, and my new favorite leadership book! I cant wait to use it in my leadership class next semester. When it comes to books for people who aspire to high levels of impact in an organization, but dont have a fancy title, The Catalyst Effect fills a void. Whether used as a reading in a university course, material to develop young professionals, or as a guide to show senior leaders how to identify hidden catalysts in their organization, the lessons in this book will prove incredibly valuable.