Unleashed summary

Let’s start by getting one important thing out of the way: it’s not all about you. There’s a popular misconception that the leader should be the center of attention. They’re the one with the ideas and the answers and all eyes should be on them. This is, in fact, all wrong. Being a leader isn’t about stoking your own ego. It’s about empowering others. Your job as a leader is to effectively lead others. This happens by creating conditions for people around you to thrive and achieve their full potential.

Empowering others is at the heart of five levels of what the authors call unapologetic leadership – the kind of leader that makes it all about others instead of all about them.

First is trust. Establishing trust between the leader and everyone else is like laying the bedrock foundation of your company. From there, you can then move to the second level of empowering individuals. Third is empowering teams. Fourth is empowering suppliers and customers. And finally, it’s about creating a culture that extends far beyond your company.

Building trust comes down to a few things. Basically, it’s what happens when you’re authentic, show empathy, and demonstrate sound logic and judgment. If there’s a trust issue going on, it usually means that you struggle with either empathy, logic, or authenticity. For many leaders it’s empathy, and this comes across every time you talk to someone while also staring at your phone; or try to wrap up a meeting the moment you get the message, without asking everyone else if they got the message.

Once you have a foundation of trust, you can empower individuals through a combination of high standards and deep devotion. Often, a leader has one or the other. But when both are in place, you can motivate people to achieve more while also showing your commitment to their development. A key to this is consistently providing positive feedback and reinforcement.

You can expand your impact from individuals to teams by cultivating a true feeling of belonging. Make sure everyone feels safe to contribute and has access to growth opportunities. Promote inclusion, diversity, and transparency in what is required for advancement. If there’s a barrier or bias that’s preventing anyone from thriving – get rid of it as quickly as you can.

Attract diverse talent, help them develop, promote the most deserving, and retain them by showing your appreciation daily. Don’t just tolerate differences – celebrate them.

In the next section, we’ll cover the last two levels, which focus on how you can continue to empower, even when you’re not around.