Leadership Conversations - Hardcover

by Alan S. Berson (Author), Richard G. Stieglitz (Author)

Conversation techniques and tools that can help strong managers become great leaders

Often the very same skills and traits that enable rising stars to achieve success "tenacity, aggressiveness, self-confidence" become liabilities when promoted into a leadership track. While managers' conversations are generally transactional and centered on the task at hand, leaders must focus on people, asking great questions and aligning them with the vision for the future. Leadership mindsets and skills can be developed, and Leadership Conversations provides practical guidance for connecting with others in ways that transform each interaction into an opportunity for organizational and personal growth.

• Identifies four types of conversation every leader must master: building relationships, making decisions, taking action, and developing others
• Provides an action plan for boosting your personal leadership potential, as well for developing leadership skills in others
• Draws on the authors' rich experience coaching and working with leaders at a wide range of organizations, including NASA, the U.S. Navy, intelligence agencies, Boeing, Gillette, Bausch & Lomb, and Georgetown University

Leadership Conversations is required reading for both high-potential managers looking to make it to the next level and leaders looking to develop their people.

Front Jacket

Whether you're newly-promoted into your first management role, an established veteran of the C-suite, or somewhere between, your most powerful skill as a leader is the ability to hold effective conversations.

After a promotion to a management or leadership role, most people struggle with how to leave behind former priorities and mindsets. Leadership Conversations defines and distinguishes the very different mindsets of management and leadership, and how priorities must shift between them as you move up the corporate ladder. By clearly understanding a leader's need to balance execution with vision, you will learn how to create connection and alignment with direct reports and across an organization.

Leadership Conversations details the four types of conversation every leader must effectively master, conversations that:

BUILD RELATIONSHIPS, mastering emotional intelligence, connecting with followers to align goals, and fostering a culture of transparency and honesty

DEVELOP OTHERS, driving long-term growth, mentoring and recognizing people, leading high-potential managers, and ultimately celebrating their successes

MAKE DECISIONS, integrating facts, developing solid judgment, stimulating innovation, and asking great questions that create alignment

TAKE ACTION, developing vision, allocating resources, and measuring performance, all while eliminating assumptions and drawing followers into unified action

Leadership Conversations includes tailored advice for leaders at every stage--from the first-time manager to the senior executive who converts vision into strategy--so that you can identify and perfect the core communication skills of your role. For managers of managers and executives in mentoring roles, the book offers concrete advice on how to hold conversations that develop leadership skills in others.

Rich with real-world examples and tactical guidance, Leadership Conversations is required reading for both high-achieving managers looking to make it to the next level, and leaders hoping to develop their people.

For more information, please visit www.myleadershipconversations.com

Back Jacket

Whether you're newly-promoted into your first management role, an established veteran of the C-suite, or somewhere between, your most powerful skill as a leader is the ability to hold effective conversations.

After a promotion to a management or leadership role, most people struggle with how to leave behind former priorities and mindsets. Leadership Conversations defines and distinguishes the very different mindsets of management and leadership, and how priorities must shift between them as you move up the corporate ladder. By clearly understanding a leader's need to balance execution with vision, you will learn how to create connection and alignment with direct reports and across an organization.

Leadership Conversations details the four types of conversation every leader must effectively master, conversations that:

BUILD RELATIONSHIPS, mastering emotional intelligence, connecting with followers to align goals, and fostering a culture of transparency and honesty

DEVELOP OTHERS, driving long-term growth, mentoring and recognizing people, leading high-potential managers, and ultimately celebrating their successes

MAKE DECISIONS, integrating facts, developing solid judgment, stimulating innovation, and asking great questions that create alignment

TAKE ACTION, developing vision, allocating resources, and measuring performance, all while eliminating assumptions and drawing followers into unified action

Leadership Conversations includes tailored advice for leaders at every stage--from the first-time manager to the senior executive who converts vision into strategy--so that you can identify and perfect the core communication skills of your role. For managers of managers and executives in mentoring roles, the book offers concrete advice on how to hold conversations that develop leadership skills in others.

Rich with real-world examples and tactical guidance, Leadership Conversations is required reading for both high-achieving managers looking to make it to the next level, and leaders hoping to develop their people.

For more information, please visit www.myleadershipconversations.com

Author Biography

Alan S. Berson is an executive coach, leadership consultant, speaker, and professor. He has held leadership, strategic planning, and marketing roles at Fortune-500 firms including Gillette, Bausch & Lomb, and Marriott. He is a Learning Director at Wharton Executive Education and was an Adjunct Professor at Georgetown's McDonough School of Business. He lives in Potomac, Maryland.

Richard G. Stieglitz is a business consultant and speaker. He started, built, and sold a company that helped government and industry executives lead change. Previously, he was a submarine officer in the US Navy and an executive in the aerospace and computer industries. He is the author of three books and publishes a monthly leadership e-letter. He lives in Potomac, Maryland.