Name: Unleashed
Rating: 4 (12 reviews)
Author: Frances Frei & Anne Morriss

Unleashed summary

Frances Frei & Anne Morriss

The Unapologetic Leader's Guide to Empowering Everyone Around You

4 (12 ratings)

6 mins

Brief summary

Unleashed by Frances Frei & Anne Morriss explores the concept of leadership and how to unlock potential in individuals and organizations. It offers practical strategies for creating a culture of trust and empowerment, driving success from within.

Topics

Table of Contents

What’s in it for me? Learn the secret to great leadership.

In this mini-Blink, you’ll take a quick tour through the main highlights of Unleashed and learn how you can be a better leader by, well, leading and caring about others. Most of the time, you’re the protagonist of your own movie. But being a leader means shifting that focus and beginning to see the people you’re leading as the stars. It’s your job to help them shine, and in this mini-Blink, you’ll get some quick tips on how to do just that.

Leveling up with empowering leadership

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.

Strategy and culture

Another thing that sets great leaders apart is that they continue to have impact even when they’re not present. Two powerful tools that help them to achieve this are strategy and culture.

When you put an effective strategy in place, it allows you to guide people's decisions and aligns resources, even when you’re away. One simple and effective strategy is to be ruthlessly focused on what matters most to customers and to invest in these areas – even if it means you have to underinvest elsewhere. Don't try to be all things to all people. Make strategic trade-offs.

What is Unleashed about?

Unleashed (2020) explains how true leaders can thrive while also fostering an environment where everyone can. Through engaging stories and practical advice, it guides you on how to create a workplace culture that empowers individuals and drives success. It's a must for anyone looking to become a more effective and authentic leader in today's world.

About the Author

Frances Frei is a renowned thinker and educator on leadership and organizational culture. She’s a professor at the Harvard Business School and is widely recognized for her groundbreaking work in helping individuals and companies unlock their full potential through authentic leadership.

Anne Morriss is a respected author and expert in leadership and management, as well as the executive founder of the Leadership Consortium. Her work focuses on empowering leaders to create inclusive and high-performing teams, making her a valuable contributor to the field of organizational development.