Bret Johnson - Lemon Leadership : A radically fresh way to identify your leadership style

The senior leadership of the Power Group of Companies had the privilege of reading LEMON Leadership and then spending a day with Brett Johnson. We gained such incredible insights and understanding of the diversity and strength of each member of our dynamic team. Bretts teaching has been a HUGE help as weve grown towards the realisation of our 100-year dream. I frequently recommend the book to friends and colleagues in business. It is truly worthwhile reading!

Graham Power, Chairman, The Power Group of Companies

Refreshing and highly innovative approach with a practical individual and team application. For teams, this becomes a practical way to see what role types are missing. And for decision-making and strategy, this becomes critical especially in tackling innovation and agility across the organisation. Thanks for providing the most direct approach Ive seen to providing team and individual insights more quickly and clearly enabling us to apply immediately.

Suzanne Lee, Voice of the Customer Manager, Cisco

This book is a masterpiece. It should become a classic of global leadership literature.

Iain Muir, International Director, YWAM

I found this book described the interactions I experience daily in my workplace filled with each type of LEMON. I plan to distribute it to many peers. I recommend this book be used for training executives and cross-functional management teams.

Don Smith, Semiconductor Design Director, Cypress Semiconductor Semiconductors

We used LEMON in our senior leadership team to understand ourselves and each other better. A year on, we still talk about LEMON. It has really helped us understand and value diversity in our team.

Rose Keanlly, Managing Director: Old Mutual Service, Technology & Administration, Old Mutual, South Africa

The LEMON programme has been the best tool for leaders Ive come across in a long time. After going through it for myself, I realised that every group I gave leadership to needed to also go through this process with me. And so Ive taken multiple groups through and it has gotten better every time. Everyone comes away amazed and I keep learning more, not only about myself but also about leading leaders! I recommend every leader take part in LEMON Leadership.

Rev. Dr. Paul Siaski, Chairman, Johannesburg Transformation Movement; Chairman, Church Growth Portfolio of the Anglican Diocese of Johannesburg

I used to be fairly prejudiced against stereotyping tools until I was introduced to LEMON. LEMON has functioned in SABT both as an HR tool and a strategy tool. If well presented, its a tool that can meaningfully generate high levels of understanding amongst individuals who have to work together. It does this by helping to break down the natural barriers between people who are born differently or wired differently. What value has a tool or consultant that can meaningfully unlock higher levels of teamwork in a corporate setting? Its priceless to have a strong external influence that can act as a catalyst to team cohesion. Hence, at SABT I have a retainer arrangement with Dough Johnson who aids in improving the relational health of my company and acts as preventative medicine for various corporate diseases negative interpersonal politics just being one of the common corporate ailments.

Andr Baard, Managing Director, South African Bunkering and Trading (Pty) Ltd.

LEMON LEADERSHIP (REVISED AND EXPANDED EDITION)

Originally published in the USA as LEMON Leadership by Indaba Publishing, in 2005.

This edition published in 2012 by Struik Christian Books

An imprint of Struik Christian Media

A division of New Holland Publishing (South Africa) (Pty) Ltd

(New Holland Publishing is a member of Avusa Ltd.)

Wembley Square, First Floor

Solan Street, Gardens

Cape Town, 8001

First edition 2009

Second edition 2012

Reg. No. 1971/009721/07

Text Brett Johnson 2005, 2010

Project management by Elzanne Loest

Edited by Inge Du Plessis

Cover design Melissa M Boucher

Cover preparation and DTP by Lebeaux Grobler

ISBN 978-1-4153-1271-1 (Print)

ISBN 978-1-4153-2055-6 (E Pub)

ISBN 978-1-4153-2053-2 (PDF)

www.struikchristianmedia.co.za

Brett Johnson

To the LEMONs who live with me.

My work involves meeting with many leaders from around the world each year, and they have this in common: they all want to have an impact. They have mastered their craft and moved beyond the basics of running an organisation. Best Practices are routine. They are looking at the deeper life issues. This inevitably brings them to the topic of leadership, and more specifically, who they are.

This book is not a How to of leadership, but a Who are you? book that considers leadership in a fresh way. Those who work at the coalface of human need are convinced that the lack of leaders is the number one issue in the world today. This stems partly from the fact that our definitions of leadership are too narrow incomplete. We know lots about entrepreneurs and managers, but there are other types of leaders about which we know precious little. LEMON Leadership expands our view of leadership to cover five distinct types of leaders; not styles, not temperaments, not preferences ... types.

The simple truths about LEMON Leadership have transformed the lives of individual leaders and changed the working of executive teams. Since the first edition we have conducted hundreds of leadership assessments: Traditional leadership approaches ignore about 50% of the worlds leaders. This book has many generalisations and definite statements to which there are clear exceptions. If I paused to deal with the exceptions to every observation, this book would be twice as long and half as interesting.

Saratoga, California

PS: To those leaders who object to being thought of as a LEMON ... lighten up it will do wonders for your leadership.