The Lowdown: This How To Be A Positive Leader summary is a brief rundown of Jane Dutton’s bible for creating a positive work experience.
Positive leaders can consistently bring the best out of themselves and others.
The best bit is, a positive leader can do it all without massive heroic statements or gestures.
In How To Be A Positive Leader, Jane Dutton compiles the thoughts of leaders from companies like Wells Fargo, Ford, Kelly Services, Burt’s Bees, and plenty of others.
- Audible Audiobook
- Jane E. Dutton (Author) – Caroline Miller (Narrator)
- English (Publication Language)
- 08/08/2019 (Publication Date) – Berrett-Koehler Publishers (Publisher)
The three main lessons from How To Be A Positive Leader are:
- Employees are most motivated when they see the meaning of their work
- Have employees craft their jobs around their personalities
- In times of change, employees are resources and not resisters
Lesson One: Employees are most motivated when they see the meaning of their work
Often work can feel like a bit of a drag.
Sometimes you don’t feel like what you’re doing actually matters.
As a leader, show your employees how what they do moves the needle.
For example, a study at the University of Michigan was taken on their call center donations team.
The leaders brought in students who were able to attend the school on scholarship due to the money raised in the call center.
After the meetings, many of the employees felt reinvigorated in their work, which resulted in an increased revenue per-person.
Lesson Two: Have employees craft their jobs around their personalities
A lot of businesses tend to treat their employees the same, no matter what their background is.
We craft job openings and find people who we think can fill that role.
However, it is truly great leaders who let employees craft their job to suit their personality.
Having the autonomy to make their own decisions can empower employees to perform at a high-level and play to their strengths.
For example, if you’ve got a marketing manager that loves social media, perhaps have them introduce some Instagram Marketing to the budget.
This flexible approach is certain to lead to success if you have your company goals in mind.
Lesson Three: In times of change, employees are resources and not resisters
There are two certainties when it comes to change:
- Change is constant
- The change will be tackled poorly by almost everyone
Which is a crazy combination when you think about it.
How can we suck so much at something we constantly do?
It is a cycle of poor management where many leaders feel as though employees will resist change, which leads to frustration and sometimes making decisions without employee input. This move usually alienates employees as they feel their opinion isn’t valued and encourages resistance.
Kinda like a self-fulfilling perfect.
Instead of fearing your employees when making a change, consider them an asset.
- Give employees the freedom to experiment, which will create a culture of encouraging chang
- Converse with your employees and make sure they see the hidden benefits of change
My Personal Takeaway
I love a lot from this book. In particular, being able to manage without some heroic speech is incredibly appealing.
There are plenty of tips and tricks that can help you lead a team to success.
Put it into action
A simple thing you can do to make sure that your employees feel valued is to give them your full attention next time you speak to them.
That means putting your phone away (not on the table), closing the book, or moving away from your computer.
You should consider buying this book if…
Any leader will learn something from this book. However, those new to leadership roles will take a lot from How To Be A Positive Leader.
a Swedish university student, marketing professional, and life-long learner. Here at BookSummaryClub I summarize my favorite non-fiction books into easily digested posts. Hope you like what you’re reading!
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