[rating:3.0]
(San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc., 2013)
128 pgs
Mark Miller is the Vice President for Organizational Effectiveness at Chick-fil-A. He is a leadership practitioner, consultant, and communicator. He has written this easy-to-read, leadership parable to communicate five key principles he believes are the key to being an effective leader.
Miller makes use of a fictional story to teach leadership issues as Patrick Lencioni has popularized. In fact, Lencioni writes the Foreword to this book. In it, he states: “But maybe it’s not something new that we need. Maybe we only need to take a longer, harder look at what we already know but failed to grasp—the simple but painful truth that if your heart is not right, no one cares about your leadership skills” (ix).
Miller tells the story about Blake, a young man who is passed over for a promotion in his company. Blake is talented and ambitious and he assumes he is in line for the next promotion. Being passed over becomes a wake up call to discover what it is about him that is failing to win the trust of others. In his search, he discovers five fundamental truths to successful leadership. These are:
- Hunger for wisdom
- Expect the best
- Accept responsibility
- Respond with courage
- Think others first
Miller argues that leaders can have abundant skills, yet lack what he calls “leadership character” which is essential to effective leadership (17). In this short volume, Miller has some great quotes. Here are some that stood out to me:
“And do not associate leadership with a position. You can lead with or without a title. If you wait until you get a title, you could wait forever” (13)
“Forming, transforming, or reforming character is difficult—extremely difficult—but it is possible” (18).
“Leaders rarely fail because of a lack of skills” (24).
“To expect the best is an attitude, a belief, a choice, a lifestyle and a trait that virtually every successful leader possesses” (42).
“Each action requires a measure of courage” (59).
“Your missed opportunities are often no big deal in isolation. They are, however, cumulative” (61).
“If you feel the need to make everyone happy, you should be a wedding planner not a leader” (64). I particularly enjoyed this one!
“Leadership is a privilege, but it is not free—it comes at a price (82).
“The best leaders don’t blame others. They own their actions and their outcomes” (91).
I enjoyed this book. It is an easy read. I read it on a flight between Dallas and Atlanta. Because Miller uses a fictional setting, it is more difficult to challenge his teaching, as it ostensibly represents the beliefs of fictional characters. Nevertheless, I felt that there were some great leadership truths here. I have always enjoyed Lencioni’s writing, and so I enjoyed this book as well. I would say though, that Miller does not write fiction with Lencioni’s skill. The fictional story is not very believable in places and often seems stretched. Of course, with such a small page count, Miller does not take long to develop the storyline, as it is simply a vehicle to get his leadership principles into play. So, I would say this method makes it easy reading, but at times the fictional storyline seems to get a bit thin on the credibility side.
Nevertheless, Miller offers some great insights. His focus on character versus skills is important. His emphasis that leadership can be a character trait is also interesting.
I’d encourage you to read this book. It is an easy read and has some helpful quotes. Just be aware that it is not a weighty presentation and you must read through fictional material to find the nuggets of leadership truth that are scattered throughout.
by Richard Blackaby