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One dream. Years of training. Months of illegal planning. Six accomplices. Two towers. One wire. One man. 1,368 ft. in the air…and 45 minutes that made the world turn their heads.

You could settle the management/leadership section of your local bookstore, read every book on the shelves and miss one of the most compelling leadership stories ever told. To Reach The Clouds (a.k.a. Man on Wire) is the autobiography of Philippe Petit—the man who tight-rope walked between the New York City World Trade Center towers in August of 1974.

What are you dreaming about?  Does your team have the potential to defy the odds and achieve something amazing? Let's face it: no one accomplishes greatness on their own. If you, in any way, lead a team, Philippe's story is a must read (while the book was made into a documentary called Man on Wire, I recommend reading the book because leaders are readers).

Philippe’s story is permeated with subtle, yet poignant, lessons for any leader who cares about stepping onto their “wire” and inspiring others to consider the impossible.  Here are my “Big 3”…

3 Big Takeaways from To Reach The Clouds:

1. Trust and conflict are essential elements of a leaders team.
2. Passion plus intentional practice are an unstoppable force!
3. Fear of failure is only a problem if it stops the mission.

Philippe may not fit the mold for a typical "business leader," yet this rebel artist heightens the bar for us all. He built a team and accomplished the impossible.

TJC

On Aug. 28, 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and repeatedly spoke the word "dream" into the heart of history and the flames of the Civil Rights Movement. There is no doubt that one of King's greatest contributions to the era, among many, was motivating a generation to take action. In fact, his speech was so efficacious in its power to motivate that today, more than 45 years later, his phrase "I have dream" is still recited to carry the torch for racial equality and reconciliation. Martin Luther King and all great leaders share his great gift: the ability to motivate.

There is a lot at stake in leadership and the vision we create as leaders to motivate.  Leadership, because of the impact on other people, is like holding in your hands the finest china; you must hold it with delicate reverence. And there is arguably no more important function of a leader than that of motivator.

Let's make sure we are talking about the same thing. When I say motivation, I'm talking about the ability to cause a person to act in a certain way or do a certain thing. This is why I believe leadership is so sacred. I'm sure all of us can think of leaders who used motivation in a way that was dehumanizing. On the other hand, there have been treasured leaders, such as King or perhaps your favorite coach, teacher, manager or business executive, who have used their motivation skills to inspire others to accomplish something of which we can all be proud.

Oh, this is a book review—I almost forgot.

It is imperative that we motivate with finesse. Every person who is impacted by our leadership will remember, if nothing else, how we attempted to motivated them—for better or for worse.

Therefore, it is with great enthusiasm that I recommend Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us by Daniel H. Pink.

Here is my Big Takeaway: What is perfect for motivating people in some jobs, is particularly demotivating for people in other jobs! This is not a theory book. It is chalked full of real life examples. In fact, this book could almost be categorized as behavioral science for its numerous studies citing more effective methods of motivating people in different types of jobs. The thing I love most about this book is that it is practical. When you are done, you will have more tools in your leadership tool belt.  It has certainly challenged me to re-think some of my own methods of motivating our team.

• Emphasis: Motivating people to higher levels of performance

TJC

The cost of poor leadership is too great.  The potential impact of great leadership is too valuable.  So you will get a recommendation from me as often as I feel compelled to share one.

This week’s recommendation is a series of books I recommend more frequently than any other book by far, by one of my favorite voices in the leadership/management world: Patrick Lencioni.

These books are very quick reads.  In fact, if you feel insulted by the simplicity of his books, then they're probably just what you should be reading.  His aim is to help leaders embrace important principles that are theoretically simple, but in reality, are difficult to put into practice because they require real courage and persistence.  I'll warn you right from the outset that these are not your typical "management books." All of his books are written as business fables.  Oftentimes I find myself reading a management book and think, "This sounds great in theory, but how does this look in 'real' life."  This is the power of Lencioni's story approach–you get an in-action perspective of the principles.

**WARNING: Please don't compare these fables to your favorite novel about teenage vampires in love. I'm just saying, you'll be disappointed if you do.

Because I'm a fan of his books, rather than do a different post for each book I regularly reference and recommend, I thought it best to put them all in one, starting with my most favorite. As usual, I'll also let you in on my "big take-away" for each book:

1. 5 Dysfunctions of a Team

Takeaway: A Healthy Team Produces Results! There is no doubt that the best results will come from a healthy team…but what is a healthy team?  This is the question Lencioni answers in 5 Dysfunctions of a Team.  Once again, the principles in this book are so simple you might think you already do them. I challenge you, if you manage a team of coaches, to take a serious evaluation of your team. Don't think so highly of your leadership. My guess is we have room to grow. I know I do!

• Emphasis: Building Team Health

2. Getting Naked

Takeaway:  Tell the Kind Truth! If we think that our clients will like us more because we tell them what we think they want to hear, this book will prove us dead wrong!  In his latest fable, Lencioni tells a story that will challenge the status quo approach and demonstrate that courageous vulnerability is a key to unlocking extraordinary levels of client loyalty. If you work directly with a client, in my opinion, this is a must read!  I gave this book to every coach on my team, because not only do his principles work for building loyal relationships with business clients, but they also apply to building coach/student relationships.  I've been working to apply some of the principles in this book in my weekly operations meetings with my clients and have seen an immediate increase in their engagement level.

• Emphasis: Building Client Loyalty

3. 3 Signs of a Miserable Job

Takeaway:  The engagement level of my staff is a reflection of my leadership! This book will give you the tools you need to think about what will lead to a more engaged staff. There are no gimmicks here. No management tricks. You won't find any off-site agendas in this book. 3 Signs of a Miserable Job will bring it right down to what really matters. You might get hit between the eyes and forced to ask the hard question: Are there members of my team who are miserable at work?  Face the fact that it just might have something to do with the leader in your mirror.

• Emphasis: Building Individual Engagement

4. 4 Obsessions of an Extraordinary Executive

Takeaway: Over-communicate the Vision! If you think you only need to tell your team once, think again.  If you think all you need to do is print up your vision and post it around the office, think again. Are you certain that everyone on your team knows exactly what is most important to the account? Would they all say the same thing? Is one off-site enough? As soon as you think you've said it too much, you probably need to say it seven more times. This simple read is about what every great leader should be obsessed with if they want a team that produces results.

• Emphasis: Clarifying Leadership Priorities

I read quite a few books (esp. biographies), blogs, articles, etc.  I have a particular interest in all things "leadership." I consider leadership one of life's most consequential responsibilities.  The impact of how a person handles this responsibility could be felt for years… and in some cases generations.  Therefore, I am a careful learner.  As such I subscribe to the axiom: Leaders are readers.

I feel through reading I can be mentored by some of history's "greats" like Nelson Mandela, Mother Teresa, and Abraham Lincoln.  I can learn from the successes and failures of people like J.D. Rockefeller, Carly Fiorina, and Dr. Armand Hammer.  I can understand what drove Louis Armstrong, Walt Disney, and Warren Buffet.  I feel from many business/leadership books I can glean from the great (and some not-so-great) researchers  and practitioners of our time and take a look at leadership from another angle.

There is so much to learn and, frankly, there is so much at stake to not take leadership seriously. Therefore, I would like to contribute by offering some good reads that will challenge our thoughts on leadership along wtih by big takeaway from each book.

So here is my first recommendation:

My most recent read is a book entitled "Crucial Conversation: Tools for Talking when Stakes are High," by Kerry Patterson. Whether it's with a client, boss, direct report or peer… Whether it's in a large group, small group, or one-on-one… No matter where it shows up and no matter when it shows up, how we respond when a conversation turns crucial is a necessary skill for anyone who cares about the outcome.

Here's what I took away from this quick read:

1.  Learn to RECOGNIZE that you are in a high-stakes conversation. The question that was powerful for me to think about was: "do I even know that a conversation is crucial?"  Being able to recognize when a conversation or interaction has just moved from trivial to high-stakes is a critical skill of any leader.

2.  Make it SAFE. "Safety" is the key to free flowing dialogue.  There is so much to this.   One thing I learned is that my default is to respond to difficult conversations in a way the DOES NOT produce safety, and that I need to respond with skillful intention in order to foster "safety" so that an outcome that drives the best actions results from the conversation.

3.  Get on the same page with a MUTUAL PURPOSE. We won't be able to engage in meaningful dialogue about important or controversial subjects unless all parties can identify a shared purpose.  This is really about learning to see what is important to EVERYONE, not just myself.

This is a book you will come back to over and over.  There are a lot of real life examples to bring the theory right down to reality.  I encourage you to read it, pick something, anything in it… and put it to practice.  I think you will find yourself better equipped to respond to conversations when all of a sudden they become… well… crucial.