How to use this book

The objective of the book is to serve as your ‘go-to’ resource for tips, exercises, advice. At times, it will also give you a fresh perspective on leadership.

It is an accessible and comprehensive guide for everyone, ranging from young professionals starting their leadership journeys, to mature managers wanting to take their leadership skills to the next level or successful executives looking to stay in tune with their leadership performance. Wherever you are on your path, this guide has been designed to help you become a better leader.

Depending on your position within your organisation, you will need to focus on or acquire different attributes and demonstrate different actions. The table below gives you an indication of how well-rounded leaders or aspiring leaders should allocate their time.

This does not mean that if you are a team member you should not spend any time developing your strategic thinking. Rather, most of your leadership learning efforts should be geared towards increasing your self-awareness and getting a first-hand understanding of your environment. Strategic thinking and vision building are useful skills to develop, but need not be your main focus at this point.

The table represents the map of what needs to be done to build solid leadership foundations and hone your skill set. It will also help you keep an eye on what will be needed at the next level, to proactively work on it and, thus, accelerate your journey. Of course, you may choose a totally different approach, reading from beginning to end, or cherry pick what it is you think you need most right now.

To help you navigate, this guide is structured as follows.

• Each part opens with an article from the Financial Times which sets the scene.
• Each chapter starts with a real-life example or a story to highlight some of the issues that the chapter addresses.
• The chapter then provides a general introduction to key concepts that will be covered within it.
• At the end of every subsection are practical examples and exercises (individual and team-based) that you can choose to perform or not, though doing so will help you to consolidate what you have learned. Individual exercises will ask for you to set aside some quiet time to go through either the questioning process about yourself, your team or the organisation, data analysis or the creation of an action plan. Giving yourself a couple of hours to do this, either at the beginning or the end of the week, should be sufficient.
• At the end of each chapter is a summary of tangible key points to remember – these can be actioned immediately and used as refresher notes later.
• If you feel you are overwhelmed by the amount of information, advice and business case studies - consider either pacing yourself by diving into one chapter at a time, on a weekly basis. Alternatively, use this book as a go-to reference if and when needed. Either way, consider selecting what exercises are the most relevant for you or resonate more with you.

Leadership is not a solitary exercise, nor is learning. To leverage further the impact of this guide, it is highly recommended that you find a sparring partner who will go through the journey with you. This person may be a peer or someone from your network with whom you can regularly exchange, compare and contrast, measure and celebrate progress. It is also highly recommended that you put together a feedback group of three to five people you trust and respect to support and help you by observing you in different situations and giving you regular structured and informal feedback.

As mentioned in the Introduction, leadership is a journey towards excellence – your excellence. It can only be triggered by a personal desire to grow and develop and must be rooted in curiosity – about yourself and about the world. The journey of a leader is like Ulysses’ quest – at times challenging, always exciting. So, get on board, follow the stars and enjoy the ride!