Book Summary: Listening – Tuning In Can Transform Your Relationships and Your Life

February 28, 2025February 25, 2025 by don.tebbe

You’re Not Listening: What You’re Missing and Why It Matters

by Kate Murphy

In a world obsessed with talking, listening has become a lost art. Yet, it is the cornerstone of connection, understanding, and growth. Kate Murphy’s You’re Not Listening uncovers why we fail to listen, the consequences of this neglect, and the transformative power of tuning in fully to others. Murphy shows you how to sharpen your listening skills and harness their power to enhance relationships, foster trust, and thrive in a noisy world. By learning to listen deeply, you’ll foster better relationships, solve conflicts more effectively, and find meaning in conversations others overlook.

Book Summary: Leader legacies from the inside out.

February 28, 2025December 31, 2024 by don.tebbe

A Leader’s Legacy

by James M. Kouzes and Barry Z. Posner

Leadership isn’t defined by titles or trophies; it’s reflected in the impact you have and the legacy you create. In A Leader’s Legacy, James Kouzes and Barry Posner illustrate how exceptional leaders establish lasting influence through small, intentional actions and consistent daily habits.

The central idea is simple but profound: Legacies aren’t built on one big moment. They result from consistent decisions, meaningful relationships, and the environments that leaders shape every day. This focus on the ordinary reveals the emotional core of leadership—the ways leaders touch lives and create opportunities for others to thrive.

Book Summary: Frustrated by “flow”? Go “optimal.”

December 26, 2024December 24, 2024 by don.tebbe

Optimal: How to Sustain Personal and Organizational Excellence Every Day

In Optimal: How to Sustain Personal and Organizational Excellence Every Day, Daniel Goleman and Cary Cherniss redefine peak performance. They focus on achieving an “optimal ” state—a sustainable state of focus, productivity, and emotional balance—rather than chasing fleeting moments of “flow.” Emotional intelligence (EI) is the key to unlocking this state for individuals, teams, and organizations.

Book Summary: The power of legacy thinking.

November 27, 2024November 19, 2024 by don.tebbe

Your Leadership Legacy: Why Looking Toward the Future Will Make You a Better Leader Today

by Robert Galford and Regina Fazio Maruca

In a world obsessed with quick wins, leaders face immense pressure to focus on immediate objectives and short-term achievements. However, effective leadership is also about the long term and the impact you leave behind—your legacy. Every leader creates a legacy through their influence, whether they’re aware of it or not. It’s not just about numbers or achievements; it’s about the behaviors, ideas, and growth you foster in others.

Book Summary: The power of rethinking.

November 27, 2024November 12, 2024 by don.tebbe

Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don’t Know

by Adam Grant

Think Again challenges us to reconsider how we approach knowledge, opinions, and beliefs. Author Adam Grant says that the ability to rethink and unlearn in our rapidly changing world is crucial for personal and professional growth. Using scientific research, storytelling, and practical examples, Grant highlights the importance of intellectual humility and the risks associated with cognitive rigidity. He encourages readers to adopt a “scientist” mindset characterized by curiosity, adaptability, and openness to new evidence. This approach can help us navigate change, make better decisions, and inspire others to question their own assumptions.

Book Summary: A better lens on leadership and group performance.

November 12, 2024March 12, 2024 by don.tebbe

Direction, Alignment, Commitment: Achieving Better Results Through Leadership, Second Edition

by Cynthia McCauley and Lynn Fick-Cooper, Center for Creative Leadership

This book aims to help us refine our perspective on group performance by deepening our understanding of “leadership” and its impact on collective success. It encourages us to move beyond instinctively blaming individual leaders for poor performance. Instead, it urges us to recognize that leadership is a social process involving factors across the group, extending beyond the person in charge. As a result, a “leadership” problem isn’t always a “leader” problem. Effective leadership yields three outcomes within the group: direction, alignment, and commitment (DAC). We can enhance the overall success of the group by assessing and improving DAC variables in a holistic manner.

Book Summary: What’s putting a lid on your success?

November 12, 2024November 14, 2023 by don.tebbe

What Got You Here Won’t Get You There: How Successful People Become Even More Successful

by Marshall Goldsmith

“What Got You Here Won’t Get You There” explores the habits and behaviors that can keep us from advancing in leadership.

Renowned executive coach Marshall Goldsmith argues that the focus shifts from technical skills to behaviors as we move up the organizational ladder. And bad habits and outdated strategies—many of which helped us get to where we are—can hold us back. He provides a roadmap for identifying and addressing these limitations and achieving next-level personal and professional growth. He uses real-life examples from his extensive coaching experience with top executives and leaders.

Book Summary: 8 common challenges facing transitioning leaders.

October 30, 2023October 24, 2023 by don.tebbe

Master Your Next Move: Proven Strategies for Navigating the First 90 Days – and Beyond

by Michael Watkins

Master Your Next Move is a guide for leaders who are transitioning into new roles, be it through promotions, taking a job at a different organization, or other career shifts. Successful careers involve navigating a sequence of demanding transitions, often occurring in clusters. It is crucial to map out these transitions, identify your personal adaptability, and recognize the obstacles to organizational change so that you can better understand the challenges you are facing.

Book Summary: The four supporting roles in a CEO transition.

November 4, 2023October 10, 2023 by don.tebbe

Transitions at the Top: What Organizations Must Do to Make Sure New Leaders Succeed

by Dan Ciampa and David L. Dotlich

Transitions at the Top aims to address the high failure rate and lackluster performance of newly-appointed CEOs of public corporations.

This summary comes with a caveat for nonprofits: the focus is on CEOs of public corporations. Public corporations have a different governance structure than nonprofits. First, their boards include inside (executive) directors and outside (independent) directors. Second, the current or former CEO often serves as board chair. Given the differences in governance structure and the role of the chief executive, some advice in those two areas must be taken with a grain of salt.

Book Summary: Master your new job from Day One.

November 4, 2023September 12, 2023 by don.tebbe

The New Leader’s 100-Day Action Plan: Take Charge, Build Your Team, and Deliver Better Results Faster

by George B. Bradt, Jayme A. Check, and John A. Lawler

The New Leader’s 100-Day Action Plan is a comprehensive guide for newly appointed leaders, whether they are succeeding an incumbent in an existing position or taking on a newly created role. The book offers an in-depth exploration of the new leader’s journey and presents a practical, detailed roadmap for assuming full leadership in the new role. First-time leaders will find the step-by-step recommendations particularly helpful.