The Ascent of a Leader A great book

The Ascent of a Leader A great book on leadership by: Thrall, Mc. Nicol and Mc. Elrath

Some Quotes from the book worthy of thought and discussion � Leadership “is about rising above what you can accomplish or become on your own. ” � “To rise above and beyond your individual best, you need a certain kind of environment in which to live and work. ” � “Character—the inner world of motives and values that shapes our actions—is the ultimate determiner of the nature of our leadership. ” � “This book is about becoming the kind of leader whom others want to follow. ”

More Quotes and Questions � “Often it’s what we don’t see on the surface that can bring us down: the deeper issues of life that affect who we are and all we do. ” (If this is true, then how do we discover these unseen flaws? ) � Research studies “show that we desire leaders who are honest, competent, forward looking, and inspiring—and honesty is the runaway most significant attribute. ” (But the authors warn against the trap of spending energy trying to appear more consistent. So, …what is the solution to improving our consistency [honesty? ])

Two Kinds of Environments � The Capacity ladder: Relationships of Power and Leverage in an environment of “perform or there will be consequences” � The Character ladder: Relationships of grace in an environment of grace (If we define grace as “unmerited favor”, does grace make sense in the competitive business world? ) � Which environment will generate more hope? Enthusiasm? Creativity? Near term bottom-line performance? Long term bottom-line performance? Character development? .

Capacity & Character Ladders Capacity Ladder: Character Ladder:

Action Items � What action items suggest themselves to you from this discussion?