The Connected Leader: Creating Agile Organizations for People Performance and Profit [Hardcover]

Emmanuel Gobillot, a director at the Hay Group HR consultancy and author of The Connected Leader, warns against being too prescriptive about management, and making it seem dull. People look at someone like (celebrity chef) Gordon Ramsay, and think, I want a bit of what hes got. I think we have made management seem far too boring, and imposed too much rigidity on people. HR needs to build awareness of what is acceptable, promote examples of good practice and look at how people feel and react to what we do. he says. (Personnel Today )

We are at our best when we feel a part of something meaningful and important. Emmanuel Gobillot goes beyond helping us to envision effective leaders to creating the power of possibilities with engaged leaders. He integrates observations from a huge number of fields and industries to bring a fantastic exploration of the essence of great leadership (relationships- being connected and engaged! )

Professor Richard Boyatzis, Departments of Psychology and Organizational Behavior, Case Western Reserve University, Adjunct Professor of Human Resources, ESADE, co-author with Dan Goleman and Annie McKee of the international best seller, Primal Leadership, and co-author with Annie McKee of the recent Resonant Leadership. (Emmanuel Gobillot cuts through years of management theories and processes to reveal what our organisations are really about: engaged people who like to work together and create value for other people, our customers. We need to determine a shared direction and lead people in a way that inspires them to follow: Its up to us! )

John Heller, CEO, ING Insurance Belgium (Occasionally a management book is published which triggers a paradigm shift in business philosophy. The Connected Leader is such a book. Emmanuel Gobillot has written the first leadership book for the myspace generation. This book offers valuable lessons to every leader from captains of industry to politicians and public servants. Its time to get connected. )

"Gobillot has written a remarkably good book...He strikes a
wonderful balance between the `why' and the `how'... Well written."

"This is a very well-written book that builds logically on a
concept."

"Argues that truly modern leaders engage with employees, improving performance by building trust and giving meaning to workplace relationships."

New insights and case studies on how to improve business performance by engaging employees outside traditional boundaries and developing more informal and holistic approaches to leadership.

"This book is exciting not only in terms of its content but also in the way it aims to engage readers."

"The virtues of this book are its lucidity and practical approach...The sharp sassy style and a sense of realism ultimately keeps this book on track."

"He shows managers how to evaluate how connected they are and helps others build connections for the benefit of each other and the organization.

Traditional organizational boundaries limit our ability to deliver results. The Connected Leader argues that many of the old leadership recipes are outdated and don't take into account changes in the work environment and informal social networks within the organization.

Taking a new approach to leadership theory, the author (a senior director at Hay Group) argues that modern leaders engage with employees and improve performance by building on trust, giving meaning to workplace relationships and by creating dialogue within the organization. The Connected Leader provides diagnostic tools for readers to evaluate their own skills and directly relate the insights from the book to their own situation.

Emmanuel Gobillot is a Director of Hay Group and Head of Consumer Sector Consulting. He is a senior practitioner in the area of leadership and organization effectiveness. He has a wealth of research and consulting experience and has worked with Fortune 500 and FTSE100 companies. He makes frequent media appearances as an expert on these issues and is an engaging public speaker.

Part 1: The case for connections

Chapter 1 What do people want?

What drives engagement and why does it matter?; How is the nature of engagement changing?; What are the new rules of engagement?; The 30-second recap; The leadership takeaway

Chapter 2 How do organizations respond?

How do organizations and individuals become disconnected?; What does an organization designed for engagement look like? The 30-second recap; The leadership takeaway

Part 1: Diagnostic questions

Part 2: The case for connected leadership

Chapter 3 What must leaders do?

What do leaders do?; What impact do leaders create?; The 30-second recap; The leadership takeaway

Chapter 4 How can leaders succeed?

How do leaders achieve high performance in the people economy?; What is different about the new high-performing leadership recipe? The 30-second recap; The leadership takeaway

Part 2: Diagnostic questions

Part 3: The levers of connected leadership

Chapter 5 How to connect through trust

Why is trust critical to connected leaders?; How do connected leaders create and sustain trust?; Becoming a trusted channel; Exercising thoughtful influence; Having concern for impact; The 30-second recap; The leadership takeaway

Chapter 6 How to engage through meaning

Why is meaning critical to performance?; How do connected leaders co-create meaning?; Having no boundaries; Doing the groundwork; Being tenacious; The 30-second recap; The leadership takeaway

Chapter 7 How to sustain performance through dialogue

Why does real dialogue matter to performance?; How do connected leaders sustain dialogue?; Listening first; Humility; Infectious passion; The 30-second recap; The leadership takeaway

Part 3: Diagnostic questions

Part 4: Developing connected leadership

Chapter 8 Step 1: Understand the 'real'

Mapping your 'real' organization; Patterns of 'real' organizations; Creating a 'real' map

Chapter 9 Step 2: Map out the 'formal'/'real' gap

The gap matters; The key questions

Chapter 10 Step 3: Evaluate your impact

iPod leadership; Developing strategies

Chapter 11 Step 4: Develop connected leadership characteristics

Integrated versus sequential development; Developing characteristics; Developing trust; Developing meaning; Developing dialogue; Development tactics; TWISTED development

Chapter 12 Step 5: Build a supporting context

Contextual improvement; Impact as the key to unlocking connections; The leadership takeaway

Chapter 13 Concluding thoughts