News

Recently, with lots of time because of a re-scheduled flight, I picked up a new publication from the bookstore at the airport - The Handbook for Leaders (Zenger & Folkman). With the subtitle...24 Lessons for Extraordinary Leadership... it promised a world of difference.

As you do, I browsed the front cover, back cover and with some degree of scepticism moved to the table of contents. Along the way I was distracted by a quote: ‘you will hear some people say that leadership development is something that organisations invest in for the long run, and that no one should expect an immediate payoff. We take exactly the opposite stance. You should be able to see results right away. If you do not see results relatively quickly, we doubt you ever will'.

I knew then, that I was in good company. What was to come, was how cleverly the authors wove a path through 24 lessons of myth busting and challenge setting. Well done guys! Is my verdict. The lessons are sound, the humour is appreciated and the inspiration is great.

But seeing is not solving. Great leaders are ordinary people doing extraordinary things. They make a difference because they dare to differ and take their people ‘beyond the square' searching for the excellence of others.

It is good to remember that a dwarf on the shoulders of a giant will always see further than even the giant.                                                                                                  

Allan Gatenby