Phil Johnson is a highly prized business consultant who routinely helps Fortune 500 corporations add many millions of dollars to their bottom lines.

Now, for the first time ever, his advice is available not only to the corporate elite but to business leaders everywhere.

His breakthrough book The Servant Warrior Leader has encapsulated what true leadership is all about: An authentic leader motivates, inspires and empowers others to take leadership responsibility for themselves individually to achieve results that are profoundly rewarding to the individual and the organization.

2005    244 pages

$24.95

It’s All About You!

You are the true currency of the 21st Century. Money is simply a medium of exchange, a measure of value, and a means of payment.

In the 21st Century, the economic currency is you and your people. A recent Gallup survey placed the current level of employee engagement at a mere 29 percent.

Furthermore, according to a recent survey by Badbossology, a majority of employees spend 10 or more hours per month complaining or listening to others complain about bad bosses — and almost one-third spend 20 hours or more per month engaged in this activity.

If you are part of this majority, ask yourself the following: Do my actions reflect those of a leader, or a victim? Do they characterize someone who is moving forward in life, or someone choosing to remain stuck?

Imagine that you are standing in front of a large fireplace with your arms full of wood. Using someone else’s actions to justify your lack of engagement is like saying to that fireplace — I’ll give you wood when you give me heat. In other words, disheartened by others’ failure to give, we often stubbornly refuse to give of ourselves, resulting in a frustrating stalemate. The answer, as you’ll learn, isn’t to stop giving: it’s to give more.

Your level of workforce engagement is your choice, regardless of the circumstances.

Truly authentic leaders have the ability to arouse “discretionary energy” in others. Their leadership serves to inspire others to want to contribute more - they don’t use “position-based power.”

Nor do they use a “carrot or stick” approach. They simply demonstrate the strength and courage to be themselves, and so inspire others to do the same. A cursory review of some of today’s most inspiring leaders reveals an interesting common thread: Bill Gates, Oprah Winfrey and Nelson Mandela all have one thing in common: the ability to inspire others through their actions.

PEOPLE ARE WEALTH

The real wealth of the 21st Century is in people. We need to break with the industrial control model of the 20th Century that treats chairs, buildings and land as assets and people as expenses. People are the true assets.

Nowadays, almost everyone feels tremendous pressure to produce more for less. At the same time, the vast majority of people are not being allowed to use their talents and capacities to the fullest potential within their companies. There is profound disempowerment and alienation of people in organizations. The reason: we are still using the old industrial age paradigm during the current information age. This fundamental incompatibility has created unprecedented levels of employee apathy.

We are living in a global economy that is more interconnected than ever before. Company CEOs, Boards of Directors and “C Level” Managers (i.e., CEOs, CFOs, CIOs) are being paid more than ever.

They are also being expected to deliver more than ever. A Booz Allen Hamilton study found the average tenure of a CEO has declined from 7 to 4.6 years. In today’s economy, decisions have to be made quickly and they have to be right.

Senior executive insecurity has been increasing across the board. Executives are realizing that the command and control skills that got them to where they are will not get them to where they need to be in the global marketplace.

How can successful people get even better?

Ironically, their incredibly positive self-image may actually be getting in the way. It may be coloring their view of the current reality, which in turn may be affecting results. Authentic business leadership begins with an honest assessment of how things are today, not how we would like them to be.

Too often, people in companies find it difficult to focus on things other than bottom line results. We need to develop and nurture our human capital.

We cannot invest on Monday, and expect to make money by Friday! Leadership development is associated with long-term profitability but the corollary is that it is also associated with long-term investment.

In order to produce successful results, leadership development must include the alignment of resources within companies and between clients, partners and suppliers.

BECOMING A “SERVANT WARRIOR”

The development of authentic leaders is ultimately your key advantage in the marketplace.

Leaders come in all shapes and sizes. The truly authentic leader is a “Servant-Warrior”: A unique blend of personal humility and professional will.

Servant-Warriors have the courage to accurately perceive their own current realities. They also have the urgent need to move in the direction of better results. They take action and in the process confront the fears, habits and perceptions that stand in their way.

The battles they fight are internal conflicts even though they may have been triggered by external events. The personal victories and the lessons learned move them towards greater understanding.

Looking inward provides the answers and insights that allow them to become inspirational servants.

They seek to be who they are, and recognize their interconnectedness with others.

By resisting being who you truly are, you become vulnerable. By becoming vulnerable you discover your invulnerability.

REFLECT

Can you identify the Servant-Warriors in your business? Do you have any? Does your company encourage and support individuals willing to challenge themselves to develop their leadership?