Total Leadership

Be a Better Leader, Have a Richer Life

By: Stewart D Friedman

Narrated by: Stewart D Friedman

What if you could improve your performance in the areas that seem to be most at odds with each other - work and life beyond work - at the same time? Most of us assume it can't be done. But contrary to the conventional wisdom, the different domains of our lives don't have to compete in a zero-sum game. However, managing them takes real leadership skill. Adapted from author Stew Friedman's popular Wharton School course, Total Leadership will help you identify your core values - what's fundamentally important to you - and make them come alive in your everyday actions at work, at home, in your community, and within yourself.

By improving these areas of life simultaneously, you'll get more done with less stress. Friedman's approach has been pressure-tested by years of working with people at every level of experience, in companies large and small. His step-by-step instruction, engaging examples, and more than thirty hands-on tools will help you create sustainable change and achieve higher levels of performance in all parts of your life.

Total Leadership offers a compelling new framework that enables you to:

Be real: Act with authenticity by clarifying what's importantâ¿¢ Be whole: Act with integrity by respecting the whole person

Be innovative: Act with creativity by experimenting to find new solutions

Gain greater clarity of purpose, accomplish more at work, and feel more connected to the people and causes that matter most to you.

Leadership can - and indeed must - be learned. But first you've got to choose to lead. If you're going to make a difference, thinking of yourself as a leader will make it more likely that your legacy - not your fantasy, but the real impact of your life, today and in the long run - is the one you really want.

©2008 Stewart D. Friedman (P)2009 Gildan Media Corp

Great book, but not actionable as an audiobook

Great book, but way too much exercise with no PDF attached to the audiobook.
The bottom line is that you'll get the sense and learn the overall concept. However, it will be hard to apply all the exercises due to the lack of a PDF to follow.

Organized leadership awareness guidance

A lot of people talk, think, write, read about leadership. I found this book organized the subject, asking questions, to provoke thought that helped me identify my strengths and weaknesses. A powerful experience that helped me understand my road blocks and many experiences.

A methodical plan for making your life better

The title of the book may not describe fully what the book is about. The title suggests that it's a manual on corporate management, but it's more about enhancing performance in all areas of life. Probably one of the side effects of this program is an enhancement of leadership. It has many sections with action items and exercises that make the audiobook desirable also in written form, just to keep track of all the activities to be done. It is read by the author, who is a very good speaker, but is not a professional audiobook reader, so be ready for some imperfections.

Holistic approach with practical tools...

I was pleased that the author read around his own book! The ideas he presents are both rational and deeply meaning. Though heavy on writing tasks the strategies for addressing change that leads to a wholly fulfilling are simple but impactful. With a new edition that integrates multiple ways of knowing and expression this will easily be the best among leadership books for the 21st Century.

Can be life changing or simply inspiring

The lessons and tips seem simple but they definitely provide valuable guidance to living a full life. If you feel lost and need your life back, this is a good a step by step. At the end of the day, maximizing the use of the book and getting its benefits is up to the individual.

What any business leader needs to consider

Our best performance depends on very human factors. Business is meant to bring people fulfillment and prosperity. So why does it seem like so many workers are miserable.

Too Many "Exercises" for an Audiobook

This book has strong exercises one can do to become a great leader, but as an audiobook it is very difficult, for me at least, to stop what I'm doing every 10-20 minutes to do an exercise. I suggest you buy it as a real book.

The author's performance as the reader is rough and hard to listen to. He should have hired a professional. Did none of his "Stakeholders" tell him this???

Was this helpful to you? Let me know and keep on listenin'!

Brent

Very disappointed

I had high hopes for this book based on recommendations from friends. The basic idea of integral leadership that combines work, personal and family life is sound. however, I felt the author fails to deliver value on top of the idea.

First, his tone of voice is very annoying: unnaturally low, condescending, uninteresting. At times it sounded like he wanted to get over with reading or was falling asleep.

One hour into the book the author was still evangelising the fantastic benefits from his method. Insted of tellin me how great you method is, just prove it.

Last, I did not find any insights or value in the book. The methods are very basic. Probably useful for someone very early in his or her career trying to decide what to do with their life. The book assumes that leadership comes from writing you plan down, balancing priorities and executing. It's not so simple. You need to start with a good plan.

This is one of the very few books I did not finish. After two hours I realized I was wasting my time. I fast forwarded to see if the book improved but it did not. Very dissappinted.

Why an audiobook?

What would have made Total Leadership better?

I wish I had read the reviews. This is NOT an audiobook. Every 2 minutes he tells you to go make charts or write paragraphs about yourself. No way to listen to this book and get anything out of it. I can't comment on doing excercises at home or in free time, this sounds like a process that takes a lot of commitment, more than just a book to hear.

Great story, but difficult listen for some

This is a great book, and I agree with others that the action items are better in print. Just a warning to anybody who is triggered by certain sounds, the narrator smacks in between sentences. Just about every one. I couldn’t focus on anything else.