Finders Keepers

By Darren Stevenson

For some people leadership is positional. You’re the leader because you’re the boss, the captain, or the coach. But most people now realise leadership is less positional and more attitudinal.

In Finders Keepers, Darren Stevenson draws on his vast business experience to bring you seven lessons of leadership. Exploring Santa Clause, Adolf Hitler, Queen Elizabeth II, and dozens of real life business and personal stories, Darren walks you through what it takes to successfully lead professional people in the long term.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Aug 1, 2016
• ISBN: 9780994606518

Book preview

Table of Contents

Title Page

Dedication

Acknowledgements

Foreward

Preface

Lesson One: Keep it real

Lesson Two: They’ll call it as they see it

Lesson Three: They’ll show you what they’ve got if you let them

Lesson Four: Be ready for anything

Lesson Five: It’s all about solutions

Lesson Six: They’ll hold you to it, and so they should

Lesson Seven: It’s ok to be scared

Global Lessons from Life Long Leadership

Copyright © Darren Stevenson 2016

To my wife, Bernadette,

for believing in me as we chase our dreams.

To my children, Sebastian and Arabella,

who lead by example and inspire others to do the same.

It’s probably no surprise that many months went into the production of this book.

Hours and days were spent reminiscing, reviewing, telling stories, rehashing experiences, and recalling the names and faces of so many kids and adults who have influenced me as a teacher, a manager and a leader.

This reflection has been a wonderful, emotional and motivational experience for me; I’ve loved it.

But this book would not have been written if it weren’t for the initial encouragement and endless support of Kim Fenton, Head of Commercial Operations at Extend. Kim was so persistent that I write a book, and I am sincerely glad she was. As well as a passionate motivator, Kim was chief editor of Finders Keepers and I am so very grateful for the many hours she devoted to reviewing, editing and correcting this publication. Thank you Kim; you’re a genuine leader.

I acknowledge the support of my family especially Bernadette, my wife, and Sebastian and Arabella, my children, who thought the idea to write a book was the best thing since sliced bread and filled me with confidence to proceed.

I am indebted to the many leaders I have followed, and still follow to this day.

Early in my childhood, when my father coached our local soccer team, I looked to him to learn how to lead others. I grew up watching and learning from my mother who led our family and skilfully influenced those around her without skipping a beat. For her, persuasion really was an art.

To my primary and secondary school teachers, whom I remember well, I extend my gratitude for their leadership examples.

In my lifelong journey as an educator, I have been fortunate to be led and mentored by some of the finest teachers and leaders across the world, having so graciously given me their time and expertise.

To the students and children I have taught, coached and led over the years, I am eternally grateful for the opportunities you provided for me and the valuable lessons you taught me about leadership.

And of course, thank you to my wonderful colleagues at Extend, for allowing me the privilege of being your leader as we build a national after school care company together. Without you all I would have been sailing alone. You have given me purpose and meaning. Thank you.

Kym Illman

Founder and Managing Director of Messages On Hold Pty. Ltd.

Look at any successful business and chances are there’s a powerful and persuasive leader at the helm. These leaders weren’t born that way, they worked for years to amass the necessary skills to create an inspiring vision of the future, convey that vision to their team and provide clear guidance along the way.

When I started Messages On Hold in 1988, I was the perfect one-man-band. I performed every role for the first few months but as my business grew, I was forced to employ people to handle the burgeoning workload. Over the years I’ve looked for people who are motivated by success and excellence and then provided them with both on-going training to reinforce our company strategies, and constant feedback on how they could improve.

When an advanced copy of Finders Keepers landed on my desk, my first thought was What could I possibly learn from this? Well, it turns out, quite a bit. Over the years I’ve always looked to other successful people and businesses for inspiration and direction. It’s fair to say that the stories and lessons contained in this book opened my eyes. Darren’s analysis of Hitler’s managerial style was compelling; I had never looked that deeply into how he managed to persuade an entire country to go to war. In that same chapter, he talks about Santa Claus and how similar the dynamic is between belief in Santa and how Hitler attracted his followers.

The story of Doris the teacher struck a nerve as I’d experienced a situation some years prior that was not dissimilar. I wish I had read this chapter before that situation arose - I might have overseen a better outcome.

This book addresses the attitudes of enduring leadership: listening, understanding, empowering, self awareness, accurate self assessment, mutual respect and the acceptance that even experienced leaders still have many opportunities to learn and grow.

So many books on leadership and management dwell just on theories. In Finders Keepers, the author hones in on actual case studies and presents them in a sensible, easy to read format. Make no mistake, this is an entertaining read.

In business, it’s tough keeping your people excited about working with you over the long term. Your actions go a long way to ensuring they keep aligning themselves with your journey and making it their own; because aligning with a leader is a choice every team member must make every day. It's not just about inspiring people for five minutes before they move on to the next big thing; great leaders paint the big picture!

I’ve always found that it's easy to find people to follow you. The hard part is keeping them focused on your goals, hence the title of the book, Finders Keepers (essentially a children’s phrase). The name is also a play on words because many of the lessons (but not all) are based on what we've learned from the honesty of children.

Whether you’re an experienced campaigner or someone who’s just starting out in business, I think