University of Minnesota - UMN Executive Leadership Insights
Leaders Made Here
Book

Leaders Made Here

Building a Leadership Culture

Mark Miller
Berrett-Koehler, 2017
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Editorial Rating

7

Qualities

  • Applicable
  • Background
  • For Beginners

Recommendation

Long-term organizational success depends on quality leadership. Most organizations don’t have enough leaders or a deep enough “leadership bench” of junior leaders. Leadership expert Mark Miller explains why quality leadership is crucial, how organizations can develop a robust leadership culture and what best practices your company should pursue for effective leadership development. To tell his leadership story, Miller spins a fictitious tale of a business, its executives and their efforts to develop a strong leadership culture. His leadership development advice is solid, though his fable seems populated with cardboard characters and stiff interactions. Focus instead on Miller’s sharp leadership lessons. Bypassing the novelette, getAbstract recommends the meat-and-potatoes value here – solid principles you can use to develop a stronger leadership bench.

Summary

Strong Leadership Culture

Top performing organizations depend on four primary principles: 1) “Bet on leadership,” 2) “act as one,” 3) “win the heart” and 4) “excel at execution.” Note that leadership comes first in running your company and bringing about positive change.

Strong leadership provides a powerful, long-term competitive advantage, and leaders at that level emerge from a robust leadership culture. Define your organizational culture based on your employees’ day-to-day behavior. If you want to evaluate whether you already have a leadership culture, consider this definition: “A leadership culture exists” when companies “routinely and systematically” develop their leaders. In a leadership culture, you will have “a surplus of leaders ready for the next opportunity or challenge.” Proactive firms plan properly for the future by developing their leadership culture.  

Define Leadership

The meaning of “leadership” itself varies from organization to organization. Work to forge an agreed-upon companywide definition so you don’t foment uncertainty about the people you need to recruit for managerial positions. Lack ...

About the Author

Mark Miller also wrote The Heart of Leadership and Chess Not Checkers. As a Chick-fil-A executive since 1977, he leads communications, operations, quality, training and development.

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