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1922553301

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ON YOUR MARKS, GET SET…LEAD!

By Anna Marshall

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IR Rating:
3.0
Featuring a breezy writing style, author and executive coach Anna Marshall's guide, ON YOUR MARKS, GET SET…LEAD!, includes a wealth of information that could prove useful for novice leaders.

In her book ON YOUR MARKS, GET SET…LEAD!, executive coach Anna Marshall argues that people moving into leadership roles need to choose whether they will be managers to true people leaders. “People leadership is not a role,” she writes. “It’s a choice.” Her book, composed of three sections and 14 chapters, lays out a guide for making that choice effectively.

In Part One, Marshall goes through the steps of learning how to learn; identifying mindset, beliefs and values; and understanding an organization’s culture and systems. She also explains the importance of peers, role models, elders, and coaches. Part Two looks at coaching—what it is and how to use it in leadership, particularly being present, listening effectively, and asking the right questions in the right way. In the third and final section, Marshall gets into the nuts and bolts of actual leadership, with a focus on what calls “the five duties of leadership”: (1) connecting with the team, (2) communicating, (3) focusing (4) developing the team, and (5) resolving problems.

The book begins with a conversational tone that effectively sounds like Marshall is in your mind’s ear chatting to you. Unfortunately, this quickly degenerates into the kind of gung-ho prose that writers use to come across as either witty or the reader’s personal friend or both. In Chapter Two, for example, which is titled “Learning About Yourself”, Marshall writes. “Have you ever had that experience when someone does or says something and it’s like a million alarm bells have just gone off in your mind? EMERGENCY, EMERGENCY, WOOP, WOOP, WOOP, VALUES BREACH!!!” In Chapter Six, which is titled “Understanding and Using Presence,” she opens with this: “No, not presents (you wish!), but presence! Well, actually, presence means being fully in the present, so you’re kinda right! Are you starting to freak out and hear Buddhist chanting and the sound of panpipes in your mind …?”

Only in the final section does Marshall adopt a prose style that reads more professionally. This is also the most useful part of the book, where she lays out in detail what to do, how to do it, and what not to do. Some of her advice will be familiar to readers who are already assuming leadership roles (like figuring out why your team exists, as management guru Peter Drucker recommended decades ago) while other recommendations may either be unknown or hardly ever applied (e.g., never say “Yes, but”). If readers like (or can ignore) Marshall’s breezy approach, there is much that is useful for novice leaders.

Featuring a breezy writing style, author and executive coach Anna Marshall’s guide, ON YOUR MARKS, GET SET…LEAD!, includes a wealth of information that could prove useful for novice leaders.

~Kevin Baldeosingh for IndieReader

Publisher:
N/A

Publication Date:
N/A

Copyright Date:
N/A

ISBN:
1922553301

Binding:
Paperback

U.S. SRP:
N/A

ON YOUR MARKS, GET SET…LEAD!

By Anna Marshall

Being a good team leader doesn’t happen overnight, it takes experience and a different approach for each situation. ON YOUR MARKS, GET SET… LEAD! by Anna Marshall provides practical advice on challenges, communication, goals, problem-solving, and teamwork. From small companies to large corporations, the basics are there; engaging with real people who work inside the mechanics of business.