The Leader Habit: Master the Skills You Need to Lead--in Just Minutes a Day | Martin Lanik

INSTANT BUSINESS BESTSELLER

In leadership as in life, only practice makes perfect. Habits are powerful. They can lock us into negative behaviors (like snacking and smoking) or train us to act automatically in ways that benefit us (such as putting on a seat belt). Routines quietly undergird large portions of what we do and how we function. Habit formation can speed success in the workplace as well--even in complex areas like leadership. The Leader Habit spotlights 22 essential leadership abilities, breaking them down into a series of small, learnable behaviors. The accompanying 5-minute exercises help you practice each of these new skills until they stick. Drawn from a study of hundreds of leaders across the globe, the book's simple formula focuses on developing one skill at a time: sell the vision, delegate well, innovate often, empower others, overcome resistance, build strategic relationships, focus on customers, listen actively, negotiate effectively, and more. Many of us aspire to great leadership . . . consuming books and training. But unless you intentionally reinforce the right behaviors, results are fleeting. This eye-opening and original book builds the "muscle memory" to turn leadership skills into lasting habits.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"An interesting analysis of the troubling problem of why all those millions spent on executive training and development seem to have such little effect." - Forbes
 
"We've been going about learning new skills all wrong. Here's how to design leadership development in a way that will actually work." - Fast Company 
 
"Lanik's method works where other training programs fail." --800-CEO-READ
 
"What is the formula for being a successful leader? It's a series of habits. Martin Lanik teaches you just what those habits are in The Leader Habit!"-- Marshall Goldsmith, New York Times #1 bestselling author of Triggers and What Got You Here Won't Get You There

"The Leader Habit's simple formula makes leadership sticky. A must-read for everyone wishing to build habit-forming leadership programs." -- Nir Eyal, bestselling author of Hooked: Howto Build Habit-Forming Products

"Martin Lanik's thought leadership has helped transform how we approach leadership development. The secret to success is in building powerful habits so leadership becomes as natural as making your bed or brushing your teeth. I highly recommend this book to everyone and every organization that has invested in leadership development, but has yet to fully realize their potential." -- Julia Smith, Head of People Excellence at AIG

"Thought-provoking, insightful, and practical! Few books become essential manuals for developing leaders. The Leader Habit is one of those books. Martin Lanik gives you the daily exercises that turn effective leadership behaviors into ingrained habits. Forget classes--this is the cutting-edge approach for every modern corporation willing to invest in their future." -- Kathy Flynn, Vice President of Human Resources at CenturyLink

"We are what we practice the most. Leaders are no exception, and they need to take this rule to heart if they are going to connect with their employees. A refreshing approach to leadership development that finally hits the bull's-eye on what needs to be done to make leaders more effective." --Michael Rochelle, Chief Strategy Officer and Principal HCM Analyst at Brandon Hall Group

"Leadership is about doing. This book will help you develop two key features of 'doing'--skills and habits. Five minutes of daily practice with anyone of 22 core leadership skills can lead to a lifetime of effective leadership habits. The ROI is immediate." -- Wayne Cascio, Ph.D.,Distinguished Professor at The Business School, University of Colorado Denver

Book Description

In leadership as in life, only practice makes perfect.

Habits are powerful. They can lock us into negative behaviors (like snacking and smoking) or train us to act automatically in ways that benefit us (such as putting on a seat belt). Routines quietly undergird large portions of what we do and how we function.

Habit formation can speed success in the workplace as well—even in complex areas like leadership. The Leader Habit spotlights 22 essential leadership abilities, breaking them down into a series of small, learnable behaviors. The accompanying 5-minute exercises help you practice each of these new skills until they stick.

Drawn from a study of hundreds of leaders across the globe, the book’s simple formula focuses on developing one skill at a time: sell the vision, delegate well, innovate often, empower others, overcome resistance, build strategic relationships, focus on customers, listen actively, negotiate effectively, and more.

Many of us aspire to great leadership . . . consuming books and training. But unless you intentionally reinforce the right behaviors, results are fleeting. This eye-opening and original book builds the “muscle memory” to turn leadership skills into lasting habits.

From the Inside Flap

To increase your expertise at any activity, nothing beats practice—and that includes leadership. At its core, leadership is actually a set of concrete skills, such as empowering, selling the vision, building relationships, and influencing. While some skills might come naturally, it’s inevitable that others will need work. The Leader Habit offers a simple, original approach to dramatically improving even our weakest areas.

Filled with 5-minute exercises and real-life examples, the book highlights the most important skills that great leaders exhibit, and then breaks them into smaller, specific behaviors. By tackling one behavior at a time, you learn to consciously master each until it becomes automatic.

Assessments, psychological insights, and specific instructions help you spot areas for improvement, cultivate winning behaviors, and weed out ones that push people away. Instead of dismissing others’ concerns, for example, use them as triggers for asking a question, like: “What makes you concerned about this?” That single shift alone signals that you take people’s concerns seriously, builds rapport, and strengthens your ability to influence—the first steps in a chain reaction of becoming a great leader.

From managing priorities to overcoming resistance to actively listening, with a rich array of both task- and people-oriented skills, you’ll be able to gain respect and get results. This complete work includes:

• Compelling evidence of the ways that habits shape our lives, for better or worse, and how leadership is simply a series of habits

• Content based on original research that looks at 795 leaders across the globe, identifying 22 essential leadership skills and 79 micro-behaviors that make up those skills

• Simple exercises to turn effective leadership behaviors into ingrained habits, along with clear cues that tell you when to practice each

• A Leader Habit Quiz that assesses 6 personality traits—being curious, organized, caring, outgoing, ambitious, resilient—and points to behaviors that you’ll find most rewarding

• Tips for staying motivated, avoiding procrastination, and sustaining progress

Many of us aspire to great leadership. But unless you intentionally practice the right behaviors, results will be fleeting, at best. By tapping the power of habit, this eye-opening, empowering book will turn your aspirations into solid, lasting skills.

Martin Lanik, Ph.D., is the CEO of Pinsight®, the leader-readiness platform. He holds a doctoral degree in industrial/organizational psychology and has more than a decade’s experience designing and running leadership development programs for global companies.

From the Back Cover

“What is the formula for being a successful leader? It’s a series of habits. Martin Lanik teaches you just what those habits are in The Leader Habit!”— Marshall Goldsmith, New York Times #1 bestselling author of Triggers and What Got You Here Won’t Get You There

“The Leader Habit’s simple formula makes leadership sticky. A must-read for everyone wishing to build habit-forming leadership programs.” — Nir Eyal, bestselling author of Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products

“Martin Lanik’s thought leadership has helped transform how we approach leader-ship development. The secret to success is in building powerful habits so leadership becomes as natural as making your bed or brushing your teeth. I highly recommend this book to everyone and every organization that has invested in leadership development, but has yet to fully realize their potential.” — Julia Smith, Head of People Excellence at AIG

“Thought-provoking, insightful, and practical! Few books become essential manuals for developing leaders. The Leader Habit is one of those books. Martin Lanik gives you the daily exercises that turn effective leadership behaviors into ingrained habits. Forget classes—this is the cutting-edge approach for every modern corporation willing to invest in their future.” — Kathy Flynn, Vice President of Human Resources at CenturyLink

“We are what we practice the most. Leaders are no exception, and they need to take this rule to heart if they are going to connect with their employees. A refreshing approach to leadership development that finally hits the bull’s-eye on what needs to be done to make leaders more effective.” — Michael Rochelle, Chief Strategy Officer and Principal HCM Analyst at Brandon Hall Group

“Leadership is about doing. This book will help you develop two key features of ‘doing’—skills and habits. Five minutes of daily practice with any one of 22 core leadership skills can lead to a lifetime of effective leadership habits. The ROI is immediate.” — Wayne Cascio, Ph.D., Distinguished Professor at The Business School, University of Colorado Denver

About the Author

MARTIN LANIK, PH.D. is the CEO of Pinsight«, the leader-readiness platform. He holds a doctoral degree in industrial/organizational psychology and has more than a decadeÆs experience designing and running leadership development programs for global companies.