About the Book

The Busy Leader’s Handbook has three sections:

Section 1 delves into some key leader skills and behaviors.

Together, these chapters capture the mind-set, attitude, and capabilities the best leaders tend to possess. We all need to become the best leaders we can be before we’ll be able to bring out the best in others.

Section 2 is about optimizing employee performance.

It explores what exceptional leaders do (and don’t do) to create a positive, productive, engaging workplace culture and inspire people to consistently put forth their best efforts. Great leaders create environments in which people grow, thrive, and find a powerful sense of meaning. They lead teams in a way that create results far greater than the sum of the individual efforts.

Finally, Section 3 addresses strategic and foundational topics.

These chapters focus on the structure, processes, and groundwork that need to be in place if you’re to build a successful organization.

The Busy Leader’s Handbook functions as a desk reference and pocket guide for anyone in a leadership position. It’s also a great training tool for onboarding new leaders.

The book is packed with proven best practices, tools, tips, and tactics for engaging employees, delighting customers, and sustaining high performance. For example:

Why self-awareness and coachability are so important

Why being unsettled is good and why psychological safety matters

How to effectively communicate across all levels of an organization

How to manage change and prevent change-resistant people from blocking progress

How to manage your ego, conduct difficult conversations, and resolve conflicts

How to create reward and recognition programs that work.

How to strengthen your middle management team (and why you should)

How to run productive meetings, attract and retain the best talent, how to deal with low performers, and other business fundamentals

How to create an effective dashboard (including how to select the right metrics)

Why small wins matter—and how to leverage them for bigger wins

Why putting the right foundational structures in place early on creates clarity and heads off problems that cause businesses to struggle and fail