The Heart of Leadership: Becoming a Leader People Want to Follow

Mark Miller

Listen on Audible

A parable written about an executive who is looking to understand leadership after being passed over for promotion.

A very easy to follow story, deceptively simple, but containing many ideas about becoming a (better) leader.

Key ideas:

• What’s important is leadership character, not leadership skills
• Without character, no one cares about your skills
• Leadership is like an iceberg, skills is the 10% that’s visible and character is the hidden 90%
• Skills are things you do (can be learnt)
• Character is the why (who you become)
• Leaders are different
• To answer the core question in the book of “why leaders are different” is the H.E.A.R.T. of leadership acronym:
• Hunger for wisdom - leaders thirst for knowledge and are continually learning
• Expect the best - leaders create the future, leaders sees things that can be, in things and in people,
• Accept responsibility - leaders take ownership, believe in the vision and cause for themselves and for others
• Respond with courage - leaders initiate things and get things done
• Think of others first - leaders serve others, become a servant leader
• The heart of leadership is the motive
• You don’t need a title to lead

The parable style makes for an easy read. There’s lots of good tidbits interwoven amongst the story.

Image Credit: Audible