Bill Treasurer, best-selling author of Courage Goes to Work has a simple message for today’s leaders. To effectively lead, you need to open doors. Leaders Open Doors is the title of his latest book.
The lesson came from his Bill’s son. Ian, a pre-schooler, came home one day and proudly proclaimed he had been the leader for the day. When Bill asked what that meant, Ian proudly shared, “I got to open doors for people.” That simple statement became the impetus for the book.
NOTE: Before I jump into a review, let me share share something important about Bill Treasurer and a “little extra” about this book. Bill walks the talk in terms of the Goldfish Principle. He understands the gift of “Paying it Forward.” One hundred percent of the royalties from the book are being donated to organizations that “open doors” for people with special needs.
If there is one overall takeaway in the book, it’s that “Great Leaders Care.” How do they demonstrate that they care? They show it by opening doors. The book describes a half-dozen doors: the Proving-Ground Door, the Thought-Shifting Door, the Door to a Second Chance, Opening Doors for Others, the Door to Personal Transformation, and the Door to an Open Heart. The book is a quick read. Treasurer spares the fluff and gets right to the point using pertinent examples.
Here are five of my favorite takeaways from Leaders Open Doors:
- There is no try: Open Door leadership is not about keeping your door open and being reactive. Great leaders focus on doing . . . getting out, taking action and opening doors for others.
- Glass half full: Great leaders are fillers, not spillers. Spillers lead through fear by immediately jumping to the worst possible extrinsic outcomes. Fillers by contrast appeal to intrinsic motivation and position challenges as opportunities for greatness.
- Little doors lead to big doors: Great leaders provide opportunities for team members to excel in absorbable doses. These proving ground chances are called lead-up opportunities.
- You can’t make an omelette without being willing to break a few eggs: Growth requires discomfort. Forcing people to stretch opens the door for courage. Great leaders create safe opportunities of purposeful discomfort (starting with themselves)
- Dropping the velvet hammer. Great leaders deliver feedback in a way that doesn’t raise defenses. It’s about finding the balance between assertiveness and diplomacy.
This book is truly a gift. Bill Treasurer strips leadership down to its essence. You’ll benefit, your staff will grow and your customers will be enriched through the lessons of Leaders Open Doors. Buy it today.
Disclaimer and a lagniappe: I recently had a chance to meet Bill at a BK Author Marketing Workshop in Atlanta. He provided me with a copy of the book as a gift. Here’s my lagniappe to pay his generosity forward. Buy Leaders Open Doors on Amazon by clicking here. Be one of the first ten people to send me a picture of your receipt [email stan at 9inchmarketing.com] and I’ll send you a free copy of either Purple Goldfish or Green Goldfish.
