Other books by Robin Sharma – The Monk who Sold his Ferrari, The greatness guide, Who will cry when I
die, The saint the surfer and the CEO
Each of us is, Every single one of us, regardless of our personal history, regardless of whether
you have a title or not can lead without a title. Most of us go to work with the mind-set that to
be a leader they need to work their way up the company ladder, get the title or position they
seek, and then they can be leaders. This is the wrong approach according to Sharma .
The foundation principle is Self-Leadership. Anyone who understands this can lead regardless of
his or her official title in an organization. According to Sharma, “leaders are those individuals
who do the things that failures aren’t willing to do–even though they might not like doing them
either.” Too many people pay the sad costs of mediocrity and forego the spectacular rewards of
being a leader.
Leadership is not a title on a business card, leadership is a way of thinking, its a way of being, its
shifting from victimhood into leadership
Quotes 'To lead without a title “you will have to be very very persistent and seriously
courageous.”
Sales team, Production QC, Data Verification, Debt Collector- CMOs, Marketing, Internet
department, Finance, Drivers, Wambua, Dorothy, etc… You have the opportunity and the
responsibility to show leadership
There is a quote often repeated. ‘Success is created through conscious choice. And is the
eventual and inevitable consequence of superior decision making. Anyone can be successful. Few
choose to be.’
Its a story…the lead character is Blake Davis, he is frustrated, he is a victim, he is full of worry, he
is scared, he is not performing at his absolute best, he is living a discouraged life, He is a victim
This guy meets someone in a book store. He can expose him to 4 teachers who can teach him
how to be a leader without a title philosophy
Theme 1- You need no title to be a leader
Blake Davis meets Anna – a member of the housekeeping staff at a high-end luxury hotel. Anna
teaches Blake about personal responsibility and the fact that you need no title to be a leader.
She teaches that as long as you are breathing, you have the opportunity to show leadership in
your area. Her acronym is IMAGE (Innovation, Mastery, Authenticity, Guts, Ethics)
Innovation- we need to create growth daily through innovation. Dream big but start small;
constant improvement
Mastery- committing to mastery through constant improvement. Be so good that people cannot
ignore you; if you are good in design, driving, data verification etc be the best
Authenticity- being trustworthy to yourself and other. If you want to make an impact be yourself
rather than the authority you receive from your title
Guts- having the courage to do things other fear to do. You will need to dare more than a
reasonable person and risk far more than an ordinary person
Ethics- doing what is right and staying true to your values. Your reputation is all you have. Its
better to be trusted than to be loved.
Theme 2 -Turbulent times build great leaders:
Ty Boyd – a 5-time world slalom skiing champion.
Challenging times in both business and life give us great opportunities to learn and transform
ourselves…as ironical as it sounds “Problems and difficult days are actually good for you.”
A client banging the phone down on you, not making a sale, not collecting a debt, when your
boss is hard on you, getting a memo, bad relationships, The way you handle yourself makes you
a better leader
The acronym associated with this chapter is SPARK: Speak the naked truth and rather over
communicate, Prioritize, Adversity creates opportunity, Response- do we act or react on events
in our life?; Kudos- stand for recognition for everybody, for doing things right.
Speak with Candor: ‘An important part of showing leadership is to be more committed to
speaking honestly than receiving the approval of others’
Prioritize: Focus. Focus. Focus, Become the best at a few things you focus on. Focus. Focus.
Focus. To the point of obsession. ‘The best leaders stay staggeringly focused on their Biggest
To Dos’
Adversity breeds opportunities ‘Obstacles show up to measure how badly you want something’
‘Rather than just stand there paralyzed by fear, they stayed calm, showed excellence & turned it
all around
Kudos ( offering to the team): ‘Recognize excellence. Praise good work. Honour mastery’; ‘Real
leadership has so much to do with applauding others when they are doing things
right’;Recognize excellence , Praise good work, Honor Mastery
Persist Persist!!!!!! You will succeed eventually
Quotes: Tough times don’t last…but tough people do…‘Difficult days never last. But strong
people always do’; Iron sharpens iron; Look at a stone cutter hammering away at his rock,
perhaps a hundred times without as much as a crack showing in it. Yet at the hundred-and- first
blow it will split in two, and I know it was not the last blow that did it, but all that had gone
before
Change brings uncertainty and fear. The change in Postel The transition from caterpillar to
butterfly looks messy. But we know something even more beautiful is being created ‘What
the caterpillar calls the end of the world the Master calls the Butterfly’ – Richard Bach
Theme 3: The deeper your relationships, the stronger your leadership
Blake meets – Jackson Chan – ex-CEO of a multibillion dollar technology company turned
gardener. Jackson’s message to Blake is that the deeper your relationships the stronger your
leadership.
The deeper your relationships, the stronger your leadership: “Leave every single person who
intersects your path better, happier, and more engaged than you found them.” Time spent
forming deep relationships–in all aspects of life–will pay dividends down the road.
Customers should not be treated as commodities; you should not treat your kids, your spouse,
your colleague, your juniors badly. You need to have a good relationship with them.
A customer should not think you are after their money…at least for sales. For the CMOs they
NEEEED to know you are after their money…Engage the clients…one sales person told me that
she loves asking clients how they made it!!! …Well some customers love telling stories of how
they are a rags to riches story…how they made it against diversity… they simply love a good
audience…a good listener…Form a relationship with the client, show them that you care, ask
questions about them…follow your word…if you say your going to do something do it!!!Fulfill
your promise
This should apply to even internal customers. It should happen when sales is dealing with
finance, when sales is dealing with IT, when CMOs are dealing with Sales etc
The Deeper your relationship , the stronger your leadership… No man will make a great leader
who wants to do it all himself or to get all the credit for doing it – by Andrew Carnegie
Being nice isn’t being weak. Please don’t confuse kindness with weakness!!!
Theme 4: To be a great leader you have to be a great person
To be a great leader, first become a great person Blake meets- Jet Brisley – massage
therapist to the rich and famous. Jet’s lesson for Blake is to be a great leader you must
first become a great person.
Jet’s acronym is SHINE. S-See Clearly H-Health is wealth I-Inspiration Matters N-Neglect not
your family E-Elevate your lifestyle
Find ways to be more passionate about your job. Be the absolute best in your job. Make your
job interesting. Set yourself goals in your job. Few things create more energy than going to a job
that you love. And feeling that your work is meaningful. Show leadership in your area of
responsibility. Feeling that your work is a craft. Have purpose
Personal development is so key. Its essential. You have to better yourself as a person. Read
personal development books; read newspapers…there are articles in the newspaper called
Seeds of Gold – about farming, watch DVDs about self improvement, listen to audio CDs, watch
good video blogs on youtube. Invest to go to seminars – Mary talks about a really good one on
financial planning….make yourself better
Takeaways: I want to challenge you!!!!!!
Simply remember that no matter what your position within the organisation and no matter how
old you are or where you live …. You have the power to show leadership. And no one and
nothing can ever deny you that
You need no title to be a leader: Success (business and personal) is something that’s consciously
created. To lead without a title “you will have to be unrealistically persistent and wildly
courageous.”
Turbulent times build great leaders: Challenging times in both business and life give us great
opportunities to learn and transform ourselves. “Problems and difficult days are actually good
for you.”
The deeper your relationships, the stronger your leadership: “Leave every single person who
intersects your path better, happier, and more engaged than you found them.” Time spent
forming deep relationships–in all aspects of life–will pay dividends down the road.
To be a great leader, first become a great person: Training and strengthening your inner leader
will help you perform at extraordinary levels. The key is learning to lead yourself. In our world
we define success by the things we have, not by the people we’ve become. The more self-
awareness we develop the more likely we are to grow and help others.In a gentle way you can
shake the world
‘I am not at all saying an organisation should not have titles. They should actually. We need the people
on the executive team setting the vision, steering the boat and holding ultimate responsibility for the
results. Titles and Structure maintain order and keep everything running smoothly. But …. for any
organisation to thrive amid all the turbulence …. each one of us needs to take personal responsibility by
becoming CEO of our own roles and leaders within our current positions ‘ ‘We all need to lead where we
are planted and shine where we now find ourselves.’
