Leadership from the Inside Out: Becoming A Leader for Life

Rating:
Summary: A great book!
Review: Kevin Cashman, founder and CEO of LeaderSource, an executive coaching firm based in Minneapolis, MN has chronicled his dynamic training perspectives Pathways to Mastery (1998). With a prestigious client list to his credit, Kevin's unique efforts are potent due to their comprehensive focus on cultivating the core of being and potential, the inner self, versus simply developing extraneous skill sets and behavior modifications. As rightly stated on the jacket cover, "..most books on leadership see leadership as only as something we do rather than as an expression of who we are... we learn what to do instead of how to be. This book is different-it gives you self-expression that creates value." Knowing Kevin as I do, informally but over time, I've had occasion to casually chat about spiritual philosophies that we both cherish. I truly believe he has a marvelous gift, the ability to convey these oft-elusive principles in a manner both understandable and practically applicable. If there were one book that hits the nail of self-development and leadership on the head, I'd say this is it

Rating:
Summary: A Valuable Personal Resource
Review: Leadership from the Inside Out is a wonderful book about becoming a better leader, not only of an organization but of one's own life.

Cashman covers all the bases, from Being - the innermost core of who we are - to Action, which he talks about as "leading as a whole person." He offers expert guidance, based on more than two decades as a coach to leaders worldwide, on aligning with our core purpose, authentic self-expression, adapting (and giving direction) to change, creating balance in our lives, and building synergistic relationships.

The book is packed with stimulating quotes, questions to foster self-understanding, and meaningful exercises for growth. All this in a well-designed format for easy reading. Highly recommended!

Rating:
Summary: Top Notch
Review: Leadership is a behavior -- not a job title. This book does an excellent job of explaining how and why.

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Summary: weLEAD Book Review from the Editor of leadingtoday.org
Review: Some authors approach the subject of leadership from an external perspective. They define leadership as qualities, traits and skills. Other authors approach the subject from an internal perspective. They define leadership as a reflection of what lies inside the heart of the leader. Author and consultant Kevin Cashman uses the later approach with great success and clarity. Leadership From The Inside Out reads like you are having a one-on-one discussion with the author over a fine meal. It speaks to the heart because it defines leadership as a "process, an intimate expression of who we are." Cashman reminds us immediately that "we are the CEO's of our own lives" and we are on an ongoing journey to express and unravel our inner selves to make a positive impact within the world we live.

From beginning to end, Leadership From The Inside Out is intended to be a journey of self-discovery. In the first chapter Cashman begins to explore three essential questions to enhance our leadership effectiveness. He presents these as 1) How authentic are we as a leader? 2) How deep and broad is our self-expression? and 3) How much value are we creating? One of the major goals of the book is to help the reader to connect with their essential character, their central core in order to create effective leadership development. The end result is that the reader learns to no longer define their identity by the mere external results of their life, which are vulnerable, at risk and fragile.

To offer a new perspective on personal growth, Leadership From The Inside Out strategically leads the reader down seven "pathways" to discover the mastery of leadership from within. These pathways are articulated as personal mastery, purpose mastery, change mastery, interpersonal mastery, being mastery, balance mastery and action mastery. Cashman and his associates, LeaderSource, have developed these pathways as the "distilled insights from working with hundreds of leaders". Leadership From The Inside Out also encourages the reader to establish a leadership journal and offers numerous quotations throughout the text to provide additional insight.

This is a book that holds the promise to change you from within! At weLEAD, we have read hundreds of books on the subject of leadership from every possible perspective. However, if you are looking for a book that offers positive insight, encouragement and the real potential to gain a significant leadership transformation, Leadership From The Inside Out is it!