Take the Lead: Motivate, Inspire, and Bring Out the Best in Yourself and Everyone Around You

by Betsy Myers Narrated by Betsy Myers

Overview

Why do some people motivate us to rise to our best abilities while others drain our spirit? What is that quality that certain people have that causes those around them to engage fully and feel connected? From her front row seat at some of the world's most prestigious governmental, academic, and business institutions, Betsy Myers has witnessed a new kind of leadership that prizes flexibility, openness, and individuality and now she explores how all of us-and women in particular-can benefit from it. Drawing on her years as a senior official in the Clinton administration, her work as Executive Director of Harvard's Center for Public Leadership, her experience as the Obama campaign's COO, as well as her experiences as a wife, daughter, and mother, Myers identifies the shared characteristics of effective leaders in all types of organizations and contexts, locating the qualities that allow them to live their lives to the fullest and in turn inspire those around them to an exceptional level of contribution and commitment. Even more importantly, Myers shows how we can harness these same principles in the service of our own lives in order to reach our highest potential, creating passionate engagement in friends, colleagues, and family members. Personal, practical, and profoundly inspiring, this is a perfect book for anyone who wonders where all the great leaders have gone. Betsy Myers helps us see that leadership is all around us-and within us.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

A home run.... a perfect read for anyone seeking to understand, develop, or unleash his or her genuine leadership potential.”
—Publisher’s Weekly

“An enjoyable and insightful read for anyone interested in increasing their personal and professional effectiveness.”
—Kirkus Reviews

“An ‘original’ take on leadership sounds absurd. But Betsy Myers has given us just that. This peerless book truly is for everyone. ‘Take the lead’ means you and it means me; and it means today, not tomorrow.”
—TOM PETERS, author of the #1 national bestseller In Search of Excellence

“Betsy Myers will help you recognize the leader within you and show you how to use that gift to bring out the best in others. Read this book over and over and absorb its simple truths.”
—KEN BLANCHARD, coauthor of the #1 national bestseller The One Minute Manager ® and Lead with LUV

“After forty years of being a boss, I’ve found Take the Lead the most inspirational new tool, not only for leadership but for life.”
—KAY UNGER, cofounder of Phoebe Couture and Kay Unger New York

“A principled yet practical guide to twenty-first-century leadership. Myers’s candid, courageous stories offer convincing evidence of what it takes to be an authentic leader.”
—BILL GEORGE, author of True North and former CEO of Medtronics

“Betsy Myers, adviser to US presidents and longtime advocate for women, shares her considerable experience and wisdom with everyone who cares about high-level and everyday leadership. This charming, engrossing book will particularly excite and empower women, who will treat this book as their personal mentor and apply Myers’s principles to enrich their lives.”
—ROSABETH MOSS KANTER, Harvard Business School professor and bestselling author of Confidence and SuperCorp

“A must-read for current and rising leaders. Betsy Myers approaches leadership in a personal, compelling, and actionable way.”
—ELLIOTT MASIE, chair, The Learning CONSORTIUM

“Take the Lead captures essential, practical wisdom, anchored by powerful stories with key insights for any reader who aims to lead.”
—RONALD HEIFETZ, founder of the Center for Public Leadership, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University

“In working with some of the most powerful leaders in the world, Betsy has had the opportunity to see into their hearts and minds and understand what makes them inspiring and successful leaders. The result is a book filled with insight and wisdom. ”
—STEVE BELKIN, chairman, Trans National Group

“One of the most topical and well-written business books ever. This book will be given to all leaders in my department, as I believe the concepts Myers discusses are absolutely critical for success in any business.”
—BRIAN HIRSHMAN, senior vice president, Southwest Airlines

“True leadership requires both IQ and EQ—the right combination of head and heart. The leadership principles Betsy Myers illuminates are not only good for business, they are also economic and social imperatives.”
—GLORIA CORDES LARSON, president, Bentley University

“Betsy has a huge heart, tremendous empathy, and a genuine interest in others. That not only makes her a wonderful friend, it also makes her an exceptional leader. In Take the Lead, she makes a compelling case that all of us can learn to lead with our hearts.”
—DEE DEE MYERS, former White House Press Secretary and author of the New York Times bestseller Why Women Should Rule the World

"The defining difference in this superb book is Ms. Myers’ insistence that every day provides leadership opportunities for every one of us — from the most junior employee to the top of the organization."
— The Washington Post, The Best Leadership Books of 2011

AUGUST 2012 - AudioFile

Following her own advice, former Clinton official and Obama campaign COO Betsy Myers sounds utterly authentic and helpful as she narrates her exceptional work. Not a voice pro, she speaks quickly, but that’s who she is, and it works well with this fast-moving yet personal material. Part of the book’s appeal is how the author’s insights and insider political experience inform her views on developing others, forming alliances, and moving worthy goals forward as a team. It’s the female leadership model of connecting with people, not just using them, and she sells this model with enormous credibility and engagement. With compelling observations and examples drawn from her family and her experiences in government and business, this is a memorable collection of principles that leaders at all stages of their careers can grow with. T.W. © AudioFile 2012, Portland, Maine

Kirkus Reviews

A modern, holistic approach to leadership, framed around a commitment to authenticity, the ability to listen and an awareness of the feelings of employees and constituencies.

Myers, the executive director of Harvard's Center for Public Leadership and COO of the Obama presidential campaign, offers a cogent, articulate addition to modern leadership theory, citing her experiences with both President Clinton and Obama. Her easy-to-digest volume is filled with anecdotes that illustrate the importance of a feelings-based approach to achieving major policy goals. In today's world, dominated by the Internet and the drive for individual fulfillment, Myers argues that "the emerging need is not simply forbetterleadership but for a newkindof leadership, one based on listening, transparency, and a fundamental honoring of relationships." But the author's stories are not limited to those in the Oval Office; sprinkled throughout the book are vignettes of ordinary people who lead by example and through compassion. Myers' message is that leadership qualities apply to all areas of life: business, politics, school and family. She suggests that paying attention to seven core ideas—authenticity, connection, respect, clarity, a willingness to collaborate, an openness to continuous learning and the courage to do the right thing—is not merely a formula for kinder, gentler leadership, but also a conduit to greater success in achieving financial and policy-oriented goals.

An enjoyable and insightful read for anyone interested in increasing their personal and professional effectiveness.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940169901719
Publisher:	Blackstone Audio, Inc.
Publication date:	10/01/2011
Edition description:	Unabridged

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