New Business Book Summary Available for Leading on Purpose

Oct. 9, 2015 - PRLog -- Many businesspeople today grasp the intricacies of their industries, but they fall short in knowing how to lead their people to get their jobs done effectively. In Leading on Purpose, Timothy I. Thomas and Charles “Rip” Tilden focus on helping leaders and managers develop the sophisticated people skills they need to supplement their technical and organizational skills. Drawing on authoritative research, the authors cover topics ranging from different leadership styles to conflict resolution to change management.

According to the authors:

* Leaders have two types of power: Positional power, which stems from their positions within their organizations, and personal power, which flows from their qualities as individuals.

* There are five basic leadership styles: bureaucratic, supportive, directive, traditional, and collaborative. Leaders should generally strive to use the collaborative style, which shows high levels of concern for both people and production and strives to foster employee satisfaction rather than basic employee happiness.

* Leaders must have effective business strategies, or basic statements of the value their organizations intend to create. Business strategies should be SMART: specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and timely.

* A leader's most important skill is to be able to communicate effectively. This includes articulating a vision, connecting with people to promote understanding, and listening to really hear what people have to say.

* Employee disengagement is a major problem in the United States. Disengaged employees show little commitment to their companies' futures and complain often. Motivating people depends on understanding the hierarchy of human needs, which includes basic needs, security needs, belonging needs, ego-status needs, and self-actualization needs.

* Feedback is a powerful tool for improving employee engagement and performance. The most critical element of the feedback process is the opening statement, which should be descriptive and not judgmental.

* Workplace conflict is unhealthy if it involves strong emotions and is disruptive to productivity and morale. In resolving conflicts, thoughts must be distinguished from feelings, and wants must be distinguished from needs.

To learn more, please visit www.bizsum.com