From Bud To Boss – Transitioning to Remarkable Leadership

I recently had the chance to review a pre-release copy of a book by Kevin Eikenberry and Guy Harris, called From Bud to Boss: Secrets To A Successful Transition to Remarkable Leadership.

I found the book to be one of the most detailed and functional books I have seen on the topic of transitioning oneself from an employee or manager to a real leader.  I had the opportunity to interface with Kevin and get some more information about the book.  Following are some of the questions and answers I received.   By the way, today happens to be the launch day of From Bud to Boss and they have some great gifts and contests running.  This is all listed at the end. 

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Who will benefit from reading your book? (or Who should read this book?)

(Kevin)  – There are really three groups of people who will benefit the most from this book.  The first, as the title implies, are people in the transition, or have been living through the transition from being a peer to delivering a performance evaluation!  The second group is people who want to prepare themselves proactively for the role of leadership.  These people are anticipating or planning for their first leadership role.  The last group is more experienced leaders who are preparing or helping new leaders to be more successful.

The first section of the book is specifically about the transition, and the other five sections deal with the most important competencies to focus on building leadership competence and confidence.

What are the Remarkable Leadership Principles?

(Kevin)  – This book contains the ” Remarkable Principles” also mentioned in the book  Remarkable Leadership.  These are bite-sized truths that summarize pieces of the text, but they do much more than that.  They stand alone, informing all of us leaders of important and in some cases, profound truths about the work of leadership and what is most important about it.  Here is an example from Chapter 41 – “The single biggest reason to set goals is that they improve your chances for success.”  This reminds readers of an important principle, and we hope spurs all of us to act to not only set goals more often, but be successful in helping others set them as well.  After all, who doesn’t want greater success in some part of their life?

What was your first leadership experience? What training/support did you receive in the transition?

(Kevin) – My first leadership role was on our family farm and related business.  Often when people were hired to a specific task or season, I was responsible for supervising them.  In many cases (as is the case for many who will read the book) I was much younger than those I was leading.   I didn’t have any formal training.  Dad didn’t give me any book to read.  He was an example and role model.  We did talk about how things were going and answered questions.   He would have been the first to tell you he wasn’t the perfect leader, yet he was extremely supportive and aware of the need to coach others.

What are the core skills people need in order to make a successful transition to leadership in their organizations?

(Kevin) – Beyond the skills and strategies of the transition itself, we believe there are five big competency areas that need to come first, and we built the book around them.   They are:  change, communication, coaching, collaboration and teamwork, and commitment to success (everything related to goals and goal setting).

These aren’t the only competencies of leaders but we believe they are of prime importance for two reasons.
1.    They are highly important and complex skills to learn
2.   When someone first becomes a leader these skills take on a very different meaning or level of importance in their work and life.

What do you think is the biggest gap in training new leaders?

(Kevin)  – I think there are two gaps.   First, most new supervisor/leader training doesn’t talk at all about the issues of the transition. How do I lead the people I am friends with?  How do I deal with the team members who applied for and wanted the job I received?  How do I maintain and manage those expectations?  How do I build relationships with my new peers, new boss?  And much more.

Second, while there is lots of great training available publicly and inside of organizations, it is often available later than would best help the new leaer, and far too often doesn’t focus enough on application.  Learning can’t happen just by attending class (or reading a book for that matter) we must take that new knowledge and use it.

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I think Bud to Boss is one of the most detailed and practical guides I have seen on developing leadership and refining one’s leadership skills.   I highly recommend you pick-up a copy.  You can buy From Bud to Boss at Amazon and other online retailers.   After you buy the book, you need to go to Kevin and Guy’s website and community and register your purchase. (http://launch.budtobosscommunity.com/#getstarted) By doing so you will receive a boat load of free gifts and be entered to win some great prizes.

As always, I’d love to hear your thoughts and comments below.