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Small Acts of Leadership: 12 Intentional Behaviors That Lead to Big Impact
In business today, there is no offline and there is no downtime. Professionals are both exhausted and depleted. Being constantly tethered to our work through technology makes us overwhelmed and shortsighted, and deprives us of time for meaningful reflection or thoughtful connection to our professional communities, and often even to our own families.
For us to thrive-not simply survive-in this accelerating economy, we need to adopt small, intentional behaviors and practice them each day. From simply taking care of our rest and exercise to building our self-confidence and embracing challenges, author Shawn Hunter's latest book Small Acts of Leadership will guide you through a series of incremental steps you can take to build a stronger version of yourself and make a broader impact in the world.
Weaving in personal life stories and meaningful interviews with business leaders around the world, Hunter presents the reader with twelve critical competencies that are consistently present in the daily behaviors of today's most successful leaders.
For us to thrive-not simply survive-in this accelerating economy, we need to adopt small, intentional behaviors and practice them each day. From simply taking care of our rest and exercise to building our self-confidence and embracing challenges, author Shawn Hunter's latest book Small Acts of Leadership will guide you through a series of incremental steps you can take to build a stronger version of yourself and make a broader impact in the world.
Weaving in personal life stories and meaningful interviews with business leaders around the world, Hunter presents the reader with twelve critical competencies that are consistently present in the daily behaviors of today's most successful leaders.
240 pages, Hardcover
Published December 19, 2016
29 people are currently reading
633 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
March 27, 2017
The book wasn't very engaging, very choppy and uninspiring. When I got about twenty or so pages into the book, Hunter discussed a certain footballer and how he is so successful. This particular footballer - while his eight-month pregnant wife was away - hired a prostitute and slept in their bed with her. I have no interest in how moral degenerates maintain their success.
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May 8, 2017I have a hard time reading books for work on my free time. This one just could not grab me.
April 23, 2025
Easy read with some great pieces of advice that are simple to implement. Enjoyed the anecdotes of successful leaders and studies. A great refresher for anyone in a leadership position!
December 29, 2024
Practical!
November 27, 2021
The book 'Small acts of leadership' by G. Shawn hunter was is a mediocre book, this book gave many short scenarios to relate with what he was writing about. What I learned from this book is to realize when I am working too much and when its time to take a break. "Leadership comes in small acts as well as bold strokes" I feel like this quote is meaningful because It shows that It takes small steps to make big decisions. And real leaders need to be able to take those small steps to succeed.
Before you read this book you might want to have some background information about leadership you may want to do a little research on what it takes to be a leader so that you can understand the book, because parts of the book can be fast passed and become confusion at some parts.
One interesting fact about this book is that the scenarios or examples in the book are real life examples of people and how they overcame something and acted as a leader. This book in a information type of book. G. Shawn hunter has two other books but they are not a series to this book. This book is a medium sized book its 211 pages long, but most of the pages have a lot of words on them. G. Shawn hunter is very educated in leadership and knows a lot about how to become a leader. A comparison might be to read other books about leadership, and also to use this books examples in the real world.
I would say this book is best for people interested in learning more about leadership, and who can keep up with a fast pace book that has a lot of information. If you are thinking about reading this book you should be ready for a fast pace book that "spits" out information and gives a example and moves on. You will most likely have to reread many pages to actually understand what he is trying to convey. This book is very informational and you will come out of reading this book knowing a lot about leadership, but It Is a harder read and difficult to be hooked and want to keep reading.
In my opinion the book was boring In some parts, he reaped a lot of information but just worded it differently. The book was very informational but hard to read. If the book would not of been so hard to read It would be easier to follow along and keep up with the information.
In conclusion I would say it was a mediocre book I will probably never read It again, It also got confusion In some parts. I gave this book three stars because It was informational and I did learn from reading this book. But I did not enjoy reading It, I would of changed how the information was displayed through out the book. And would of made It easier to keep wanting to read the book.
Before you read this book you might want to have some background information about leadership you may want to do a little research on what it takes to be a leader so that you can understand the book, because parts of the book can be fast passed and become confusion at some parts.
One interesting fact about this book is that the scenarios or examples in the book are real life examples of people and how they overcame something and acted as a leader. This book in a information type of book. G. Shawn hunter has two other books but they are not a series to this book. This book is a medium sized book its 211 pages long, but most of the pages have a lot of words on them. G. Shawn hunter is very educated in leadership and knows a lot about how to become a leader. A comparison might be to read other books about leadership, and also to use this books examples in the real world.
I would say this book is best for people interested in learning more about leadership, and who can keep up with a fast pace book that has a lot of information. If you are thinking about reading this book you should be ready for a fast pace book that "spits" out information and gives a example and moves on. You will most likely have to reread many pages to actually understand what he is trying to convey. This book is very informational and you will come out of reading this book knowing a lot about leadership, but It Is a harder read and difficult to be hooked and want to keep reading.
In my opinion the book was boring In some parts, he reaped a lot of information but just worded it differently. The book was very informational but hard to read. If the book would not of been so hard to read It would be easier to follow along and keep up with the information.
In conclusion I would say it was a mediocre book I will probably never read It again, It also got confusion In some parts. I gave this book three stars because It was informational and I did learn from reading this book. But I did not enjoy reading It, I would of changed how the information was displayed through out the book. And would of made It easier to keep wanting to read the book.
March 30, 2021
‘Small Acts of Leadership’ by G. Shawn Hunter is an attempt to distill leadership principles into a slim volume. Each chapter is structured around a specific leadership theme from belief in self to defying convention. These are the twelve intentional behaviors indicated in the sub-title. Each behavior/theme is illustrated primarily through stories and a bit through selected research. Overall, I found these principles to be solid, and insights into leadership are there to be had. Personally, I was not that fond of the storytelling focus. In my opinion, a lot of this book could have been distilled further into a magazine length article. However, for those who learn best through illustrative stories, then Hunter’s style may be helpful.
October 5, 2022
Personally I wasn’t a huge fan of this book. It had some good topics but I thought a lot of it coincided with just “being a good person.” I also wish it used more examples in real life and gave solutions to those problems and how to examine each of them instead of using 4 different analogies.
It was a well intentioned book but I personally didn’t get anything out of it
It was a well intentioned book but I personally didn’t get anything out of it
December 21, 2018
The book has potential but some stories used as examples did not capture the topic as well as I had expected
I learned a lot from the book and intend to use them and see if I too can make small changes to get big impacts.
I learned a lot from the book and intend to use them and see if I too can make small changes to get big impacts.
February 10, 2019
Very practical, and easy to follow.
At times, it may see that the areas covered are trivial and evident, but the strength of the book is in gathering all the info, elements, points of views and distill them in the book.
At times, it may see that the areas covered are trivial and evident, but the strength of the book is in gathering all the info, elements, points of views and distill them in the book.
August 26, 2019
Quite possibly one of the worst books I've ever read. Rambling anecdotes that have no connection to the "intentional behavior" and absolutely no coherent themes throughout. The 12 Behaviors maybe could have been made into a blog post.
January 30, 2020
Best take away was the monkey and banana metaphor often used to describe social conditionings and culture is a lie.
Otherwise a good book to listen on tape to while running. It covers briefly the concepts of many other mainstream leadership challenges.
Otherwise a good book to listen on tape to while running. It covers briefly the concepts of many other mainstream leadership challenges.
January 13, 2017
Shawn outlines 12 practical and tangible small acts we can do over time as leaders-and as people-to make our environment, our teams, our purpose and our impact in life more rewarding and positive.
January 2, 2020
Nice quick read. Lots of good, little, and realistic nuggets to implement.
July 3, 2021
A great book with lots of good tips on improving your leadership
February 20, 2023
Engaging and just the book I needed at this time in my career.
Definitely highlights the qualities of a leader that make working a 9-5 tolerable. Every team lead should read this.
Definitely highlights the qualities of a leader that make working a 9-5 tolerable. Every team lead should read this.
December 13, 2023
I was not a big fan of the writing style which felt very disjointed. It often felt like way more than 12 acts of leadership were being squished into this book. However, there was some good content.
August 13, 2024
3.5! It was decent and easy to follow. Some info was just blah
November 26, 2024
2.5 rounded to 3.
May 1, 2025
Good ideas, well written.
December 11, 2023
According to Rob Cross, associate professor at the University of Virginia’s McIntire School of Commerce, our ability to create energy in the workplace, with our colleagues around us, is a more powerful predictor of our success than other criteria, including function, title, department, expertise, seniority, knowledge, and intelligence.
Reads like a mediocre high school essay. It's just a mish-mash of professional tips, many of which I've come across in other readings. I got a few takeaways out of it. At least it was quick.
Select highlights below.
---------------------
The interesting thing about impostor syndrome is that the more successful we become, the greater the likelihood we will encounter more bouts of self- doubt.
Here’s the secret: they don’t know what they are doing, either; they’re just winging it, too. Social media doesn’t help.
We should try to remember these truths, as I remind myself when I feel doubt: you do deserve to be here. It wasn’t luck. It was your tenacity and hard work.
Pressure can yield excellence. The difference between those who become paralyzed and succumb to fear and stress, and those who interpret obstacles as something to overcome, is resolve. Resolve is a mindset.
Here’s what I mean: you can think and envision and ponder and predict what will or might happen when you start that new business, give that big presentation, run that marathon, or take that trip to Madagascar.
“When held accountable in a supportive way, mistakes do not become a mark against their self- esteem, but a source for learning what to do differently,” writes Paul Miller, associate professor of psychology at Arizona State University. “Consequently, children are less afraid of making mistakes.”
Often, the difference between teams that are successful and those that are not is in the way we measure success. Focusing on performance, rather than learning, is common, but that emphasis is misplaced. What is important is not how many sales we make or how many innovations we come up with, but what we learn and how we embrace that process that keeps us on the path to innovation and success.
Working in a world of constant change is half the fun of it. Deadlines shift, goalposts move, budgets shrink, markets evolve, new competition emerges, perceptions alter, stakeholders clash, and, just when you are ready to deliver, your product is antiquated. After all, it takes a storm to make a rainbow.
As they wrote about in their book The Progress Principle, Harvard researcher Teresa Amabile and her colleague Steven Kramer analyzed twelve thousand diary entries from 238 employees in seven companies to come to the qualified conclusion that the most valuable work motivator is a sense that we are making progress in work that is meaningful to us.
Be of service. Other motivators come from the outside, from someone else, but our most powerful motivator comes from within. The real question we should be asking is not “What can I gain?” but rather “What can I contribute?” Not “What can I get?” but “What can I give?” Not “How is this person hurting or even helping my goals?” but “How can I help this person achieve her goals?”
The reason is the illusion of expertise, or what Kahneman calls the “illusion of validity.” When we, as highly trained experts and professionals in our field, are presented with information that is contrary to our deeply ingrained experience or way of doing things, we ignore or invalidate the information.
According to Rob Cross, associate professor at the University of Virginia’s McIntire School of Commerce, our ability to create energy in the workplace, with our colleagues around us, is a more powerful predictor of our success than other criteria, including function, title, department, expertise, seniority, knowledge, and intelligence.
Often the team, or the boss, makes the assumption that, if they put super-talented people together, they will change the world. They will, but only if they know who is supposed to do what.
You see, only after the dogs were fed and cared for would the humans take their first sip of water. When you hear her tell the story, the reason is obvious: without the dogs in the wilderness, you die. Without the dogs, you are going nowhere.
“The culture of any organization is shaped by the worst behavior the leader is willing to tolerate,” educators Steve Gruenert and Todd Whitaker wrote in their book School Culture Rewired.2
We should live each day as we want to live the rest of our lives.
Reads like a mediocre high school essay. It's just a mish-mash of professional tips, many of which I've come across in other readings. I got a few takeaways out of it. At least it was quick.
Select highlights below.
---------------------
The interesting thing about impostor syndrome is that the more successful we become, the greater the likelihood we will encounter more bouts of self- doubt.
Here’s the secret: they don’t know what they are doing, either; they’re just winging it, too. Social media doesn’t help.
We should try to remember these truths, as I remind myself when I feel doubt: you do deserve to be here. It wasn’t luck. It was your tenacity and hard work.
Pressure can yield excellence. The difference between those who become paralyzed and succumb to fear and stress, and those who interpret obstacles as something to overcome, is resolve. Resolve is a mindset.
Here’s what I mean: you can think and envision and ponder and predict what will or might happen when you start that new business, give that big presentation, run that marathon, or take that trip to Madagascar.
“When held accountable in a supportive way, mistakes do not become a mark against their self- esteem, but a source for learning what to do differently,” writes Paul Miller, associate professor of psychology at Arizona State University. “Consequently, children are less afraid of making mistakes.”
Often, the difference between teams that are successful and those that are not is in the way we measure success. Focusing on performance, rather than learning, is common, but that emphasis is misplaced. What is important is not how many sales we make or how many innovations we come up with, but what we learn and how we embrace that process that keeps us on the path to innovation and success.
Working in a world of constant change is half the fun of it. Deadlines shift, goalposts move, budgets shrink, markets evolve, new competition emerges, perceptions alter, stakeholders clash, and, just when you are ready to deliver, your product is antiquated. After all, it takes a storm to make a rainbow.
As they wrote about in their book The Progress Principle, Harvard researcher Teresa Amabile and her colleague Steven Kramer analyzed twelve thousand diary entries from 238 employees in seven companies to come to the qualified conclusion that the most valuable work motivator is a sense that we are making progress in work that is meaningful to us.
Be of service. Other motivators come from the outside, from someone else, but our most powerful motivator comes from within. The real question we should be asking is not “What can I gain?” but rather “What can I contribute?” Not “What can I get?” but “What can I give?” Not “How is this person hurting or even helping my goals?” but “How can I help this person achieve her goals?”
The reason is the illusion of expertise, or what Kahneman calls the “illusion of validity.” When we, as highly trained experts and professionals in our field, are presented with information that is contrary to our deeply ingrained experience or way of doing things, we ignore or invalidate the information.
According to Rob Cross, associate professor at the University of Virginia’s McIntire School of Commerce, our ability to create energy in the workplace, with our colleagues around us, is a more powerful predictor of our success than other criteria, including function, title, department, expertise, seniority, knowledge, and intelligence.
Often the team, or the boss, makes the assumption that, if they put super-talented people together, they will change the world. They will, but only if they know who is supposed to do what.
You see, only after the dogs were fed and cared for would the humans take their first sip of water. When you hear her tell the story, the reason is obvious: without the dogs in the wilderness, you die. Without the dogs, you are going nowhere.
“The culture of any organization is shaped by the worst behavior the leader is willing to tolerate,” educators Steve Gruenert and Todd Whitaker wrote in their book School Culture Rewired.2
We should live each day as we want to live the rest of our lives.
January 18, 2017
In the already large and continually expanding gig economy, employees do not have the expectation of being able to work for the same company for decades and retire with a pension. Nearly all will move from job to job several times (the current conventional wisdom is seven careers) over the course of their working lives. If their current environment is considered inadequate, they will move on.
This new reality means that there is no longer the authoritative, top-down structure in companies, motivating employees to a high level of performance requires new management strategies. Some of the most effective new strategies are covered in this book and it is immediately clear that much of the content is based on the old adage of personal relationships, “Do the little things.” The title of the introduction is “Small Things Can Matter Most.”
The twelve “new” management tactics and chapter titles are:
*) Believe in yourself
*) Build confidence
*) Introduce challenge
*) Express gratitude
*) Fuel curiosity
*) Grant autonomy
*) Strive for authenticity
*) Be fully present
*) Inspire others
*) Clarify roles
*) Defy convention
*) Take a break
The explanations of these tactics are sound and logical, there is nothing that one would consider an “Aha!” moment, where there is an unexpected revelation. Yet, the material is well worth reading and for many managers essential reading. For while the modern worker does not try to burden their employer with providing a lifetime job with a pension, they do expect to be challenged and have the engagement go both ways. There is also no longer any stigma attached to job hopping.
This new reality means that there is no longer the authoritative, top-down structure in companies, motivating employees to a high level of performance requires new management strategies. Some of the most effective new strategies are covered in this book and it is immediately clear that much of the content is based on the old adage of personal relationships, “Do the little things.” The title of the introduction is “Small Things Can Matter Most.”
The twelve “new” management tactics and chapter titles are:
*) Believe in yourself
*) Build confidence
*) Introduce challenge
*) Express gratitude
*) Fuel curiosity
*) Grant autonomy
*) Strive for authenticity
*) Be fully present
*) Inspire others
*) Clarify roles
*) Defy convention
*) Take a break
The explanations of these tactics are sound and logical, there is nothing that one would consider an “Aha!” moment, where there is an unexpected revelation. Yet, the material is well worth reading and for many managers essential reading. For while the modern worker does not try to burden their employer with providing a lifetime job with a pension, they do expect to be challenged and have the engagement go both ways. There is also no longer any stigma attached to job hopping.
January 25, 2021
This was one of those nice little quick books that you can listen to at work to help you stay on task. Although there was nothing particularly new here, I found myself jotting down key points because I thought they were worth remembering. I need LOTS of reminders to be a decent boss/employee/human.
The first part of the book is your standard leadership fare. The last part kind of goes into self-care: getting enough sleep, practicing mindfulness, putting away your technological devices... I guess his point is that in order to lead you have to put your own mask on first. Solid advice, probably.
The first part of the book is your standard leadership fare. The last part kind of goes into self-care: getting enough sleep, practicing mindfulness, putting away your technological devices... I guess his point is that in order to lead you have to put your own mask on first. Solid advice, probably.
January 27, 2019
Another book highlights the behavioural things you should do as a leader.
Read
May 7, 2018I enjoyed what I read, but wasn't invested enough to keep going. Maybe will pick up again at a later date.
May 11, 2018
Poorly written and full of cheap advice
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews