Leadership Made Simple

Leadership Made Simple is a handy book by Ed Oakley and Doug Krug that presents a five-step framework for moving an organization forward in times of stress and conflict. In the words of the authors, the framework is simple, not simplistic. It provides a step-by-step process to move from a problem to solutions and their implementation.

I love that the first step is to ‘focus forward’ – to not dwell on the problem and all that has not worked but on what has worked. This shift in orientation changes the group energy and inspires creativity as people begin to consider, ‘what else could we be doing?’. The role of the leader is to get people into this mindset.

And, how does a leader accomplish this ‘forward focus’ step? It is through asking effective questions. I’ve already mentioned in an earlier post that I love good questions. I’m in good company, I guess, as Oakley and Krug attribute the following quote to Albert Einstein:

All of life’s answers are available, if we just knew what questions to ask.

As Ed and Doug present their framework for leadership, they are constantly discussing what makes for an effective question and giving examples of questions to use within their framework, depending upon the application (i.e. solving a conflict, evaluating projects, initiating a project or facilitating teamwork). I deeply appreciate books that offer multiple concrete examples of an idea that is being suggested.

The book is a deceptively quick read. Applying all that it undoubtedly entails skill and practice – as is true with any new idea that one wishes to integrate into their lives. What is great about this book is that it inspires you to try its method right away.