Subtitled '10 bold steps that define gutsy leaders', this book's key theme is that what holds people back and damages organisations is lack of courage.

Herbold says that management at any level that doesn't confront problems and make the necessary tough decisions to change will typically fail, usually because they:

• Avoid conflict
• Strive for certainty
• Avoid a career risk
• Lack of self-confidence
• Lack of a sense of urgency
• Protect their turf

Herbold's 10 principles for 'gutsy, courageous leadership'

1. Devise a demanding game plan that confronts reality - this entails: "a clear vision with impact, aggressive strategies to achieve that vision, and a defined way of measuring success."
2. Staff for success - ensure the talent needed to delivery your game plan
3. Clean up the sloppiness - keep systems and processes free of unnecessary bureaucracy and complexity
4. Institutionalise tight-fisted cost control
5. Insist on functional excellence - do critical things really well
6. Create a culture of innovation
7. Demand accountability and decisiveness; avoid consensus
8. Exploit 'inflection points' - constantly look out for new opportunities for leverage
9. Value ideas from anywhere
10. Shake up the organisation - be willing to change structures to support your priorities

And how might you be holding others back?

Herbold says that 'a manager can stifle innovation without even knowing it through his or her unspoken communications.' People can often interpret reactions or casual comments as specific instructions or constraints that must be followed. So as well as consistently asking ourselves, 'what's holding me back?', we also need to ask, 'how am I holding others back?'

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light not our darkness that frightens us. We ask ourselves 'who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous?' Actually, who are you not to be? Your playing small doesn't serve the world. There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. It's not just in some of us; its in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."