Remarkable Leadership

The July Book Review

All of us are either leaders or followers: For most of my life I have led; my earliest leadership opportunity arrived when I was seven years old, when I was chosen as captain for my first soccer team.

From then on, I captained every soccer team I played for, as well as cricket teams, athletic teams, debating teams, you name it; I was nearly always the leader. I didn’t plan it that way, but that is how it turned out.

Some will say that all these early opportunities developed my character and my leadership skills but I would disagree: I believe that sport does not develop character or leadership abilities and potential, but rather it exposes them – but that is another debate and maybe another posting.

After college, I quickly gained promotion to management and never looked back – so you see, I have minimal experience of being a follower; I think I would make a poor one, because I naturally rally against authority but equally, I have received very little formal leadership training.

However, I have read most of the books written on the subject and I have studied all the great leaders from history, because it is something I am passionate about.

Today, it is my great pleasure to discuss a book on the subject that, in my humble opinion, ranks right up there with the best: I just wish my friend Kevin Eikenberry had written it years ago, because I have learned much from his pearls of wisdom.

“Remarkable Leadership: Unleashing Your Leadership Potential One Skill at a Time” is due for release on August 22nd and it is no exageration to suggest that everyone who has an interest in leadership, seems to be already talking about it.

My preview copy arrived last week and despite an horrendous schedule, I ensured that I found time to devour the huge chunks of information and advice – it is in itself a remarkable piece of work and I simply cannot recommend it highly enough.

When I came to write my review, I discovered that what I had to say almost duplicated the foreword, which was written by someone far nobler and wiser than I – Jack Canfield – as a consequence, I decided to borrow from his text in order to accurately describe Kevin’s work :

He writes :

“When you think of the greatest leaders you’ve ever experienced, either firsthand or from a distance, I’m guessing you don’t think of their technical prowess. To be effective in an organizational context, leaders must know their business and the unique aspects of that organization. They must be able to think strategically, budget, implement, and do a variety of these sorts of things well.

But when you think of the greatest, most remarkable leaders, you most likely don’t think of these skills – or at least these aren’t the things you think of first. If you are like me, what you think of first are leaders who are remarkable people: leaders who engender trust, create great teams, are innovative, have a vision, and are great communicators. You think about the skills that are explored in the following pages of this book.

I congratulate you for choosing this book. The fact that you are reading it says that you have a picture in your mind of becoming a more successful, confident, and valuable leader. This picture of your own potential is an important first step in your ultimate success.

Kevin Eikenberry accurately reminds us that whatever our job title or position, we are all leaders, and we all have the potential to become truly remarkable. His belief in us and our ultimate success is real and stands out on every page. This belief is inspiring and empowering. As you read these pages, his belief in you will build your own belief in yourself, an important ingredient in any successful learning journey.

In my book The Success Principles, I outline a series of principles that lead to greater success in any aspect of your life. Similarly in this book, Kevin Eikenberry identifies and illustrates principles that will help you become a remarkable leader. Through these principles, you will find a map that can lead you to great success, satisfaction, and fulfilment as a truly remarkable leader.

In my talks, I often quote my friend Tony Robbins, who says that “success leaves clues”. In this book, Kevin has provided the clues, and he has provided something even more important: he has given you specific action steps to apply those clues to your own great benefit and those you lead. Although you can’t do everything at once, with this book you have a clear set of actions that, when applied, will lead consistently and predictably to your success.”

For those of you not yet (and I say yet, because I feel sure you will soon be) familiar with Kevin – here is a short bio, by way of an introduction.

Kevin Eikenberry is the Chief Potential Officer of The Kevin Eikenberry Group, a learning consulting company that provides a wide range of services, including training delivery and design, facilitation, performance coaching, organizational consulting, and speaking services.

Kevin adds:

“After writing and editing this book, working out the look of the cover, and all of the other details for my new book Remarkable Leadership: Unleashing Your Leadership Potential One Skill at a Time, we have finally released the website.

When you check out the website you can download a sample chapter from the book as a preview what you will find in the bookstores in late August. There also is a blog specifically related to the book’s progress and to ideas to further your path towards remarkable leadership.

Bookmark the site and check back often. There are some very cool features coming soon.”