“You Don’t Need a Title to be a Leader” By Mark Sanborn
Firecracker

The Fission Rating System

Dud- Don’t waste your time. It looks good…but doesn’t deliver.
Firecracker- If you have extra time. You get what you expect. A fun, yet small and insignificant impact.
Dynamite – Read and pass on. Good book with a big bang. Great for training and making organization impact.
Atomic- Must read right now. You get more than expected. Powerful. Organizational, personal and life changing impact.

The premise for this book is that anyone, anywhere can make a positive difference whether or not you have position, power or prestige. In Sanborn’s follow-up to his smash hit The Fred Factor, he continues to develop his philosophy of positively influencing those around you.

Sanborn begins by explaining something he calls ROI. ROI stands for Relationships, Outcomes and Improvements. It is the author’s belief that by investing in real relationships with your customers it will impact the outcome of those relationships positively. This naturally leads to improvements in service, innovation and the quality of your leadership. This section of the book is peppered with first hand accounts of ROI in action in all sorts of environments. Stories from Fortune 500 companies, to boards, to churches are shared to reinforce the effects of ROI.

While the pages on ROI are interesting and stimulating, Sanborn really hit’s his stride when he presents his Six Principals of Leadership. The principals are:
The Power of Self-Mastery
The Power of Focus
Power with People
The Power of Persuasive Communication
The Power of Execution
The Power of Giving

While the author does very little to develop each principal, he very astutely lays out each principal in a simple and compelling fashion. Each principal contains a few nuggets of truth and very applicable lessons. Sanborn’s first principal may be his best. In the chapter on The Power of Self Mastery he hits on motivation, both personal and corporate. I believe he hit the nail on the head by asking the question, “In acting as a leader in life, how do we remain motivated?” or as he says, “What gives my life meaning?” Sanborn hits on eight practical steps to remain motivated and ends with a great story about a pony (You can read it on page 37).

In the chapter on people, Sanborn touches on asking others what motivates them to perform. His experience as a consultant and coach is clearly apparent by the list of questions he offers. Questions such as: What do you like about work the most? What is your favorite activity? What annoys you about being part of a team? What values do you try to live your life by? These and other are thought provoking questions that can serve as a great tool for any leader or manager. I spent a good portion of a day trying to honestly answer his questions. The insight I gained from this exercise have already influenced my leadership and life.

This book is a Firecracker. It is a quick and simple read. It does not require a great amount of concentration and can be applied in many environments. It is what it is; a very basic look at what is quickly becoming a popular leadership hot button. It would serve as a good tool for a staff meeting, retreat or training session. If you are looking for a good book for a gift, a fun read or something to spark a few good ideas, I would definitely recommend You Don’t Need a Title to be a Leader.

If you liked You Don’t Need a Title to be a Leader, here are a few others you may enjoy:

The Fred Factor by Sanborn
How Full is Your Bucket by Rath and Clifton
The Energy Bus by Jon Gordon

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