Introduction xi
Redefining How You Lead xvi
The Leadership Contract xvii
A Word of Warning xix
Chapter 1 My Personal Leadership Story 1
Is Leadership Worth Dying For? 2
Why Are Some Leaders Such Jerks? 8
Why Are Many Leaders So Lame? 10
Has Anyone Noticed That We’ve Stopped Talking about Our Values? 12
How Do You Create a Vibrant Culture? 13
How Do You Lead through Ambiguity? 15
Chapter 2 What’s Wrong with Leadership Today? 18
Leadership Is Disappointing 19
Leadership Is Disconnected 22
Leadership Is Disgraceful 23
How Did We Get Here? 26
It’s Time We Stop Settling—and Start Expecting More 31
Chapter 3 Why We Need a Leadership Contract 33
Do You Know What You’ve Signed Up For? 35
The Leadership Contract and Its Four Terms 35
Chapter 4 Leadership Is a Decision—Make It 40
Why Doesn’t Anyone Want to Be a Leader Anymore? 41
Why You Need to Make the Leadership Decision 42
The Two Kinds of Leadership Decisions 45
Big D and small d Leadership Decisions—Clarity and Commitment 49
A Real Leadership Decision Is Visceral 52
Deciding Not to Lead Is an Important Leadership Decision 54
Chapter 5 Leadership Is an Obligation—Step Up 59
The Iron Ring Ceremony 60
What’s It Going to Take? 63
The Five Core Obligations of Leadership 65
The Five Core Obligations in Action 76
Revisiting the Iron Ring Ceremony and What It Means for Leaders 79
Final Thoughts—Leadership Is an Obligation 80
Chapter 6 Leadership Is Hard Work—Get Tough 82
Do We Have Wimps or Leaders in Our Organizations? 83
The 10 Ways Leaders Make the Hard Work Harder 85
Final Thoughts—It’s Time to Get Tough 98
Chapter 7 Leadership Is a Community—Connect 100
The Missed Opportunity 101
We Are Wired for Community 102
A Rotting of Zombies 103
A League of Heroes 104
A Stable of Thoroughbreds 105
It’s Time to Build a Community of Leaders 107
A Strong Community of Leaders—Clarity and Commitment 108
Has Everyone Noticed the Change in the Room? 111
Do You Have What It Takes to Be a Community Builder? 113
Final Thoughts—How Is Help Viewed in Your Organization? 115
Chapter 8 Signing the Leadership Contract 117
It’s Time to Sign the Leadership Contract 119
The One Thing You Cannot Do 121
Signing the Document 123
Final Thoughts—Signing the Leadership Contract 124
Chapter 9 The Turning Points of Leadership 126
Revisiting the Turning Points of Leadership 127
Final Thoughts—The Turning Points of Leadership 137
Chapter 10 Living the Leadership Contract 139
The Four Foundational Practices for Living the Leadership Contract 141
Regular Practices for Living the Leadership Contract 152
Final Thoughts—Becoming a Truly Accountable Leader 157
Chapter 11 Embedding the Leadership Contract in Your Organization 159
Leadership Accountability—A Critical Business Issue 162
The Four Strategies to Drive Strong Leadership Accountability 164
Final Thoughts: Driving Leadership Accountability 180
Conclusion 181
Notes 183
Acknowledgments 187
About the Author 191
Index 195