Bill Treasurer - Leadership Two Words at a Time: Simple Truths for Leading Complicated People

LEADERSHIP
TWO WORDS
AT A TIME

Other Works by Bill Treasurer

Right Risk

10 Powerful Principles for Taking
Giant Leaps with Your Life

Positively M.A.D.

Making A Difference in Your Organizations,
Communities, and the World

Courage Goes to Work

How to Build Backbones, Boost Performance,
and Get Results

Leaders Open Doors

A Radically Simple Leadership Approach
to Lift People, Profits, and Performance
(ATD Press, 978-1-5628-6857-4)

A Leadership Kick in the Ass

How to Learn from Rough Landings,
Blunders, and Missteps

The Leadership Killer

Reclaiming Humility in an Age of Arrogance
Coauthored with Capt. John Havlik, Retired Navy SEAL
(Little Leaps Press, Inc.)

Leadership Two Words at a Time

Copyright 2022 by Bill Treasurer

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First Edition

Paperback print edition ISBN 978-1-5230-0317-4

PDF e-book ISBN 978-1-5230-0318-1

IDPF e-book ISBN 978-1-5230-0319-8

Digital audio ISBN 978-1-5230-0320-4

2022-1

Book producer and text designer: Detta Penna.

Copyeditor: Susan Schmid, Teton Editorial; Proofeader: Lerena Hebert, Sharp Eye.

Cover designer: The Book Designers.

TO THE NEXT GENERATION OF LEADERS,
TO WHOM OUR FUTURE IS ENTRUSTED:

BE COURAGEOUS

by Elaine Biech

Every once in a while, a book is written that speaks to your heart, mind, and soul. Two Words is one of those books. As I read the introduction for the first time, I kept thinking, Is Bill a mind reader? How does he know this about me? Then I realized that he knows what I need AND he knows how to present it so that Ill resonate with it.

Why Two Words? Why this book? Bill claims that all the essential lessons hes learned about leadership can be summed up in two wordsand then he goes about proving it. Ive known Bill for a number of years. He is a self-proclaimed New Yorker, and he is not a man of few words. So, when he boils down all that he knows about leadership in two-word phrases I take notice!

Why should you read this book? Well, to use the two-word theme: What & How. What is in this book? How is the content presented?

What does Two Words offer that other books dont? There is no shortage of leadership books, but many books drone on

and on filling lots of space with many words. Few books offer practical, implementable wisdom. And fewer still offer advice for the new leader. Two Words does both. Bill has taken all the dry, theoretical leadership content and turned it into practical and wise two-word directives that new leaders can implement immediately.

You will find advice from Bill and other leaders hes worked with. Of course, each chapter is titled with two words such as Practice Humility, Nurture Talent, and Promote Inclusion. The advice within each chapter follows the same two-word theme. At the end of each chapter, Bill makes recommendations to ensure you take action to reach your next level of leadership. He provides two-word guidance for what you can Think Now and how you can Act Now. He even adds bonus tips such as SWOT Stuff and Provide Cover.

Of course, the content covers more than two-word gems. Although written for new leaders, we all know seasoned leaders who could use a couple of these to shore up their leadership skills:

Being your best self requires having a core set of principles that you live by.

Heads and hearts arent supposed to be disconnected from each other.

As a leader, you must care deeply about the quality of your work.

Drawing out the best in others starts by reflecting the best of yourself.

No one wants to be led by a perfectly [alert: word-play action here] fake leader.

Bill delivers content that gives you something to think about whether you are a new or an experienced leader.

How does Two Words present its wisdom? How you say it matters as much as what you say, is a direct quote from Two Words. And Bill follows his own advice. He shares profoundly personal stories, hiding nothing. This is important because we often learn more from our mistakes than from our successes. He also uses examples from real life and introduces us to many respected leaders.

The books wisdom is presented in professional down-to-earth reflections about topics. For example, while discussing trust, Bill asks you to consider how life has impacted your ability to trust, as well as how vulnerability is critical to being trusted.

Bill uses two-word phrases throughout that represent verbs or actions you can take as well as nouns or results you should achieve. Some of my favorite verbs/actions include Provide Cover, Create Opportunity, Persist Intentionally, Add Value, and Model Vulnerability. My favorite nouns/results include Purposeful Humility, Modern Modesty, and No Surprises. Now I ask youhow many more words do you need to enact these leadership requirements?

Bill uses unpretentious language to make his points. For example, when sharing his feelings of once-a-year performance reviews, he describes them as, a septic tank ready to explode all over the employee. And he is brutally honest with readers, telling us: dont brown-nose and dont be chintzy. If that isnt enough, he punctuates his advice with words such as, ouch, tough noogies, and urp! Yep, you know hes talking directly to you! Feeling deflated about your leadership skills? Bill would say, Fuggedabout it! You can feel Bills vibrant personality come through on every page, as if he is standing next to you.