There are so many books written about leadership but are they helpful? Andrew Priestley is a business coach who has specialised in business leadership for years and he walks you through some leadership myths. He believes there are five principles that underpin all good leadership. He provides a snapshot of his theory and links to some useful free resources. www.andrewpriestley.com

1. THE GOOD BOSS
ANDREW PRIESTLEY

2. THE TOP THREE THINGS
•I coach owner/bosses.
I recently went back through
all my client files to 1998+
and there were three
common goals:
- run a good business
- create a good team “Mary is tough and takes no nonsense
- be a good boss and we work hard but everyone just loves
working here.”

3. RUN A GOOD BUSINESS
• “It
means our
business is profitable
and growing ... but
also ‘things’ run well
and its a good place
to work.”
“Making money is the result of a lot of
small things going right. “

4. CREATE A GOOD TEAM
• “The books talk about
delegation and accountability
and decision making. But that
didn’t mean I could rely on
my people to do what was
agreed. Most days, now, I do
not have to think about what
my staff are paid to do.” “They know what to do and what’s needed.
They perform well.”

5. BE A GOOD BOSS
• “Inever considered myself a
leader. I associate that with
sports, politics, the military or
corporate leaders. I certainly
don’t have Jack Welch’s
resources. I can’t throw 50
MBAs at a problem.
But now I know how to
interpret situations and I can
apply what I know from an “I want results. I want to run a good
business. And I want to know what I’m doing
applied business leadership and be a good boss to work for.”
perspective.”

6. RED HERRINGS?
• “Iactually did an MBA and a
semester at Harvard.
I know the three leadership
styles and 8 power types and
the various leadership
theories. I’ve read Powell and
Welch. The information is all
good but I honestly struggled
to apply it in my business day-
to-day. It was interesting and
necessary but often not that
useful.”

7. LEADERSHIP IS A SECRET
• “I’m confused.
These are good
books but
applying the
‘tips’ and
‘secrets’ to my
situation hasn’t
been easy.”

8. WHAT REALLY WORKS?
• “There are some really good books full of good tips and
rules and tricks, but you will go nuts trying to copy what they
do. Since 1998, I reviewed over 343 books and articles on
business leadership dating back over 70 years. I believe good
‘business’ leadership comes down to five ideas.” Andrew Priestley

9. #1 AWARENESS
• “No matter what the tips and rules, if you want to be a good
boss or leader you have to be aware of what’s happening -
often right under your nose. And aware of your internal
response to that situation. That’s what Colin, Martha, Jack and
Anita mostly do or did under pressure. Leadership isn’t a
checklist.”

10. #2 ASSERTIVE
• “You might think the ‘secret’ lies in effective communication
skills or assertiveness training. It helps. But if you know
what’s happening but can’t communicate that awareness,
your ability to lead will be diminished. Good leaders are able
to communicate their awareness.”

11. #3 AGREEMENTS
• “The common theme here is not necessarily the ability to
negotiate but the ability to broker an agreement and stick to
it. This is the gaping hole in most leadership training. The bit
they miss. Agreements are the glue of everything and most
of your business problems start right here.”

12. #4 ACCOUNTABILITY
• “OK the books talk about delegating and solving problems,
compliance and managing people, systems and situations.
But underneath all that good leaders manage agreements
well. Period. With others and themselves.
Good leaders certainly fix problems; but they will then ask,
“Why was it necessary for me to get involved?”.”

13. #5 ACUITY
• “Acuitymeans to sharpen. The research tells us good
leaders think ‘growth’. They sharpen their game by asking
questions like, “How can I be even better?” They also ask,
“How am I contributing to the problem?” Or: “Am I the
problem?” Good questions like that.”

14. 5 KEY QUESTIONS
If you want to read the five key questions go to
www.andrewpriestley.com/Five_Leadership_Competencies.pdf

15. WHO IS ANDREW PRIESTLEY?
Andrew Priestley is an award
winning business coach who
specialises in business leadership.
Qualified in Organisational
Psychology he can help you run a
good business, build a good team
and be a very good boss
to work for.
Contact him at
andrew@andrewpriestley.com

16. www.andrewpriestley.com
Also check out
www.successin80days.com
www.keypersonofinfluence.com
NB: Images and books shown in this presentation are not necessarily endorsed by Andrew Priestley
but are used for illustrative purposes. The comments however are very relevant.