Marcus Buckingham is a soloist in the strengths movement choir. He has been a mouthpiece for the idea since seemingly the very beginning. Marcus is a gifted communicator with a talent for understanding the need for rigorous research. Which is why when he finally decided to create a market a self-assessment, StandOut, it should peak everyone’s interest. I’ll admit, I was actually a little confused at why Marcus had decided to create an assessment – I am a big fan of Go Put Your Strengths to Work and the accompanying Trombone Player Wanted film series. Both of these works rest on the idea that taking a test isn’t as useful as studying yourself at work.

So how good could this StandOut test be?

Good.

The book itself is a quick read, meant to introduce you to the test, have you take it, and then help you analyze your results. It’s how the test itself is structured that is really cool. The entire assessment uses behavior-based questions. Rather than ask you “Do you like ______ or ______ better?” it gives you situations and then asked you have you’d respond. Eventually, it locks in on the pattern behind your hypothetical behaviors – these are your strengths roles. When you complete the test, it generates a report that can be view online or download. The report explains your result and provides tips for how to make an immediate impact and how to craft a long-term strategy based on your position in an organization.

I’m inherently skeptical of self-assessments because the usually just ask you to describe yourself and then re-label your own description – sort of like stealing your watch and then telling you the time. That said, I believe StandOut has the potential to make a real impact in an organization because it deals with how you ACT in the world, not how you THINK you act. I’m especially looking forward to the release of the manager dashboard function, which will allow managers to access a website (or iPad app) that houses the results of their team and provides tips for interactions).

StandOut is the product StrengthsFinder 2.0 should have been.

I appreciated the depth of research in Dr. Hurley’s tome on trust. The appendix to the book provides citations for numerous well-structured studies on trust and antecedents to trust. Furthermore, I appreciate how Dr. Hurley’s Decision to Trust Model isn’t a simple “Ten Steps to Better Trust” snake oil. Instead of trying to sell the reader on a step-by-step process to win trust, Dr. Hurley provides context around the issue of trust and suggests subtle ways to begin the long-process of earning trust from followers and from leaders.

If you’re looking for a primer on the role of trust in organizations and life, I highly recommend Dr. Robert Hurley’s The Decision to Trust.

Missing from the book are references to solid research. Empirical evidence exists for the impact of differing personalities and how they do/do not work well together. While this research isn’t cited (indeed, Les admits these styles were formulated via experiences, not research) their presence can be seen by the way Les discusses it. Still, such sources would be helpful in providing the reader a place to go for further study. What is strong about this book is the way is subtly but readily follows up Predictable Success. The last section of the book outlines the role of all four natural styles in the life-cycle of an organization. While there are many others, this is the strongest reason to consider reading Les’ The Synergist.

In Sacred Cows, Robert Kriegel and David Brandt explore change. Specifically, they explore why people hold on to outmoded beliefs, process and practices despite evidence the are ineffective. The authors use numerous real-life examples to explain how to identify the sacred cows in an organization that are no longer effective and how to put them to pasture (their words, not mine). They cover how to overcome resistance and prepare an environment for change.

When reading the book, my mind kept going back to Senge’s concept of mental models. Specifically, mental models and sacred cows are a way of life…they make operations easier. However, when those sacred cows no longer serve you but actually hinder you from productivity, it is time to get rid of then. Senge also recommended shifting mental models, however he doesn’t go into enough depth about just HOW to do that. For that, you’ll have to read Sacred Cows Make the Best Burgers.

You may remember Kevin Oakes from the LeaderLab podcast. Kevin is our guest this month precisely because I enjoyed his new book. Kevin’s idea, really the idea of integrated talent management, is that most companies develop people through different silos: hiring, performance management, benefits and leadership development. These departments rarely share information, despite the fact that information captured about someone during the hiring phase could be extremely useful for leadership development. In order to encourage this Oakes, along with co-author Pat Galagan, compiled and edited essays from 20+ experts and HR practitioners. Each section provides two perspectives: the guru and the executive.

I love the dual perspective that runs through the book. If you work in HR, or if you care at all about developing future leaders in your company. The Executive Guide to Integrated Talent Management is a great read.

In addition, all proceeds from the book go to support ASTD. (This is probably the reason my review sounds overly glowing.)

This is what attracted me to David Grossman’s You Can’t Not Communicate 2 (I’m fairly certain this is an update of his original text, but I can’t be sure. I was sent the second edition as a review). Grossman primary argument is that, to be a leader, you have to be good at understand how people communicate and how to communicate to them. This isn’t really Grossman’s argument alone to make, countless others are in the same boat. Communication is an integral part of Charismatic and Transformational leadership research.

The books main focus, naturally, is to teach you how to better your communication skills…both in public settings and conversations. There are two strong points to the book. The first is the three myths of communication (Chapter 4). The second runs throughout the book: the design. The book is absolutely beautiful, full of graphical images that support what they text is saying. This is an unexpected treat too, since the paperback format of the book hides it).

If you’re looking to become a better communicator, then you probably won’t be able to do so by reading just one book. However, I would recommend starting with You Can’t Not Communicate.

Mike delivers simple, yet provocative questions that guide the reader through four phases or aspect of leadership. The first phase is titled “Leading Yourself.” While I’m not the biggest fan of the term “self-leadership” or its variants, I am a big fan of discipline, and that’s what this section covers. The next section, “Leading the Thinking” covers how you can help your organization create innovative change. “Leading Your People” covers how to view your people as individuals, and not simply resources. Lastly, “Leading a Balanced Life” reviews how to find a balance between work and personal obligations.

There’s not a lot of new or original insight in One Piece of Paper. However, this is likely because the goal of the book isn’t to teach you something new. Instead, One Piece of Paper will teach you about you.

The book is less about time management and productivity. Instead, Bregman choose to focus on how to determine which things are worth getting done. This focus on the important is the first level of discipline. He outlines an 18-minute routine (hence the title) which helps provide daily, yearly and moment by moment discipline to get those right things done and done well.

The premise behind the book is actually quite refreshing for a time management book. Instead of promising we can do more with less, Bregman argues in favor of doing less. I’m particularly attracted to this idea since, at least what I see in research, outstanding performers usually became such through unwavering focus on their discipline.

If you want that focus, check out 18 Minutes.

Lisa Orrell attempts to tackle this question in Millennials into Leadership: The Ultimate Guide for Gen Y’s Aspiring to be Effective, Respected, Young Leaders at Work. This is one of the first books I know of that tackles the intriguing question of “how will Millennials lead?” rather than “how should I lead Millennials?” Orrell is first out of the gate here and she provides a good start to helping us understand this question. Orrell presents a sort of handbook for up and coming Millennials looking to become leaders. It doubles as an introduction ot Millennials by other leaders looking to further understand them.

Chapter 4 is the best part of the book. Orrell integrates a list created by Ryan Healy that describes “20 Ways Millennials will Change the Workforce” This list is poignant, intriguing and probably correct in most areas. This chapter alone is worth purchasing the book and Healy/Orrell do a great job of describing the profound workplace changes we may very well see in the future.

You will like this book if you like John Maxwell-ian styles of writing. If you believe aspects of leadership can be summed up in “23 Key Differences…” (can there really be 23 ‘keys’?), “7 Ironclad Attributes”… (ironclad, really?), and “4 steps…”, then you might like this book. I think many of those Maxwell type lists are oversimplifications of complex issues, and aren’t really that useful to the average leader. Orrell overuses them throughout the book, and oversimplifies some issus by doing so. Nearly every chapter in this book is written using a variation of these lists. But keep in mind I have written/sold exactly zero books. Maxwell has sold Millions. So take my opinion for what it’s worth.

I do think there are better books written that tackle the Millennial topic. Check out Tulgan, Alsop, or Tapscott for a start. I suspect this book is most useful when used in conjunction with one of Orrell’s seminars, rather than an independent source of information. We will see more in-depth books written on this subject in the future, but Orrell makes an invaluable introductory contribution to the growing literature on the Millennial generation; a subject that will impact all of our organizations over the next few years.

Note: I purchased this book myself to review and have no connection to the author or publisher.

Tim Vanderpyl is a Certified Human Resource Professional (CHRP) with Canada’s largest catholic healthcare organization. He holds a Master of Arts in Leadership from Trinity Western University and is working toward a Doctorate in Strategic Leadership at Regent University.

The Progress Principle examines the inner work life of employees by pouring over nearly 12,000 daily diary entries of 238 employees in 7 different companies. The authors made an amazing discovery:

The single best contributor to a positive inner work life is progress.

This is a big deal because the majority of managers surveyed identify things like recognition or incentives as primary motivators. Amabile and Kramers research shows a compellingly strong link between progress and motivation – a stronger link than these external factors.

The implications of The Progress Principle are stunning in their simplicity. If progress improves inner work life and performance, than good managers stimulate progress and combat setbacks. In this light, The Progress Principle makes a point to end with practical suggestions to help managers ensure they leverage the power of small wins and progress. This book is a must read for those wants to be good leaders (or those wishing they worked for one).