Personal growth and effective leadership are interlinked
This is a great book for anyone who believes that personal growth is at the root of professional success. In order to become a successful leader Kevin Cashman suggests that we need to develop our leadership style "from the insideout", needing to create mastery in several areas such as personal, purpose, change, interpersonal mastery. I am a big fan of books that offer hands-on exercises to practice the concepts promoted. What use is it to understand concepts intellectually without any support on how to get them into your "muscle"? I happily recommend this book to my clients.
Leadership From The InsideOut helps people tap into their internal voice and potential for leadership. The reflection exercises lead to self awareness and produces the confidence and skills necessary for effective leadership.
An important book
This book really made me think! It is an important book for anyone who wants to lead with authenticity. A holistic and challenging approach. It is not a book for a quick read, I have it for a month and am still on the first half. Every page makes you take stock. Really worth-while.
Leadership from the Inside Out: Grow the Person to Grow the Leader
I would recommend Leadership from the InsideOut by Kevin Cashman. The major theme of this book is authentic leadership and in its pages, Cashman provides many opportunities for the reader to learn and grow personally and as a leader. Cashman argues that to develop as a leader, one must focus on whole-person development and offers many suggestions on how to accomplish this.
The book is well-grounded in research. Cashman uses a mix of practitioner resources (i.e. Training & Development magazine) and academic articles (i.e. from the Center for Creative Leadership) alongside his personal and professional experiences. This combination of sources lends credibility to the book, although sometimes it makes the reading a bit awkward.
The one major complaint I have about the book is that it introduces you to a topic, but doesn't point you in the direction to learn more. For example, Cashman suggests meditation as a means of controlling stress, but he doesn't suggest resources on meditation or tell the reader where they might learn and practice meditation.
The book is meant to be read slowly. Throughout, Cashman includes quotes from famous and important leaders that are meant to provoke thoughts. He also includes reflections at critical points in the book and at the end of each chapter. From the beginning, he encourages the reader not to read straight through, but to put down the book when an idea strikes and explore it.
This is an excellent book for the reader wanting to learn more about himself or wanting to learn more about authentic leadership. I would caution against using this book in isolation. When ideas or suggestions pique your interest, it would be helpful to have access to other resources on the subjects. All-in-all it is definitely worth the read.
I had to purchase for a class but found the book interesting and informative. I will keep to re-read and use as a references.
Leadership from the InsideOut is an interactive,reflective journey into the heart of authentic,personal leadership. It gives you the practical tools to grow as a whole person to become a leader for life. Leadership from the Inside Out was named the #1 best selling business book by CEO-READ in 2000.
based on 36 reviews
