Book Review

Everyone a Leader: A Grassroots Model for the New Workplace

by Horst Bergmann, Kathleen Hurson, and Darlene Russ-Eft

"Organizations need people at every level with the courage and the skill to step up to leadership opportunities, whether they’re formally designated leaders or not."

Everyone a Leader is based on a study that involved 2,000 people across 450 organizations. The findings were then summarized in five key strategies. Just remember to CLIMB. Create a compelling future. Let the customer drive the organization. Involve every mind. Manage work horizontally. Build personal credibility.

But before you read Chapter One, the Forward or even the book jacket, turn to page 129 of Everyone a Leader and take the assessment. Having the results of this brief evaluation will make the early chapters of the book more meaningful for you as you gain personal insights into your existing beliefs about leadership.

According to Everyone a Leader, grassroots leaders: help others personalize a future for themselves, navigate through emotional ups and downs, aren’t afraid of midcourse adjustments, and find a way to maintain a sense of optimism. Leadership is defined by seventeen competencies including, to name a few: the ability to create and describe a vision, showing compassion, displaying professional ethics and handling emotions in yourself and others.

It’s no surprise that two thirds of the competencies are “soft skills,” reinforcing the concept that leadership is more about who we are and less about what we do.In fact the leadership competencies could provide an outline of a performance evaluation or job description. In an ideal organization, every member on the team would work toward mastering all 17 competencies.