Monarch Information Networks, LLC

If you are like me, you have read through many articles and books on leadership. Most security professionals come with a technical background that does not directly facilitate leading people. But solutions aren’t easy to find, either. Many leadership training programs seem vague to me. What about “soft skills” vs. “hard skills”, Aristotle vs. Socrates, or the “art” of leadership? What are we to make of this? We are used to meeting compliance requirements and managing risk.

Presenting a book that I think fills a gap in leadership education: The Little Book of Leadership Development, by Scott Allen and Mitchell Kusy.

Allen and Kusy offer 50 ways to bring out the leader in every employee. Yes, a checklist of 50 items! The book’s focus is on how you can develop leadership skills in the employees you manage. But, in the process of doing this, you can develop your own leadership skills!

The book is divided into 5 sections. Each section contains 1-2 page tips on leadership. One section is devoted to you, the leader. The other four sections cover leadership topics you can share with your team. These four sections are: Skill Building; Conceptual Understanding; Personal Growth; and Feedback. My reading brings out quite a few valuable nuggets of information. So, highly recommended!