When I undertook my research project for my MBA I was deeply interested in the positive traits of leadership and how they affected people around them. The three traits I focused on were – authenticity, resilience and creativity. I was pleasantly surprised to find that these same traits were the key areas of leadership development that happened in the career of Brandon Black.
Brandon was the Chief Executive of a company that was dysfunctional and going backwarrds. Through mentoring and a long journey of introspection Brandon was able to completely change his leadership style through the way he reacted to others people. The earnings of the company survived the financial crisis of 2008 and moved on into a very profitable position in the years after.
The story of Brandon’s transformation is described in the book “Ego Free Leadership” which is co-authored by Brandon Black and Shayne Hughes. The lessons Brandon learned have resonated deeply with me as a leader. It’s not so often that a book comes your way that aligns with your current circumstances but this book did exactly that for me. Each chapter is well written and each lesson learned described in a way that is easily digestible for the leader.
Overall this is an outstanding book that truly delves into the simplicities and complexities of leadership. Experiential stories show that being authentic an transparent in leadership positions truly can revolutionise a leader with the resulting impacts on employees being positive. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and, more importantly, learned a lot of lessons from it. Read the book, learn some lessons, apply them to your leadership practice, notice the differences.
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