BOOK REVIEW

Research & Development Division Federal Department of Town & Country Planning

Rajeev is currently CEO of the ICLIF Leadership &

Governance Centre based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia,

which provides executive education, advisory services and

executive coaching to professionals and board directors in

Asia, Middle East and Africa. He has lived in thirteen cities

in seven countries, and has provided learning, coaching

and consulting services extensively across the globe.

Rajeev has extensive global experience in all aspects of

Human Capital Management, with particular focus in the

areas of Leadership Development, Organization

Effectiveness, Performance Management, Succession

Planning, and Learning & Development. He also specializes

in coaching and facilitating senior management teams in

their efforts to streamline Business Strategy, Organizational

Architecture, and Culture.

the author Rajeev Peshawaria

content

The book is written in 2 parts with 8 chapters:

Part One : Self and Team Leadership 1. ENERGIZE the Self: Self-Leadership

2. ENLIST Co-Leaders: Team Leadership

Part Two : Enterprise Leadership 3. GALVANIZE Large Numbers: Enterprise Leadership 4. B-B-N: Wiring the “Brains”

5. B-B-N: Building Strong “Bones” 6. B-B-N: Developing Cultural “Nerves” 7. Common Threads, Individual Paths 8. Nurturing the Most Valuable Intangible Asset

“Of all the bosses in your career, how many would you

call truly great leaders?”

“A truly great leader is someone who brings

the best in you, someone you can learn from,

who you can respect for who he is, and who

genuinely cares about your success and growth”

The problem – too many bosses base their leadership

styles on flawed assumptions like “leadership comes

from a position of power” and “leadership can be

taught through competency models, role plays and

formulas.

Most people accept leadership positions without fully

understanding what‟s involved, and without asking

themselves if leadership is for them. Many

underestimate the task of leading.

The result – abundantly visible,

too many bosses, but few good

leaders around.

“Leadership is the art of harnessing human energy

toward the creation of a better future.

There is no guaranteed reward at the end."

ENERGIZE!

ENERGIZE THE WHOLE ENTERPRISE Maximize success by proactively managing the BRAINS (visions &

strategy), BONES (organization design), and NERVES (culture) of your

business

ENERGIZE THE CORE TEAM OF CO-LEADERS Meet individual expectations around

ROLE, ENVIRONMENT and DEVELOPMENT

ENERGIZE YOURSELF Clearly define your

PUPOSE: The results you want to create

and your

VALUES: The belief system that will

guide your actions

ENERGIZE YOURSELF

Clearly define your

PUPOSE: The results you want to create and your

VALUES: The belief system that will guide your actions

Questions 1. What three to five things are

most important to me?

2. Do I want to:

3. What results do I want to create?

4. How do I want people to experience me?

5. What values will guide my behaviour?

6. What situations cause me to feel strong emotions?

ENERGIZE THE CORE TEAM OF

CO-LEADERS

Meet individual expectations around

ROLE, ENVIRONMENT and DEVELOPMENT

Questions 1. What is my Role?

2. What is my work Environment like?

3. What are the prospects for growth and

development?

GALVANIZE THE ENTERPRISE

Maximize success by proactively managing the

BRAINS (visions & strategy), BONES (organization

design), and NERVES (culture) of your business

Transition involves 2 changes:

1. How to stop “doing” and start “facilitating”

2. Shift in your personal orientation (“I” to “We”)

Leadership activities that leverage organization:

1. Setting direction (the BRAINS of your business)

2. Designing the organization (the BONES of your business)

3. Creating a culture of excellence (the NERVES of your

business)

Success Stories and Failures

1. Create strong culture

2. Proactive management of culture is a primary task of leadership, and

only if leadership walks the talk and leads from the front does a

culture takes hold

3. Decisive decision making

1. Obsessed with self-criticism.

By constantly questioning how you do things, you don‟t

outflank your competition next quarter. You outflank

them next decade.

2. „Kaizen‟ (continuous improvement).

Toyota employees generate over 1 million process

improvement ideas every year. Of these, over 90% get

implemented.

Example of People With Great Leadership

JEFF BEZOS (Founder & CEO of amazon.com)

World‟s first online retail company, survived the dot.com

crash, expanded from books to selling almost everything

else on the Web, created a marketplace for third-party

sellers, become a Fortune 500 company with one of the

most recognizable brands of the Internet age, and started a

company to explore space travel.

Tom Gardner – CEO of The Motley Fool

(Financial Adviser Company)

The company that educate the average investor

and help him make better decisions about his

money. They do this by providing newsletter

subscriptions, investment advice, money-management services, creating online

investment communities where people learn from one another, and through books

and newspaper columns.

A QUICK SURVEY TO GET FEED-BACK ON

LEADERSHIP EFFECTIVENESS

Setting Direction (BRAINS)

1. We have compelling vision for future success.

2. We have clearly differentiated strategy to achieve our

vision.

3. Vision and strategy are so clear that they guide

resource allocation and decision making.

4. We have clearly recognizable core capabilities that

give us our competitive edge.

5. Everyone in the organization can clearly and

consistently articulate our value proposition to clients.

A QUICK SURVEY TO GET FEED-BACK ON

LEADERSHIP EFFECTIVENESS

Designing The Organization (BONES)

6. We have top-quality talent with the right skills and

experience in all key jobs.

7. Our supporting systems and structures encourage

desired performance.

8. Roles, responsibilities and decision rights are defined

as clearly as possible.

9. Our people and resources are deployed in a way that

best supports the execution of our strategy.

10. Formal organization structure enables building and

strengthening our core differentiation capabilities.

A QUICK SURVEY TO GET FEED-BACK ON

LEADERSHIP EFFECTIVENESS

Creating A Culture Of Excellence (NERVES)

11. We have a well-defined cultural philosophy (who we

are and what we stand for), and it is well understood

by everyone.

12. Our compensation and reward practices encourage

desired behaviours in line with the cultural philosophy.

13. Through their actions, our leader proactively create a

culture of collaboration and teamwork.

14. We focus both on short-term success and long-term

capability building.

15. Our culture is one of listening, learning and constant

renewal.

“Leadership is about channelling energy”

Self-checklist is a good way to start assessing and

defining your own leadership

I have clearly desired my purpose – what I want out of life

I have set of clearly defined values to guide my behaviour

I fully understand my direct reports, expectations and preferences

regarding their Role, Environment and Development

My organization has differentiated strategy to achieve our stated vision

The strategy is widely understood by everyone in my organization

My organization is designed to support the execution of strategy most

effectively and efficiently

We have right people in all key jobs

The culture of my organization promotes long lasting excellence

My own behaviour is in accordance with the culture we aspire to build

within my organization

Rate your level of agreement on a scale 1-5 scale where 1=strongly disagree, 2=disagree,

3=neutral, 4=agree and 5=strongly agree

Conclusion

Three core principles you need to become an extraordinary

leader:

1. Great leaders clearly define their purpose and values;

2. Nobody can motivate another person because everyone comes premotivated;

3. A leader's job is not to directly produce results but to create

the conditions that will harness the energy of others.

Are leader “born” or “made”?

Defining your purpose and values should give you the

“will” for leadership.

You have to define what leadership means for you !

Muslim believe – Prophet Muhammad SAW (most

influential persons in history (Michael H. Hart)