Summary Of Chapter Six, Part B: Leader Of A Group

CHAPTER SIX, Part b: Leader of a Group

Leaders possess the power to:

• Select members of the group (through recruitment, and dismissal)

• Steer the group in a chosen direction

• Create the environment for interpersonal communication within the group

• Have the group engage in competition with other groups

The results of this leadership depend on the Leader’s ownership of Reality:

• Everyone has limited time and energy

• No one knows or is skilled in everything. Including the leader

• Firsthand information is always more accurate than a chain of messengers

• The relative abilities, resources and power of potential competitors

Everyone has limited time and energy

Ownership leaders limit the number of burdens they place on their subordinates.

This person understands that unforeseen events occur, others may be cruel or unhelpful, and the person Owns Himself or Herself – and stays focused on being able to go on.

Grit is the manifestation of Ownership of Choices, Consequences and Future: this person stays committed to the long-term goal, perseveres through challenges, and accepts that the long-term goal is not going to be achieved without significant

This includes Ownership of Choices and Consequences; this person makes no excuses for themselves. At a higher level, this may manifest as this person also showing Awareness of the importance of interpersonal Dynamics and teamwork, including giving credit to teachers, role models and team-mates who helped them succeed.

The candidate who exhibits all of these is likely to be independent, self-motivated, professional and successful before they join your group. So long as this person is supported and allowed to operate, they will continue to be so.

This mirrors the findings of the Stanford Project on Emerging Companies, which has tracked start-ups in Silicon Valley since 1994 (http://sloanreview.mit.edu/article/entrepreneurship-commitment-counts/). Of the 5 hiring models, the most successful one was the Commitment model: companies who emphasize cultural fit, and believe in informal peer-group control. This won out over other models that seek out talent or offer financial incentives.

This is hardly surprising. Candidates who focus on Cultural fit Take Ownership of their environment, people around them, the goals and the rules of the company – in other words, their reality. This is why these companies will naturally do