I have long believed that making the shift from individual contributor to leader is not accomplished by process of osmosis. It requires concentrated effort, support and application. That’s why I’m happy to support the launch of the new book, From Bud to Boss written by Kevin Eikenberry and Guy Harris. I’m particularly delighted that Becky Robinson, Director of Social Media Marketing and Community Building at the Kevin Eikenberry Group,has agreed to write a guest post for “You’re Not the Boss of Me”. Becky is a mom of three daughters who blogs about finding everyday ways to make a difference through leadership and social media at Weaving Influence. In all her work, she enjoys making connections and sharing stories, and she hopes you will join her in the Bud to Boss Community to share your leadership story with others. I hope so too.
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I’ve been working with Kevin Eikenberry and Guy Harris to prepare for the launch of their new leadership book. I knew them both, to varying degrees, before I joined their team late last year. I have gotten to know them much better in recent weeks.
It is fitting that these two men who spend their days writing, teaching, and coaching others about leadership live out the principles in their book every day.
I have heard Kevin Eikenberry say, on several occasions now, that when you work at becoming a better leader what you really become is a better human.
So, although his book with Guy Harris teaches principles to help people make a transition to leadership, it also teaches principles that are applicable to anyone who wants to be a better human, a better leader.
Becoming a better leader, like becoming a better person, requires focus and determination. First, we reflect about areas in our lives and decide to work on areas that need improvement.
Becoming a better leader, like becoming a better person, requires a commitment to learn and grow. People who want to learn and grow can find resources everywhere: books, blog posts, mentors.
Becoming a better leader, like becoming a better person, requires action, putting what we read and learned into practice. Reading a book doesn’t magically make you a better leader. We have to move beyond thinking about new tools and skills; we have to act on our good intentions. Daily, we decide to choose more helpful ways of communicating or interacting with others.
When we become better leaders, we will also be better humans; ready to make a difference wherever we are in the world.
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Kevin Eikenberry and Guy Harris’ new book, From Bud to Boss, outlines practical steps new supervisors can take to face the challenges of leadership with confidence. Each section offers a chance for self-assessment and goal setting, so readers can identify their own areas for growth. Launch day for this new book is Tuesday, February 15th. Watch for it, won’t you?
You're Not the Boss of Me 
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Thank you for the introduction to Becky Robinson. Her closing statement says it all.
Becoming a better leader, like becoming a better person, requires action, putting what we read and learned into practice.
I’ll consider what I do, DAILY, to choose more helpful ways of communicating or interacting with others.
Lise
Lise,
Nice to meet you! I’m glad you liked the post. 🙂 I look forward to getting to know you more.
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I find that people for the most part are born as natural leaders. The find themselves in charge of the T-ball team or community group. What separates the trained and untrained leader starts with an understanding ot people; starting with themselves. Once that is figured out then a host of leadership skills can be built with a high degree of accuracy. https://babetterleader.wordpress.com/
You make an interesting distinction here. I particularly like the notion that leaders are often distinguished from each other by the degree to which they understand themselves and people in general. I agree that this empathy is a required beginning for any successful leader.
Thank you for taking the time to comment and for sharing the link to your blog.
Thanks for your kind response. I am one of those that was that t-ball coach, the person that ran the volleyball league etc. and never intentionally aspired to be a leader. It just happened. Later on in life and in my career the opportunities and then training did come. If I only would have had formal training years ago! One book I found a lot of value in reading was the Strengthsfinders book and I am going to write about that later on as time permits.
Perhaps that formal training might not have been so effective earlier. I find things are always easier learned when there is context behind them.
Thanks for coming back.
Hello! This is my 1st comment here so I just wanted to
give a quick shout out and say I really enjoy reading through your posts.
Can you recommend any other blogs/websites/forums that go over the same topics?
Appreciate it!
Hello yourself! Thank you for your kind words. And yes, while there are many blogs I enjoy, these are the ones that come firstly to mind:
Wally Bock’s Three Star Leadership http://www.threestarleadership.com/blog
Jesse Lynn Stoner’s Blog http://seapointcenter.com/blog/
Karin Hurt’s “Let’s Grow Leaders” http://letsgrowleaders.com/blog/
Anne Perschel’s “Germaine Insights” http://germaneconsulting.com/germane-insights/ (main focus on women in leadership)
Dorothy Dalton’s blog http://germaneconsulting.com/germane-insights/ (focus on talent management)
Jane Perdue’s Braithwaite innovation Group’s blog “LeadBIG” http://BRAITHWAITEINNOVATIONGROUP.COM/leadbig/
Also check out Dan Rockwell’s blog “Leadership Freak” Lots of good stuff there.
There are others but I suspect this is enough for you to be going on with. Good luck and thanks for checking in here 🙂