Even if you're not a born leader or manager, you may learn tips on how to be one by reading Denver consultant Laurence Valant's book, "Lead and Manage" (Clearview Communications Inc., $22.95, 280 pages, at www.valantco.com).
"What we tried to do was take the natural leader, and define what he did," Valant says. "We took the natural manager, and defined what he did. If you do these things, you'll approximate those skills and abilities."
Valant, with co-author Gayle Hustad, wrote the book out of necessity. After Weaver and Tidwell LLP in Dallas asked them to teach a class on leadership and management, they searched for a book to use in the course.
"We began to look around for materials or a text we would use, and we didn't find one that we liked," Hustad says.
So they wrote their own, compiling an easy-to-read guide to develop better leaders and managers.
"What we tried to write was something that you don't have to be a professor to understand," Valant says.
The eight-chapter book defines the skills natural-born leaders and managers possess, breaking the positions down by fundamental skills, and then offers models for how these characteristics look in action.
"We wanted a book that could be actionable, that a CEO could read and give to his staff and say 'read this, we're going to start doing this,'" Valant says. "It has broad application for any organization because the fundamentals are universal."
One tip: It's not about charisma or personality, Valant and Hustad say, but developing leaders with a clear vision for the company, and managers who can complete the plan on time and under budget. |
