Coram Deo ~

Looking at contemporary culture from a Christian worldview

Self-Leadership and the One Minute Manager: Gain the Mindset and Skillset for Getting What You Need to Succeed, Revised Edition by Ken Blanchard, Susan Fowler and Laurence Hawkins.

Self-Leadership and the One Minute Manager: Gain the Mindset and Skillset for Getting What You Need to Succeed, Revised Edition by Ken Blanchard, Susan Fowler and Laurence Hawkins. William Morrow. 160 pages. 2017
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This book, originally published in 2005, introduced a proven path to empowerment in the format of a quick-read parable.  In the increasingly fast-paced world of work, this updated edition is more relevant than ever as it gives readers three tricks to managing themselves.
We are introduced to Steve, a new advertising account executive. His first ad campaign for United Bank is rejected as “garbage” by the bank president. Stunned and afraid that he will be fired, Steve, instead of driving back to the agency, comes upon Cayla’s Café, in an unfamiliar neighborhood. There he meets the owner, Cayla, doing magic tricks for children. Little does he know that Cayla, a protégé of the One Minute Manager, will help to change his life, and perhaps save his job.
Cayla meets Steve who is full of excuses, and sees himself as a victim. She proceeds to teach him about self-leadership, something the One Minute Manager had taught her and asked her to pass on to others. She tells him that he will be ready for self-leadership when he accepts responsibility for his own success. She tells him that empowerment is something someone gives you, while self-leadership is what you do to make it work.
She will teach Steve three “tricks” of self-leadership:

  1. Challenge assumed constraints. An assumed constraint is a belief that limits your experience.
  2. Activate your points of power. She teaches him about five points of power – knowledge power, personal power, relationship power, task power and position power. She tells him that perhaps his greatest assumed constraint was not realizing his own power.
  3. Be proactive! Get what you need to succeed! The two most powerful words to get what you need to success are, “I NEED”. When you use the “I need” phrase, you are coming from a position of strength.

Cayla introduces Steve to the Situational Leadership II Model, which includes the Development Continuum. The Development Continuum is a model of four stages people usually experience when they are learning to master something. For each development level, the model provides a corresponding leadership style to provide you with the appropriate amount of direction and/or support you need. For example, when your competence is low, you need direction. When your commitment is low, you need support.
This is a helpful, quick-read, that you will benefit from reading.