Tom Finegan - Amplifiers: How Great Leaders Magnify the Power of Teams, Increase the Impact of Organizations, and Turn Up the Volume on Positive Change

1. Chapter 6
2. Chapter 7
3. Chapter 8

1. Chapter 1
2. Chapter 2
3. Chapter 4
4. Chapter 5
5. Chapter 9
6. Chapter 10
7. Chapter 11

TOM FINEGAN

HOW GREAT LEADERS MAGNIFY THE POWER OF TEAMS, INCREASE THE IMPACT OF ORGANIZATIONS, AND TURN UP THEVOLUME ONPOSITIVE CHANGE

Copyright 2021 by Thomas Finegan. All rights reserved.

Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey.

Published simultaneously in Canada.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Finegan, Tom, author.

Title: Amplifiers : how great leaders magnify the power of teams, increase the impact of organizations, and turn up the volume on positive change / Tom Finegan.

Description: Hoboken, New Jersey : Wiley, [2021] | Includes index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2021016723 (print) | LCCN 2021016724 (ebook) | ISBN 9781119794554 (cloth) | ISBN 9781119794578 (adobe pdf) | ISBN 9781119794561 (epub)

Subjects: LCSH: Leadership. | Followership.

Classification: LCC HD57.7 .F5555 2021 (print) | LCC HD57.7 (ebook) | DDC 658.4/092dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021016723

LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021016724

COVER DESIGN: PAUL MCCARTHY

COVER ART: GETTY IMAGES | PIXALOT

This book is dedicated to Bobby Menges (October 21, 1997September 8, 2017), a true Amplifier throughout his shortened life. He packed more in his nineteen years than most in their lifetimes.

All of the author's proceeds from this book will be donated to the I'm Not Done Yet Foundation, a 501(c)3 in support of adolescent and young adult (AYA) cancer patients and their families.

www.imnotdoneyetfoundation.org

During a family trip to Sweden a few years ago, I came across the historical Vasa. The Swedish warship from the 1600s stands as an enormous symbol of leadership and followership gone awry. Gustav II Adolf was the King of Sweden between 1611 and 1632. He commissioned the construction of four ships to support his war effort, with one being the most powerful warship in the Baltic. The ship was doomed from the design. The hubris of the king and the enormity of the ship were too much for the ship's lead designer, Henrik Hybertsson. Although he was an experienced ship designer, the size and scale were beyond Hybertssons experience. However, he designed what the king wanted.

Although it was common for warships in the period to be somewhat top heavy, the experts at the shipyard were convinced that there was too much height and weight above the waterline and far too little ballast to support the buoyancy of the ship. Yet construction continued. The workers and their supervisors at the shipyard were not devoid of national pride, nor did they intend to put an unseaworthy vessel into war. They simply did not have the courage to tell the king, their titled executive or boss, that his vision was flawed.

Prior to the maiden voyage, the ship's captain had thirty men run across the deck to cause it to sway to demonstrate to the vice admiral that the ship was unsafe. After three passes, the captain stopped the demonstration for fear of the ship sinking. Yet even with this knowledge, at the final hour prior to the ship's sailing, the captain, the admiral, and the crew chose to squash their concerns and continue on the perilous mission. After sailing only 1,400 yards, the ship sank during its maiden voyage.

Although they were following the directives of the king, this example shows the flaws in both the king's leadership and the ship workers' followership. The king could not accept truth and criticism, and the followers could not deliver the news. Whereas the responsibility lies on both leader and follower to avoid disastrous, or in the case of the Vasa, fatal, consequences, it is hard for followers to bring bad news to a hubristic leader. However, leaders are rarely effective unless they themselves cut their teeth in followership. Good leaders need good followers. And exceptional followers possess a unique blend of leadership and followership characteristics. These exceptional followers are true Amplifiers.

True Amplifiers look like everyday people, but they produce outsized contributions to society. Racial injustices have existed for hundreds of years, but as a result of the killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and sadly too many more, we are now seeing the seeds of change begin to take root. The hard truth is there is significant work to do, and some have been doing it for years. John Hope Bryant has been sowing the seeds of change for decades with Operation HOPE. His vision is that if he can help people with economic and financial independence, they can prosper and live a more fulfilling life than previous generations. Bryant is a leader for sure. But a closer look will confirm he is just as strong a follower as he is a leader. In fact, I'd argue that his success as a leader is a direct result of his followership. In this book, we will take a closer look at leaders like John Hope Bryant, assess their followership skills, and define the characteristics of a true Amplifier in action.