The Trusted Executive – Nine Leadership Habits that Inspire Results, Relationships and Reputation
By John Blakey
Kogan Page 978 07494 7422 5
Usefulness: 5 out of 5
This is a book about “looking forward to a future where trustworthiness defines leadership”, says Blakey in the foreword.
What it does so beautifully is to help leaders – and those who work with them – get under the skin of what trust actually means. More than that, it’s a roadmap for building trustworthiness.
Blakey identifies three pillars that inspire trust: Ability, Integrity and Benevolence, and nine leadership habits that underpin them. Some of these habits are familiar; some are more surprising. But this is not just another leadership model. Academic research, examples from Blakey’s corporate leadership experience, interviews with executive leaders, points to ponder, case studies, sample coaching sessions and, what I loved most, practical self-assessments to help leaders understand and develop those nine leadership habits.
This is a must-read for executives and those who work with them. It should be required reading for anyone embarking on a leadership career and for everyone who recruits leaders. Blakey’s goal was to produce “a rigorous manual for inspiring trust”. I believe he has done just that.
Lynn Scott is a leadership and team coach