WOW Reading Club: March Read/3

Title: Leadocracy: Hiring More Great Leaders into Government

Author: Smart, Geoff

Subjects: Bureaucracy; Leadership; Government Employees-Recruiting; Employee Selection

Call Number: 351 S636L 2012

ISBN: 9781608322886

Number of Pages: 163

Book Description:

Do you think your life will get better in the future?

Geoff Smart had some doubts. He saw what you see-how broken government has become. He worried about his career, his family’s future, and our everyday quality of life.

Then one day, Geoff received an unexpected message that changed how he saw the problem. Geoff was asked to help. His journey took him behind the scenes to work with other private sector leaders who had made the leap into government What he discovered will surprise you.

Leadocracy will tell you:

Why great leaders avoid government

How the “3 As of Leadership” can help us identify, hire, and become better leaders

How we can avoid nonleader candidates like the Turtle, Bureaucrat, Screamer, and Idealist

How the adrenaline rush of “flow” can offer leader from the private sector the adventure of a lifetime

Thomas Paine’s Common Sense painted a vision that inspired a generation and changed the course of human history. The movement of our time is leadocracy-government by society’s greatest leaders. (from the inside of the book cover)

My Read:

The 3 As of Leadership mentioned in this book are listed as The Leadocracy Scorecard. A candidate of great leadership is capable of:

Analyzing--learns quickly; thinks critically and strategically; is creative and innovative; is attentive to detail; listens effectively; invites criticism and sharing of ideas (p119)

The analyzer figures out what outcomes are desired and how to achieve them (p38).

Allocating--focuses on planning and efficient systems and organization; hires A players, develops people, and removes underperformers; seeks the best value from resources; prioritizes based on needs, not wants; is customer and service focused; sets high standards and holds people accountable (p119)

The allocator establishes a plan to concentrate scarce resources, like money, time and people, toward their highest and best uses, and away from areas of waste (p38).

Aligning--treats others with respect, but stands up to beliefs; is flexible and adaptable, yet persistent; focuses on efficient execution; motivates others through enthusiasm and pragmatic optimism; demonstrates integrity, honesty, and work ethic; follows through on commitments; is a persuasive communicator (p119)

The aligner influences people to behave in a coordinated way, according to the plan, to achieve the desired outcomes (p38).

Smart states “If you fix the “who” problem, the “what” problems get better. The following 3 big insights support what he says:

-Great leaders tackle challenges head on

This statement reminds me of the other saying: making every risk and challenge into an opportunity. I truly believe that a great leader is a person who is able to turn around the table by positive thinking, courageous actions (have guts), and going to directions that others don’t believe or think are possible (go opposite)

-Great leaders are talent magnets

This statement brought me back to the Reagan administration eras. President Reagan is a man of charisma, a magnet of attraction, attention, and affection. He treats his cabinet members with respect and excels at allocating talents to the right places. Mr. President’s memory is excellent; he gives a gift delivered by a foreign country to a cabinet member who complimented the received gift. It’s been years and he, a busy President of the USA, remembers such detail. Such gesture warms a person’s heart. Who wouldn’t?

-Great leaders deliver great results for stakeholders, sometimes against long odds (p27)

Since a great leader is talent and result-oriented it is not a surprise that the outcomes or results s/he delivers would exceed others’ expectations. Excellence drives a great mind.

Reading this book reminds me of mentorship and its influence to an organization and its people. Time and experience has no substitute or any shortcut. A Chinese saying is as followed: An elder living in the family is as if the family owns a priceless treasure. Another Chinese slang describes the valuable experience an elder person has acquired over the years: the elder would say to a young man that the numbers of bridges he has crossed outweigh the numbers of road the young man has walked.

I agree with the author that the experiences the private sector leaders have gained at work are untapped resources the government has to borrow and acquire. Mentorship works when the mentor who is well-experienced is willing to take the lead and provide paths for the mentee who is eager to learn, aspires for excellence, and is thrilled by helping others to achieve goals toward happiness.

Great leaders take the lead and the talented follow. A pretty picture, isn’t it?

Reference:

www.geoffsmart.com

smart, geoff. leadocracy. 1st edition. austin, tx: greenleaf book group, 2012. Print.

Great Leaders examples mentioned in this book: