This book was written with the explicit purpose to help the reader develop faster as a more confident and capable leader. Leadership, Radcliffe says, is not about what position you hold in an organisation, how experienced you are or even whether you have any reports. The fundamentals of leadership are the same, he claims, whatever the context, whether that be leading a global business or planning a small project.
So you don't need a particular job title or formal authority to be a great leader. Radcliffe says you do, however, need to be 'up to something'. By this he means that you have to actively want something to be a reality in the future and that it matters to you.
The Framework
The framework for successful leadership according to Radcliffe is quite simple - the three elements are Future, Engage and Deliver. This structure is equally applicable whether what you're 'up to' is planning a birthday party or leading a multi-national organisation - as long as what you want to achieve is meaningful and important for you.
1. Future
Leaders are guided by the Future they want. This means that you need to be clear about precisely what you want to be different and what will have to happen to make this a reality. It's also about who you need to be in order to make this future happen and to have a passionate commitment to it. In Gandhi's words, "You have to be the future you want to see."
2. Engage
Leaders must then engage other people with whom to make their desired future a reality. This entails the ability to influence, inspire and mobilise others and build relationships that can be sustained through times of challenge as well as success. This sort of leadership requires personal qualities like integrity, openness and consistency. Worthwhile projects take time and an essential part of the engagement process is that leaders support and motivate others consistently to strive and do their best, even when the going is tough.
3. Deliver
Leaders have to deliver through others. This means that leaders are able to have high-energy, high-impact conversations and enrol others to go beyond usual limits - to contribute concrete steps towards achievement of the future that they are all committed to. However wonderful the future you aspire to and however great the enthusiasm engendered, without action and delivery it will remain just a dream. So ensuring that people actually make the future happen is a crucial aspect of leadership.
Harnessing Energy - optimising our effectiveness
Radcliffe suggests that we all have four dimensions of energy that all inter-connect and feed each other. Leadership is about harnessing and managing these energies - both in ourselves and in others, in service of the future we seek to create together. To be at our best most of the time, he says, we need to develop awareness of all four, balancing each energy appropriately in ourselves and in those we work with.
- Intellectual Energy - the ability to reason, to understand, analyse, plan, anticipate and pre-empt problems.
- Physical Energy - this is the energy to actually make things happen, to take action. A key aspect of leadership is harnessing this energy by making specific requests.
- Emotional Energy - this is the energy of relationships and sense of inclusion that is essential for positive teamwork and effective collaboration.
- Spirit Energy - this is the energy of vitality and enthusiasm for life. Without it there is no passion or sense of possibility for a different future.
"Our state of being is the real source of our ability to influence the world"Howard Gardner