What You Don't Know about Leadership, But Probably Should summary

Have you ever been in a meeting and suddenly realized that most people aren’t really listening? Sure, no one is whispering to his neighbor or passing notes, but each pair of eyes is directed toward a laptop, a tablet or phones.

All good leaders know that good teamwork requires clear communication between team members. And many recent studies have shown that mobile phones can prevent your team from achieving the quality communication it needs to succeed.

It may go without saying these days, but when looking back at US presidents, we see a remarkable range of different personalities.

For instance, Lyndon B. Johnson was an outgoing and playful type; he and his secret-service agents would sometimes play hide-and-seek. Whereas Calvin Coolidge was so introverted that guests to the White House used to make wagers about who could prompt him to say something during dinner.

Does this sound familiar? Your boss chews you out in front of your peers, causing you to feel publicly humiliated, even though you were just following orders! You then return home, fuming with anger. And as you walk through the door, you see the kitchen’s a mess – and this pushes you over the edge: you get upset with your partner or children, causing confusion and injury all around.

There is plenty of research that shows how bad treatment from a leader makes employees more likely to take out their frustrations on other people, particularly those at home. The employee might even take it out on a pet, which is why this chain of events is known as kick the dog behavior.

If you have any familiarity with Britain’s most distinguished military leaders of yore, then you’ve probably heard of Admiral Horatio Nelson, the naval hero who died at the Battle of Trafalgar. Nelson is particularly famous for breaking all the traditional rules of warfare and still inspiring utter loyalty from his crew.

It’s not easy to be an unconventional leader and still command the loyalty and trust of your staff. So how did Nelson do it? Quite simply, Admiral Nelson inspired his crew by forging powerful bonds and demonstrating that there was nothing he wouldn’t do to keep his men safe and victorious.

Over a relatively short period of time, we’ve experienced profound changes in our everyday technology. Today’s smartphones are just as powerful as room-sized computers were a few decades ago.

And these technological breakthroughs have come with tremendous advantages, but they’ve also brought significant stress to leaders who are now expected to react to situations with a speed that previous generations would have found absurd.