Jennifer Milius - You Know it’s a Verb, Right?

Some names and identifying details have been changed to protect the privacy of the individuals. This book is a reflection of the opinions of the authors. Although every effort is made to teach the reader about leadership, there is no guarantee of individual results. The examples provided in the book are just that examples and are not to be interpreted as a guarantee or promise of success. The authors and publisher do not assume liability and disclaim any liability to any party for any loss, damage, or disruption caused by errors or omissions, whether such errors or omissions result from negligence, accident, or any other cause. The authors and publisher are not liable or responsible for a readers subsequent financial misfortune or other subsequent occurrences in the life of the reader.

I have known Dr. Wayne Applewhite for more than a decade. He and Jennifer Milius have captured the essence of leadership in a compelling style that is both easily absorbed and readily applied. In 2009, I watched Dr. Applewhite train and inspire leaders from Fortune 500 companies, county government, and charitable organizations to effectively address the most pressing community challenges. Whether leading from a podium, or assisting behind the scenes, he is the same person - energetic, focused, purpose-driven, and effective. I recommend this book to everyone from the leaders of boy/girl scout troops to billionaire CEOs.

While many of these concepts are well known, Wayne and Jennifer offer a fresh reminder and a helpful roadmap to growing and improving as leaders. This book not only helps the reader ask all the right questions, but it also empowers us to implement all the right answers honestly and effectively. If you read this book, you will upgrade your leadership skills and those of your organization. You will find yourself employing RATSDWTN (Respect All, Trust Some, Do Wrong To None) and SIP3 (Strategic Intent, Purpose, Planning and Practice). These acronyms should become standard phrases in every breakroom and boardroom in the country.

I found the Honesty Check at the end of each chapter intermittently a skewer (where I have missed the mark), a balm (where I have successfully applied the lessons), and a triple shot Iced Caf Latte (either caffeine, adrenaline or the Holy Spirit propelling me to do better). Wayne and Jen have mixed in anecdotes in the middle of lessons to provide a nice contrast of theoretical concept and life application. This is a thoroughly enjoyable read, and I am planning on using it at my firms next annual strategic planning session.

Fred Baerenz

President & CEO

AOG Wealth Management

If you are wondering if this is the book for you, consider the answer to these questions:

• Are you preparing yourself for leadership?
• Are you perceived to be a leader in an informal setting?
• Are you entering your first leadership role?
• Are you ready to lead, but not quite sure how or where to start?
• Are you seeking guidance on how to lead responsibly and not reactively?
• Are you interested in learning new perspectives in order to strengthen your leadership practice?

If you answered yes to any of the above questions, then you are in the right place, and we can help!

With over fifty years of leadership experience between us, this book leverages our formal educations and the school of life. In addition to earning a Doctorate of Management, Wayne taught leadership as an associate professor and adjunct professor for fourteen years, as well as held leadership positions in the military, private business, and non-profit sector. During Jennifers extensive corporate career, she held increasingly challenging leadership roles in process analysis and improvement, project management, recognition program development and implementation, and personnel engagement programs. Jennifer also holds a Master of Business Administration. We have created and continue to cultivate our leadership practices.

Leadership is like a marathon. It is a measured, long distance journey that requires daily practice and is filled with challenges. It is a state of being that requires you to keep your skills up-to-date and on point by understanding when and how to exercise them. By sharing our perspectives, stories, actions, and skilled practices, we hope to give insight and ideas to help you actively cultivate your own leadership style.

Youll notice that we referred to leadership as a practice. The reason for this is that one of the roles of a leader is to inspire action and loyalty. People are willing to go the distance for a leader because they believe in that person and what they are trying to achieve. Yet, in order for this inspired action and loyalty to happen, it has to start with the leader thats you knowing what is not only important to you and what you are trying to achieve, but even more so, knowing who you are and recognizing and respecting the value that you bring.

You, as the leader, set the tone for what is expected and what will be tolerated, so it is important to start with yourself. Take the time to understand what your expectations are for yourself and your organization, as well as what behaviors you will or will not accept. This may seem easy to do; however, your team will watch how you act and interact with others to determine the answers to these questions. Therefore, it is vital that your actions and words are congruent and clear.

As in most every facet of life, you read, observe, teach, learn, and listen. And in all of these activities, most of us experiment. We listen to different schools of thought, we watch others, and determine how much we respect them, and which of their behaviors we want to emulate. At some point in time, we are curious to see if a particular style, approach, skill set, or activity actually brings about the solution we were looking for.

This book is written with those activities in mind. We suggest that you treat this book as a virtual laboratory. It has many skilled practices and tools to consider and try, with concepts that say, Here is a possible avenue towards a preferred solution. It has common sense approaches and applied, knowledge-based solutions. Yet, what this laboratory does not have is The Answer, because the one-size-fits-all approach is definitely not leadership. Your answers and your practice will be specific to you. Our goal is to help you cultivate your leadership practice such that you are walking your walk and talking your talk consistently and authentically every day.