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Issue No. 652 of Your Weekly Staff
Meeting (July 18, 2025) introduces a hot-off-the-press book this week—that urges
you to look in the leadership mirror. (Do you have a “quiet
ego?”) Plus, click here for
recent eNews issues posted at John
Pearson’s Buckets Blog, including my recent review of
"the best book on management and mismanagement," The Guns of August: The Pulitzer Prize-Winning Classic
About the Outbreak of World War I. And, check out
the 20 management buckets
(core competencies).
Yikes! She Loved the Animals More Than Her
Co-Workers!
The authors of this very helpful resource hooked me immediately. They
write, “This book shines a light on the science of leadership for
everyday leaders accountable for the performance of small and large teams
and organizations, along with coaches and anyone else who wants to help
leaders, including their bosses.” (That’s
right—read this and help your boss!)
The
Science of Leadership:
Nine Ways to Expand Your Impact
by Jeffrey Hull and Margaret Moore (July 15, 2025)
With their stunning research, Hull and
Moore make a bold promise: “In the pages that follow, you will hear
the chorus of leadership scientists singing in harmony for the sake of
better leadership.” Really?
Tell me more!
I know.
There’s no shortage of leadership books—but
if it’s been a while since you’ve honed your own leadership (or invested
time in mentoring or coaching others)—I urge you to consider these “nine
ways to expand your impact.”
And this reminder: you’re likely
pretty good (even great) at one or two leadership capacities—but all
nine? I doubt it. The
authors suggest that “by applying more of the capacities now and over
your next months and years, you will not only grow your impact but also
accomplish more with less strain.” They also promise “inspiration,
expansion, impact, and ease.” (I’m all in for the “ease” part—so I
kept reading!)
Note: This is
one of several “Summer Shorts” book reviews—short, crisp, and ready
for your summer vacation. Enjoy!
I
DARE YOU! If the preface doesn’t hook you, the assessment on
pages 9-10 will captivate your attention. Evaluate your
leadership with the “Self-Rating of Nine Leadership
Capacities.” With multiple one-liners describing each leadership
capacity, you’ll be asked to:
• Rank Your Strengths (1-9)
• Rank What’s Important Now (1-9)
• Rank Priorities for Getting Better (1-9)
Gulp!
Please
don’t ask for my scores. Oh, my.
This review is
supposed to be “short and sweet,” but there’s way too
much good stuff. While the book documents the deep dive into
the research—it is amazingly practical with profiles of
leaders we’ve all met. A few pages into The Science of Leadership,
you’ll realize why Marshall Goldsmith
called it a “game-changing book.” The research identified nine leadership
capacities. Do you agree? Here’s a taste:
SELF-ORIENTED LEADERSHIP CAPACITIES
#1.
CONSCIOUS (“See clearly, including myself.”)
“Sydney received feedback that he was snappy, impatient, and
critical; he also wasn’t attuned to the Asian business culture’s aversion
to self-promotion, which was considered normal in New York.”
#2.
AUTHENTIC (“Care.”)
“Despite Jennifer’s transparent and direct approach to leading, her focus
on success was self-centered.” (Read how coaching helped her probe more
deeply.)
#3.
AGILE (“Flex.”)
Peter, the leader of a nonprofit, admitted he was no “Steve Jobs” and was
“actually an introvert.” He prided himself on consensus decision-making
and leading from behind. He was not a “bossy boss.” But big problem: “What he wasn’t, as
it turned out, was flexible.”
OTHER-ORIENTED CAPACITIES
#4.
RELATIONAL (“Help.”)
Then there’s Anita. “Feedback collected from her peers, superiors, and
subordinates highlighted a mismanagement: Such phrases as ‘unnecessarily
competitive,’ ‘self-aggrandizing,’ and ‘hyperbolic about her own role’
emerged.” She also took credit for team successes!
#5.
POSITIVE (“Strengthen.”)
The authors’ profile of Ahmed, “the leader of the ‘heart center’ at a
major European hospital,” (think life-or-death cardiac surgeries) was
eye-opening. “Once Ahmed, a researcher himself, learned about research
findings on positive psychology interventions in health care settings, he
discovered that even in difficult situations, acknowledging what worked
well could boost morale.”
#6.
COMPASSIONATE (“Resonate.”)
In this chapter, you’ll meet Patricia who grew up on a farm in northern
England and, years later, was vice president of animal research at a
pharmaceutical company in suburban London. But…her coach pointed out
that, perhaps, she loved the animals more than her co-workers! Yikes.
SYSTEM-ORIENTED CAPACITIES
#7.
SHARED (“Share.”)
Scott, “on the verge of becoming a partner at a boutique investment
bank,” lacked self-confidence. Read how his coach introduced him to
“shared leadership, also known as collective or distributed
leadership—the capacity to shift from ‘I’ to “We.’” Pop Quiz! Define the distinctives of
these four developmental skills: delegating, advising, mentoring, and
coaching. (The answers are on page 123.)
#8.
SERVANT (“Serve.”)
Humility Matters! The
authors showcase a review of 212 studies of humility in
leadership led by management professor Jeffrey Chandler. (How would you define humility?)
They note, “The Chandler team’s synthesis remind us of Rick Warren’s
words: ‘Humility is not thinking less of yourself; it is thinking of
yourself less.’”
#9.
TRANSFORMATIONAL (“Transform.”)
Joseph, a German, was one of “the few Western C-suite executives” at a
global firm based in the Middle East. “He was humble in learning about
the local culture,” and he had what the authors term a “relatively quiet
ego.” Yet he struggled. His “low-context” approach (he
was quite “transactional”) did not align with the “high-context” culture of the
Middle East, “where relationships are central to building trust and
credibility.”
I'm thinking most of us still have much to learn about other cultures,
even though, perhaps you've read much, including this and this. (See also
Part 13, "In Search of Global Perspectives," in Mastering 100 Must-Read Books.)
REMINDER!
Don’t delete this review until you conduct your own self-assessment (or
ask a coworker, spouse, or friend to hold-your-feet-to-the-fire). See the
three categories above for the “Self-Rating of Nine Leadership
Capacities” on pages 9-10. Each chapter is thorough, research-based, and
practical. The chapter summaries are excellent.
And…if you are delusional enough to think that reading just one
leadership book every decade or so is your “one-and-done” duty—then not
only should you read this book, but you should also find a coach! And/or
read Leadership and Self-Deception! Co-author
Jeffrey Hull, by the way, is the executive director of the Institute of
Coaching. (View his three-minute video
here.)
TO ORDER FROM AMAZON, click on the title for The Science of Leadership: Nine Ways to Expand Your Impact,
by Jeffrey Hull and Margaret Moore. Listen on Libro (7 hours, 21
minutes). And thanks to the publisher for sending me a review copy.
YOUR WEEKLY STAFF MEETING QUESTIONS:
1) In Chapter 8,
“Servant,” we read about Johannes, the founder of a regenerative
agriculture start-up, who “struggled to align serving the planet with
serving her staff, revealing a gap in her leadership portfolio.” POP QUIZ! Any gaps in the
leadership capacities of your boss? How about yourself?
2)
Do you know anyone with a “humility gap?” Read Andrew
Murray’s 60-page book, Humility. He writes, “Humility is the only
soil in which the graces root; the lack of humility is the sufficient
explanation of every defect and failure.” (For more on the virtue
side of leadership, read Superhabits.)
SECOND READS: Fresh Solutions From Classic Books
You
have changed—and your problems have changed—since you read
this the first time!
Book #22 of
99: Fall in Love with the Problem, Not the Solution
For your team
meeting this week, inspire a team member to lead your “10
Minutes for Lifelong Learning” session by featuring Book #22 of 99
in our new series, “Second Reads.” The big idea: REREAD TO LEAD! Discover how
your favorite books (and articles) still have more to teach you and the
people you’re coaching and mentoring.
Fall in Love with the Problem,
Not the
Solution:
A Handbook for
Entrepreneurs
by Uri Levine
Last week, Nvidia, the chip maker, made
big headlines: “How Nvidia Became the World’s First $4 Trillion Company.”
The Wall Street Journal writes: “Nvidia’s
market value reached $4 trillion, surpassing Apple and Microsoft, driven
by the surge in generative artificial intelligence.” Do entrepreneurs
have a secret you need to learn?
• Read my review
(Issue No. 544, Jan. 21, 2023).
• Order from Amazon (Feb. 18,
2025 – Updated Edition).
• Listen on Libro.fm (13
hours, 38 minutes).
• Management Bucket #2 of 20: The Customer Bucket
“A start-up is a journey of failures,” writes Uri Levine, who describes
himself as a passionate entrepreneur and disruptor, and a two-time
“unicorn" builder. He quotes Albert Einstein, “If you’ve never
failed, you’ve never tried anything new.” (Dave Ramsey posted
this recently: “There’s no such thing as overnight success—just years of
grit no one saw.")
How do entrepreneurs do it? Take my “True or False Quiz” with 13 statements
about entrepreneurial success. Example: “Rule of thumb: Users convert on
the third try.” (True or False?)
CLICK HERE FOR BOOKS BY
JOHN
 
“If you have $10,000 to spend, invest $5,000 in researching and
understanding your audience.” That’s just one of 10 principles from Marketing Your Ministry.
Read all 10 here.
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Issue No. 658 of Your Weekly Staff Meeting (Oct. 3, 2025) features a new book coming Oct. 7—describing the four seasons of a CEO. The “...
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