It's not about the Coffee - Howard Behar

Been some time since I last blogged about the books I've read. And I've actually read quite a number! It's just that I had some other more pressing obligations and couldn't find the time to put my thoughts down.

A colleague passed me this book "It's not about the coffee" by Howard Behar. It's a very easy read, but the concepts resonated deeply with me. Reading it while trying to apply some of the concepts at work is the most effective way of reaping the most from it. In this book, Behar gave 10 principles on leadership - all of which springs from the same idea, that it is ALL about the people. After I read this line, I knew that I'd enjoy reading about the book.

Won't repeat the 10 principles here, but would pick out a few of the more important lessons in the book here.

1. Authenticity underpins successful leadership. In many of the chapters, Behar keeps driving home the point that a leader really has to know what his/her true self is (the values, beliefs, goals) and it has to be coherent. I think the main point here is that leadership will only be a sustainable endeavour when one has laser sharp understanding of oneself. Otherwise, the many different conflicting forces competing for one's focus will likely only drain, rather than drive one closer to the goal.
2. "The person who sweeps the floor should choose the broom". People on your team are not just "staff" or "executive #1". Recognising that they know alot more than you about what they do is the first step in empowering them to act and perform. It's a simple concept, but I see it being overlooked in many organisations. Often, people at the top (who are there perhaps for their skills in A, B and C) overgeneralise and think that they can also make decisions about (D, E and F) simply because they are, in the hierarchy, ranked higher than other people. I think it is true wisdom to be able to admit that one really doesn't know everything and the right people make the decisions sometimes. This allows people to grow as well.
3. Behar says that there is a large gap between the wisdom of knowing and the wisdom of doing. I totally agree! It is easy to read about empowering people, caring about people, but when the going gets tough and say one is pulling an all nighter for 3 days in a row, it really tests the strength of your mettle to stay true to your beliefs. And that's when the first point above comes in. If one's values, beliefs and goals are not completely in sync, it doesn't take much before everything starts falling apart!
4. Balancing action and thought. Behar views the two as polarities that have to be carefully balanced to produce result. I like his quote to "think like a person of action", and "act like a person of thought". Nothing sums up the paradox of thinking and acting better. Being able to transcend the two produces a well considered action performed at the right time.