Author: Ginny O’Brien

 ISBN: 0874258693

The following review was contributed by: NORM GOLDMAN:  Editor of Bookpleasures. CLICK TO VIEW  Norm Goldman's Reviews

To read Norm's Interview With Ginny O'Brien CLICK HERE

I must admit that I had reservations about the wisdom of reviewing another book on leadership, particularly when its author, Ginny O'Brien, claims to be able to condense the basic principles of leadership into five key strategies which she explains and explores in her recent book, Coaching Yourself To Leadership: Five Key Strategies for Becoming an Integrated Leader. 

It is a widely held belief that to effectively lead you must have a combination of character and strategy. In addition, a certain amount of vision and creativity is essential in order to recognize problems before they become disasters. Basically, it is a kind of art or an uncanny knack in persuading individuals to carry out tasks you would want them to do and because they want to do it.

These elements, as well as several others, are dealt with in a new book , Coaching Yourself To Leadership: Five Key Strategies for Becoming an Integrated Leader. Its author, Ginny O'Brien, founder of the Columbia Consultancy, specializes in leadership development for men and women and, as a skilled facilitator; she has led leadership and career development workshops.

With a solid command of her subject matter, O'Brien focuses on five principles that are indissolubly linked to effective management. However, what is novel about her approach is that she explores how both masculine and feminine elements of strength or perspectives can be integrated into effective leadership. As she points out in her introduction, most books on leadership have been written from the male point of view and thus are influenced by characteristics that only men see as important. She strongly believes that “leadership develops internally beginning with a deep understanding of the self, and blossoms externally from learning how to empathize, engage and communicate with others.”

Each of the five chapters of the book devotes itself to fundamental principles pertaining to such topics as authenticity and personal values, being a visionary, striving for emotional intelligence, assertiveness, and building strategic relationship. These in turn are organized under several subheadings that explain the nuances of each principle; and conclude with a resume and a page or two of questions and exercises.

As an example, the chapter dealing with “Be Emotionally Intelligent: Build Your EQ Muscles,” informs us that one of the keys to an integrated leader is being emotionally intelligent. It is basically understanding the emotions of others as well as yourselve. As pointed out, “without the proper amount of emotional smarts, you simply won't be able to communicate well or build relationships.”

In the chapter dealing with assertiveness, the author drives home the point that if you want to be an integrated leader, you must develop your ability to communicate assertively. In addition, learning to listen carefully and attentively is essential in building trust.

O'Brien is a seasoned executive and corporate coach with a shrewd and practical understanding of the principles of effective leadership. Her brisk, informative and well written text provides a wealth of sound advice for readers seeking a novel approach to the topic of leadership.