[rating:3]
(San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2010)
235 pgs.
Richard Davis is an industrial/organizational psychologist based in Canada. His focus in this book is on executive leadership. If you are in management or aspiring to be, then this book can provide some helpful, practical insights. It is a secular book, written by a psychologist so keep that in mind. However, while not addressing spiritual issues or biblical truths, he does discuss many practical concerns concerning our behavior and how we relate to others.
While some of the ten “intangibles” he mentions I have seen addressed in other books, he did venture to discuss some practical issues (down to how to stand and conduct yourself if you want to have a leadership “presence” about you and make a good first impression). While you may not agree with all of his assertions, he will make you think about practical issues concerning how to relate to others. While his focus is on executive leaders, most people who desire to improve their leadership skills can benefit from portions of this book.
The ten “intangibles” of leadership according to Davis are:
1. Wisdom
2. Will
3. Executive maturity
4. Integrity
5. Social judgment
6. Presence
7. Self-insight
8. Self-efficacy
9. Fortitude
10. Fallibility
While some qualities such as “integrity” have been standard fair in most discussions of leadership, others, such as social judgment and presence, provide some insights not found in most leadership books. There are a number of helpful and interesting comments throughout the book. He notes: “. . . leaders aren’t wise as a result of their experiences. They are wise because of their ability to utilize those experiences” (4). Davis notes that leaders should build various kinds of wisdom into their leadership teams (9). Being a psychologist, he is interested in emotions. One interesting quote was that “Every emotion he reveals has a tactical reason for being let out” (58). While discussing the leadership of Michael Poirier, Davis notes that leaders make use of various emotions to get the most out of their people. Davis notes: “As a leader, your ability to master your emotions will determine your fate” (65). Davis goes a little far when he notes that some leaders even use filthy language as an effective leadership tool (121) however his point on emotions is well made.
Davis is often hired by companies to investigate people the companies are considering hiring. As he seeks clues into the candidate’s abilities, he looks for indicators that reveal what lies inside the applicant’s mind. He places a high importance in discovering the kind of friends the person has. Today, a quick search on Facebook can often reveal what kind of friends people keep. Discussing integrity, Davis notes that despite all the discussion and measurement tools currently available, “One of the most interesting aspects of integrity is its resistance to measurement or prediction” (77). Davis notes that integrity means in part, consistency of action. He claims that people would rather work for someone with unpleasant character qualities, who acts consistently, than for someone whose behavior is unpredictable (88).
Davis has an interesting discussion on “social judgment.” He notes that “Social judgment isn’t just the ability to understand people. It is also the ability to understand situations” (97). Davis has an interesting discussion on how to discern people and situations. He notes even the physical layout of someone’s office can reveal much about what is important to someone (101). Davis also talks about “peripheral vision” in which leaders are aware of more than what is immediately before them. It is taking in the environment and quickly discerning the real issues of a situation (105).
Davis wades in to the “archetypes” of leaders. The reality is, for example, that tall people are disproportionately found in leadership positions (122). Societies have certain visions of what leaders should look like. Davis suggests people not let these control them but to be aware of them. He goes on to say it is important to make good first impressions (129). He offers an interesting discussion on knowing yourself and viewing yourself accurately. Having become increasingly involved in leadership coaching, I am becoming increasingly aware how many pastors and Christian leaders are unaware of how they come across to people (132-142). While we don’t need to let psychologists determine how Christian leaders behave, it doesn’t hurt to take a good, hard, honest look at ourselves in the mirror sometimes! Even then, we have a way of seeing what we want to see!
Davis encourages leaders to intentionally spend time around great leaders. It is surprising how many struggling leaders never take the initiative to ask for time with those who are experiencing success. David notes; “The key is to spend time with someone you look up to and to feed off his excellence. Build confidence through osmosis. Extraordinary leadership is contagious and you need to get the bug” (178). Davis also notes that most extraordinary leaders have overcome at least one major trauma (186). He also discusses the topic of “grit” that has recently become a popular topic (201). He also notes that in a study of world-class performers, hardly any of them were at the top of their class sin school (201). Most people who have achieved success have not done so merely out of extraordinary genius but out of a lot of hard work and perseverance.
I read a lot of leadership books so a lot of what I read I have heard before. This book ventured into some areas less well travelled. While it is clearly written by a psychologist, he offers some wise counsel that could be helpful to everyone. While this is not necessarily a “must read,” I’d encourage you to put it on your reading list if you want to be challenged in some practical areas of leadership.