Leading on Purpose by Timothy I. Thomas & Charles "Rip" Tilden

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It is not easy to be a leader. It requires different sets of skills that not only take time to learn but also require different level of effort to master. Sometimes it also requires for one to unlearn years of unproductive behavioral orientations to be a better leader. This maybe one of the reasons why few leaders out of millions who hold leadership positions take the time to learn to change for the better. Indeed, the chaos brought about by the change can be intimidating.

On Leading on Purpose, authors Timothy Thomas and Charles Tilden presents a clear and helpful guide to the eight critical skills one needs to be a leader with purpose. These skills are critical enough that we see a lot of leadership coaching sessions being done for business executives to strengthen each.

The following are the particular things that I like in this book:

• Written in a very engaging style. The sentences used in the book are very easy to understand. I did not see any technical business jargon that may complicate the explanations given.
• The book has provided an accurate description on how most executives are promoted: due to technical and business acumen with less consideration on their people skills.
• It also provided a compelling case that most of us learn from many management mistakes but we do not know how to do the right things. For example, many of us had an unpleasant experience of not receiving useful feedback from our bosses. Because of that we resolved not to commit the same mistake. However, when it was our turn to lead others, many of us fail to deliver on how to provide appropriate feedback to our direct reports.
• The book has a well-laid out plan in discussing the critical skills per chapter.
• Introduced the fictional characters of Frank Abernathy and his grandmother. Their conversations put the lessons in proper and entertaining perspective. Moreover, their dialogues are interspersed all throughout the chapters providing maximum support to the concepts provided.

This leadership book is a very easy read. I would recommend this to all aspiring and seasoned leaders in the world