John Baldoni - The Leaders Pocket Guide: 101 Indispensable Tools, Tips, and Techniques for Any Situation

Advance praise for The Leaders Pocket Guide

A sumptuous feast served up for experienced and aspiring leaders in bite-sized portions. A thoughtful and practical guide for lifting ones leadership profile in the here and now.

DOUGLAS R. CONANT,
RETIRED PRESIDENT, CEO, AND DIRECTOR
OF CAMPBELL SOUP COMPANY AND
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF TOUCHPOINTS

John Baldoni gets to the heart of what it takes to inspire others to follow your lead. First you need to focus on developing yourself, building strong relationships with colleagues, and then learn to lead others, as you would expect to be led. The Leaders Pocket Guide is a welcome read for executives looking to lead with more smarts as well as more heart.

RYAN M. LANCE,
CEO, CONOCOPHILLIPS

At lasta pocket guide for leaders! With the complexity of leading in todays volatile business environment, John Baldonis The Leaders Pocket Guide provides practical, easy-to-reference information for leaders to access daily. The guide covers the myriad of topics and challenges that will help leaders as they navigate the rough waters of strategy, building teams, and driving performance. It is useful and comforting for leaders of all ages and levels of experience.

NANCY SCHLICHTING,
CEO, HENRY FORD HEALTH SYSTEM

Executives need to take ownership of their own leadership development. John Baldonis newest book, The Leaders Pocket Guide, provides a good first step. The content is rich with practical insights that are supported with action steps to provide a roadmap to implementation. A quick, easy read, The Leaders Pocket Guide is a handy reference for those looking to develop themselves and their abilities as leaders who can make a positive difference.

BRIAN O. UNDERHILL,
PH.D., FOUNDER, COACHSOURCE, AND
COAUTHOR, EXECUTIVE COACHING FOR RESULTS

The Leaders Pocket Guide is a fantastic leadership book. It is a must have for all leaders. Whether you are leading a large organization, running a small business, or contemplating a new start-up, this book is full of insights that will help you avoid future pain. It is enlightening to learn from Mr. Baldonis coaching expertise and perspective on issues we face as leaders on a daily basis. I was captivated by the think about takeaways at the end of many lessons; these were like having personal executive coaching.

JOHN OWENS,
PRESIDENT AND CEO,
COHESION CORPORATION

THE LEADERS POCKET GUIDE

Also by John Baldoni

LEAD WITH PURPOSE:
Giving Your Organization a Reason to Believe in Itself (2011)

THE AMA HANDBOOK OF LEADERSHIP
edited by Marshall Goldsmith, John Baldoni, and Sarah McArthur (2010)

12 STEPS TO POWER PRESENCE:
How to Assert Your Authority to Lead (2010)

LEAD YOUR BOSS:
The Subtle Art of Managing Up (2009)

LEAD BY EXAMPLE:
50 Ways Great Leaders Inspire Results (2008)

HOW GREAT LEADERS GET GREAT RESULTS (2006)

GREAT MOTIVATION SECRETS OF GREAT LEADERS (2005)

GREAT COMMUNICATION SECRETS OF GREAT LEADERS (2003)

180 WAYS TO WALK THE MOTIVATION TALK
(coauthor with Eric Harvey) (2002)

PERSONAL LEADERSHIP:
Taking Control of Your Work Life (2001)

180 WAYS TO WALK THE LEADERSHIP TALK (2000)

THE LEADERS POCKET GUIDE

101 INDISPENSABLE TOOLS, TIPS, AND TECHNIQUES FOR ANY SITUATION

John Baldoni

American Management Association

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This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional service. If legal advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should be sought.

Some content in this volume is adapted from material previously written by the author and published with CBS Interactive. This copyrighted material (Lessons 14, 23, 30, 35, 40, 42, 43, 55, 56, 58, 61, 62, 76, 77, 81, and 85) is adapted with permission of CBS Interactive.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Baldoni, John.

The leaders pocket guide : 101 indispensable tools, tips, and techniques for any situation / John Baldoni.

p. cm.

ISBN 978-0-8144-3231-0 (hardcover)

1. Leadership. 2. Executive ability. I. Title.

HD57.7.B34895 2012

658.4092dc23

2012015320

2013 John Baldoni

All rights reserved.

Printed in the United States of America.

This publication may not be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in whole or in part, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of AMACOM, a division of American Management Association, 1601 Broadway, New York, NY 10019.

The scanning, uploading, or distribution of this book via the Internet or any other means without the express permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions of this work and do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials, electronically or otherwise. Your support of the authors rights is appreciated.

About AMA

American Management Association (www.amanet.org) is a world leader in talent development, advancing the skills of individuals to drive business success. Our mission is to support the goals of individuals and organizations through a complete range of products and services, including classroom and virtual seminars, webcasts, webinars, podcasts, conferences, corporate and government solutions, business books, and research. AMAs approach to improving performance combines experiential learninglearning through doingwith opportunities for ongoing professional growth at every step of ones career journey.

Printing number

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

To the men and women I have had the privilege of coaching.

Although my role in shaping their careers is small, their role in shaping my understanding of leadership is huge.

I am forever grateful.

Prologue

When we are no longer able to change a situation,
we are challenged to change ourselves.

VICTOR FRANKL

FOR SOME TIME READERS HAVE BEEN ASKING ME if I would consider putting my thoughts on coaching in book form. While the idea has always intrigued me, I wanted the opportunity to do more than collect advice. I have taken the time to read and sift through well over a hundred articles and pieces I have written and distilled them into single-thought concepts that are designed to help leaders both emerging and veteran find insight, comfort, and inspiration.

The Leaders Pocket Guide reflects the issues that develop in the careers and lives of executives, and the short, to-the-point ideas followed by self-reflection mimic what I do in my leadership consulting. Interwoven into these ideas is a rich texture of practical and tactical advice.