Other books by Robin Sharma – The Monk who Sold his Ferrari, The greatness guide, Who will cry when I

die, The saint the surfer and the CEO

 Each of us is, Every single one of us, regardless of our personal history, regardless of whether

you have a title or not can lead without a title. Most of us go to work with the mind-set that to

be a leader they need to work their way up the company ladder, get the title or position they

seek, and then they can be leaders. This is the wrong approach according to Sharma .

 The foundation principle is Self-Leadership. Anyone who understands this can lead regardless of

his or her official title in an organization. According to Sharma, “leaders are those individuals

who do the things that failures aren’t willing to do–even though they might not like doing them

either.” Too many people pay the sad costs of mediocrity and forego the spectacular rewards of

being a leader.

 Leadership is not a title on a business card, leadership is a way of thinking, its a way of being, its

shifting from victimhood into leadership

 Quotes 'To lead without a title “you will have to be very very persistent and seriously

courageous.”

 Sales team, Production QC, Data Verification, Debt Collector- CMOs, Marketing, Internet

department, Finance, Drivers, Wambua, Dorothy, etc… You have the opportunity and the

responsibility to show leadership

 There is a quote often repeated. ‘Success is created through conscious choice. And is the

eventual and inevitable consequence of superior decision making. Anyone can be successful. Few

choose to be.’

 Its a story…the lead character is Blake Davis, he is frustrated, he is a victim, he is full of worry, he

is scared, he is not performing at his absolute best, he is living a discouraged life, He is a victim

 This guy meets someone in a book store. He can expose him to 4 teachers who can teach him

how to be a leader without a title philosophy

Theme 1- You need no title to be a leader

 Blake Davis meets Anna – a member of the housekeeping staff at a high-end luxury hotel. Anna

teaches Blake about personal responsibility and the fact that you need no title to be a leader.

 She teaches that as long as you are breathing, you have the opportunity to show leadership in

your area. Her acronym is IMAGE (Innovation, Mastery, Authenticity, Guts, Ethics)

 Innovation- we need to create growth daily through innovation. Dream big but start small;

constant improvement

 Mastery- committing to mastery through constant improvement. Be so good that people cannot

ignore you; if you are good in design, driving, data verification etc be the best

 Authenticity- being trustworthy to yourself and other. If you want to make an impact be yourself

rather than the authority you receive from your title

 Guts- having the courage to do things other fear to do. You will need to dare more than a

reasonable person and risk far more than an ordinary person

 Ethics- doing what is right and staying true to your values. Your reputation is all you have. Its

better to be trusted than to be loved.

Theme 2 -Turbulent times build great leaders:

 Ty Boyd – a 5-time world slalom skiing champion.

 Challenging times in both business and life give us great opportunities to learn and transform

ourselves…as ironical as it sounds “Problems and difficult days are actually good for you.”

 A client banging the phone down on you, not making a sale, not collecting a debt, when your

boss is hard on you, getting a memo, bad relationships, The way you handle yourself makes you

a better leader

 The acronym associated with this chapter is SPARK: Speak the naked truth and rather over

communicate, Prioritize, Adversity creates opportunity, Response- do we act or react on events

in our life?; Kudos- stand for recognition for everybody, for doing things right.

 Speak with Candor: ‘An important part of showing leadership is to be more committed to

speaking honestly than receiving the approval of others’

 Prioritize: Focus. Focus. Focus, Become the best at a few things you focus on. Focus. Focus.

Focus. To the point of obsession.  ‘The best leaders stay staggeringly focused on their Biggest

To Dos’

 Adversity breeds opportunities ‘Obstacles show up to measure how badly you want something’

‘Rather than just stand there paralyzed by fear, they stayed calm, showed excellence & turned it

all around

 Kudos ( offering to the team): ‘Recognize excellence. Praise good work. Honour mastery’; ‘Real

leadership has so much to do with applauding others when they are doing things

right’;Recognize excellence , Praise good work, Honor Mastery

 Persist Persist!!!!!! You will succeed eventually

 Quotes: Tough times don’t last…but tough people do…‘Difficult days never last. But strong

people always do’; Iron sharpens iron; Look at a stone cutter hammering away at his rock,

perhaps a hundred times without as much as a crack showing in it. Yet at the hundred-and- first

blow it will split in two, and I know it was not the last blow that did it, but all that had gone

before

 Change brings uncertainty and fear. The change in Postel The transition from caterpillar to

butterfly looks messy. But we know something even more beautiful is being created  ‘What

the caterpillar calls the end of the world the Master calls the Butterfly’ – Richard Bach

Theme 3: The deeper your relationships, the stronger your leadership

 Blake meets – Jackson Chan – ex-CEO of a multibillion dollar technology company turned

gardener. Jackson’s message to Blake is that the deeper your relationships the stronger your

leadership.

 The deeper your relationships, the stronger your leadership: “Leave every single person who

intersects your path better, happier, and more engaged than you found them.” Time spent

forming deep relationships–in all aspects of life–will pay dividends down the road.

 Customers should not be treated as commodities; you should not treat your kids, your spouse,

your colleague, your juniors badly. You need to have a good relationship with them.

 A customer should not think you are after their money…at least for sales. For the CMOs they

NEEEED to know you are after their money…Engage the clients…one sales person told me that

she loves asking clients how they made it!!! …Well some customers love telling stories of how

they are a rags to riches story…how they made it against diversity… they simply love a good

audience…a good listener…Form a relationship with the client, show them that you care, ask

questions about them…follow your word…if you say your going to do something do it!!!Fulfill

your promise

 This should apply to even internal customers. It should happen when sales is dealing with

finance, when sales is dealing with IT, when CMOs are dealing with Sales etc

 The Deeper your relationship , the stronger your leadership… No man will make a great leader

who wants to do it all himself or to get all the credit for doing it – by Andrew Carnegie

 Being nice isn’t being weak. Please don’t confuse kindness with weakness!!!

Theme 4: To be a great leader you have to be a great person

 To be a great leader, first become a great person Blake meets- Jet Brisley – massage

therapist to the rich and famous. Jet’s lesson for Blake is to be a great leader you must

first become a great person.

 Jet’s acronym is SHINE. S-See Clearly H-Health is wealth I-Inspiration Matters N-Neglect not

your family E-Elevate your lifestyle

 Find ways to be more passionate about your job. Be the absolute best in your job. Make your

job interesting. Set yourself goals in your job. Few things create more energy than going to a job

that you love. And feeling that your work is meaningful. Show leadership in your area of

responsibility. Feeling that your work is a craft. Have purpose

 Personal development is so key. Its essential. You have to better yourself as a person. Read

personal development books; read newspapers…there are articles in the newspaper called

Seeds of Gold – about farming, watch DVDs about self improvement, listen to audio CDs, watch

good video blogs on youtube. Invest to go to seminars – Mary talks about a really good one on

financial planning….make yourself better

Takeaways: I want to challenge you!!!!!!

 Simply remember that no matter what your position within the organisation and no matter how

old you are or where you live …. You have the power to show leadership. And no one and

nothing can ever deny you that

 You need no title to be a leader: Success (business and personal) is something that’s consciously

created. To lead without a title “you will have to be unrealistically persistent and wildly

courageous.”

 Turbulent times build great leaders: Challenging times in both business and life give us great

opportunities to learn and transform ourselves. “Problems and difficult days are actually good

for you.”

 The deeper your relationships, the stronger your leadership: “Leave every single person who

intersects your path better, happier, and more engaged than you found them.” Time spent

forming deep relationships–in all aspects of life–will pay dividends down the road.

 To be a great leader, first become a great person: Training and strengthening your inner leader

will help you perform at extraordinary levels. The key is learning to lead yourself. In our world

we define success by the things we have, not by the people we’ve become. The more self-

awareness we develop the more likely we are to grow and help others.In a gentle way you can

shake the world

‘I am not at all saying an organisation should not have titles. They should actually. We need the people

on the executive team setting the vision, steering the boat and holding ultimate responsibility for the

results. Titles and Structure maintain order and keep everything running smoothly. But …. for any

organisation to thrive amid all the turbulence …. each one of us needs to take personal responsibility by

becoming CEO of our own roles and leaders within our current positions ‘ ‘We all need to lead where we

are planted and shine where we now find ourselves.’