Top Dog

Top Dog: A Different Kind of Book About Becoming an Excellent Leader by J. David Pincus and J. Nicholas DeBonis is about communication. They propose that CEO should be changed to CCO which stands for Chief Communication Officer so important is the role of communication by the head of the company.

Their book is a mixture of nonfiction and fiction. They share facts and findings from studies and interviews, offer recommendations and insights all with a matter of fact style. To illustrate many of their points, the fictional tale of CEO Arlen Burch Royster is woven throughout the book. Arlen encounters many of the common communication dilemmas experienced by CEOs today.

The book opens with Arlen Royster gathering his troops to face a financial situation uncovered by forensic auditors. Millions of dollars have been mismanaged, perhaps illegally and the situation must be handled before answers ae required by the company board, stockholders, and society in general.

Situations of this magnitude have materialized dozens of times. Think of Tylenol in the 1980s, Exxon in the 1990s, or British Petroleum in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010. All major catastrophes requiring management and communication. Some handled well, some not so well.

Top Dog: A Different Kind of Book About Becoming an Excellent Leader really is two books in one. I find myself reading the novel part separately, skipping from section to section in the book. Then I find myself reviewing the factual parts looking for the leadership gems.

Such as:

"Employees want managers who share information with them openly during good and bad times."

"Leadership = Relationship-Building = Communication"

A formula for CEO Communication: The C-C-O-S Model

Consistency -- meaning what you say and saying what you mean all the time. This is the principal determinate of your credibility.

Compassion -- showing concern for and understanding others' emotional, as well as pragmatic needs. And you have to do it in a way that's believably demonstrated.

Organization -- creating an appropriate message, merging the message into the organization's overall communication plan, and correlating that plan with other manager's communication activities.

Selectivity -- deploying communication to maximize its impact on the organization and its people, while guarding against usurping or interfering with other managers' communication roles and relationships with employees, customers, and others.

The Development of a Leader

I once read a book that discussed how to map the development process of a leader. You can use it to map how historical leaders became leaders. You can use the process to map your own development as a leader. You can help your friends map their development as a leader.

The process was described in The Making of a Leader: Recognizing the Lessons and Stages of Leadership Development by Dr. J. Robert Clinton.

Clinton suggests that we view the life of a leader as a big picture, identify the significant events in an individuals life and map those events onto a time line continuum. He suggests that there are six stages for most of us.

1. Phase I: The Foundational Lessons stage where we grow in our inner life. We are becoming the leaders we will be later. We are still sorting through who we are and the claims God has on us for His work.



2. Phase II: Inner-Life Growth. The impact is on our personal lives. We develop the character qualities we will need to lead well later.



3. Phase III: Ministry Maturing. In this phase you try lots of different ministry and serving opportunities. You are trying to determine your spiritual gifts and interests.



4. Phase IV: Life Maturing. This is where your emotional and psychological maturity come to fruition. Your personal issues no longer get in the way of you being able to make your contributions in the world.



5. Phase V: Convergence. This is where all your efforts come together and you are making your optimum contribution to the world. The lessons you have learned, the experiences you have had, the skills you have developed, and the knowledge you have gained all come into alignment. You have become the best you can be and you are doing what you where put here to do.



6. Phase VI: Afterglow. In this phase we are enjoying the contributions we are making. God and others affirm us in the contributions we have made and are making. We are fulfilled.

The Making of a Leader: Recognizing the Lessons and Stages of Leadership Development


I highly recommend this book if you want to understand your own development as a leader.