One Hour: Fundamentals of Leadership

By Chris Harsdorff

Over the past three decades, the author has worked with some extraordinary leaders as an executive coach and trusted advisor. Those engagements supported those women and men in meeting the challenges of change, new roles, new roles, and new opportunities. During the lock-downs of Covid-19, the author had the opportunity to review and reflect upon the leadership fundamentals he had passed along in development programs, presentations, interviews, and assessments. To replace the daily activity displaced by the pandemic, he committed to writing two hundred words each business day for fifteen weeks. This book is a compendium of those writings composed to convey the fundamentals of what it takes to be a successful leader in a one hour read.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Sep 22, 2020
• ISBN: 9781098327934

Book preview

Copyright 2020 by Chris Harsdorff and Executive Solution Partners LLP, Dallas, Texas

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

Published by ArtsMark Company, Dallas, Texas

Print ISBN: 978-1-09832-792-7

eBook ISBN: 978-1-09832-793-4

Contents

Dedication

Foreword

Leadership Qualities

Traits Shared by All Successful Leaders

Integrity of A Leader

Innovation

Followers Make A Leader

Why Talented Individuals Fail as Leaders

Which Are You: Executive or Leader?

The Strength of Vulnerability

The Power of Vulnerability

Authenticity and Genuineness

Being Transparent

Leading with Kindness

Building Partnerships With Physicians

Leadership is Defined by Results

On Effort and Insanity

The Ultimate Stress Test: Pandemic

Productive Meetings

Change is constant

Change Leadership

Changing Hearts

The Perils of Desire and Change

Communicate, Communicate, Communicate

How You Communicate is Important

Responding to Questions

Constructive Confrontations

Crisis Management

Responding to Chaos or Crisis

The Leader’s Role in Frightening Times

In the Absence of Data There Will Always Be Dilemma

To Manage in Times of Chaos, Begin by Listening

Coping with Uncertainty

Dealing with Undiscussables

How to Send the Elephant Out of The Room

Discussing An Undiscussable

Development and professional growth

Horizontal and Vertical Leadership Development

Competency and Capacity

Self-Evaluation

360◦ Profiles Are Valuable Tools When Interpreted in Context

Improving Leadership Profiles

When to Engage A Coach

Why Talented Individuals Derail

Emotional Intelligence

Self-Awareness

Social Awareness

Self-Management

Social Competency and Management

Feedback

The Gift of Feedback

Feedback Is NOT criticism

The Value of Mistakes

The Value of Planning

Listening

Empathy and Listening

Hearing What Isn’t Spoken

Judging Others

Empathetic Advocacy

Managing and Maintaining Relationships

Maintaining Relationships

Managing the at Home Workteam

Managing Up in Times of Social Distancing.

Managing the Boss

On The Generations

Servant Leadership

Selflessness

Kindness and Caring

The Importance of The Journey

Motivating Performance

Building High Performing Teams

Enabling Peak Performance

Motivating The Right Way

Enjoy The Walk

Motivating The Wrong Way

Maintaining Healthy Boundaries

Trust is Foundational

Learning from Mistakes

Meeting in our Brokenness

Objectivity and Emotion

Dealing with Emotions

Reason Over Passion

Values And Ethics

Managing Conflicting Personal Values

Workplace Values Alignment

Success is a Journey

Ethical Decision Making

Acknowledgments

Dedication

For Bill Gowan who taught me you have to keep showing up, and listen to the words but watch the feet, two of the most fundamental life lessons. Thanks for riding the rollercoaster and not the merry-go-round with me.

Foreword

Over the past three decades, I have been honored to work with some extraordinary leaders as an executive coach and trusted advisor. Those engagements supported those women and men in meeting the challenges of change, new roles, new roles, and new opportunities. I think I learned as much they did, if not more, including that real success is only found through lifelong learning and the continuous quest for growth.

During the lockdowns of Covid-19, I had the opportunity to review and reflect upon the leadership fundamentals I have passed along in development programs, presentations, interviews, and assessments. To replace the daily activity displaced by the pandemic, I committed to writing two hundred words each business day for fifteen weeks. This book is a compendium of those writings composed to convey the fundamentals of what it takes to be a successful leader in a one hour read.

Much has been written about leadership. I have also tried to summarize those volumes here while deferring to their detail for your further exploration. May you find this book inspirational and valuable in your leadership journey.

Dallas, Texas

July 15, 2020

Leadership Qualities

Traits Shared by All Successful Leaders

The Single Most Important Characteristic Is Absolute Personal Integrity

Keeping Commitments, Confidences & Acting in The Best Interest of The Whole

The Ability to Innovate/Create Vs. Maintain/Administer

The Ability to Build Partnerships in A Time of Restricted Resources

Superior Intelligence

Cognitive & Emotional

The Ability to