About the Book
No one can do it for you, but you don’t have to do it alone.
Everyone benefits from a positive influence in their lives. If you think about the various types of leaders you’ve encountered—parents, teachers, coaches, bosses—you can probably pinpoint one, perhaps more than one, leader who provided the support, the skills, or the inspiration that helped you become your best self.
The heart of the book is a series of in-depth interviews with a diverse group of leaders across a wide spectrum of organizations. The interviews are supplemented by similar experiences of famous and successful people such as Oprah Winfrey, Michael Bloomberg, and LeBron James.
Michael and Glenn Parker demonstrate the various ways positive influence leaders have altered the lives and careers of many successful people. The book is both inspirational and instructive. It will move you to become a positive influence leader or help you learn ways to increase your effectiveness as a leader. In one of the most compelling sections of the book, people share their encounters with negative people and the mechanisms they developed for coping—and in most cases, thriving—as a result of the experience.
Positive Influence: The Leader Who Helps People Become Their Best Self highlights four types of positive influence leaders:
- The Supportive Positive Influence Leader
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The Teacher Positive Influence Leader
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The Motivating Positive Influence Leader
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The Role Model Influence Leader
Research by the Parkers indicates that you can be a positive influence on others in ways that are different from other positive influence leaders. And yet, while each style is different, any one of the four can be helpful, especially if it is targeted to your specific needs.
A Positive Influence Toolkit. In addition to sharing inspiring stories and practical strategies, the Parkers provide you with the tools you need to assess your current style of leadership and become a more effective positive influence leader. In the book, you will find:
- A survey to help you identify your specific positive leadership style;
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Tips for becoming a more effective positive influence leader; and
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An improvement plan that will help you increase your effectiveness as a positive influence leader.
Positive Influence: The Leader Who Helps People Become Their Best Self is both inspirational and practical. The personal stories offer a hopeful path for leaders looking for positive change, while the tools and techniques provide a solid foundation for effective leadership development.
My Take on the Book
This was a great book that really explores the importance of influencing others. This book was an amazing book that teaches you about the type of positive influence leaders and also about even turning a negative influence experience into a positive one. The book is practical in nature, has self-assessment and other tools that will help you to be a more positive influencer within your work and in your life. This is a book that I would highly recommend to all!
