"Eric wondered about how he got into this mess and how he was going to get out of it.'Difficult' was just too mild a word to describe his boss, Lyle. Liar, crook, control-freak, slime-ball, and dirty SOB were better at capturing Lyle’s character.And right now, Eric felt ‘dangerous’ could apply.He was concerned about how Lyle would react when cornered.Eric was feeling a little emotional about the situation and knew he had to be careful not to let his discomfort cloud his judgment about what to do."
Eric needs a leadership coach and, believe it or not, so do you. If you
think being a leader is tough now, just wait. Leading others is going to
get even more difficult in the years ahead. Customer demands,
technological advances, investor expectations, social norms, competitor
tactics, globalization, regulatory scrutiny, and information overload
are dramatically increasing the complexity and volatility of the
leader’s job and the cost of mistakes.
In the past, employers spent time mentoring, coaching, and teaching
leadership skills, but that rarely happens anymore. If you are going to
survive, let alone succeed in this environment, you must master the
key interpersonal skills discussed in this book.
Between these pages, you’ll meet some great leaders, as well as some
really bad ones. Use these stories to develop the skills you need to be
a truly effective leader. As you grow, think of this book as your coach
and take the challenge to become more aware of your values, what you
want to achieve in your career, and become a "Higher-order Leader.”