The Catalyst Effect: 12 Skills and Behaviors to Boost Your Impact and Elevate Team Performance

by Professor Jerry Toomer, Craig Caldwell, Steve Weitzenkorn

Have you ever known colleagues who the minute they stepped into the conference room, on stage, or onto the playing field, elevated the performance of everyone around them? Someone whose impact within the team could be seen in nearly everything that was said and done? These individuals are catalysts - they spark excellence in the behavior and the performance of the entire team. The Catalyst Effect identifies the behaviors and skills needed to lead from wherever you are, regardless of your role or title. It describes powerful leadership and teamwork principles—12 clearly defined competencies, based on field research with professionals in business, sports, the arts, and non-profit organizations—that will elevate the performance of individuals, teams, and your entire organization. This essential guide will show you how to learn and practice these catalytic competencies and help your group and organization achieve greater success, improve team dynamics, and help teammates grow in stature while magnifying their value.

Genres: Leadership

303 pages, Kindle Edition

Published February 12, 2018

Reviews

[Michael Brooks · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this in support of various work-related initiatives and growth.

Some good concepts here helped define key differences in the kind of leader I should be as well as the kind of leaders the staff with me should seek to be.

A critique I would give is that often the examples and stories are not that helpful in illuminating the author's points. He regularly writes in circles and is repetitive. Sometimes, he takes a long time explaining and supporting something intuitive and obvious and then shortcuts other points when further explanation would be helpful. A book that was 300 pages could have been 150 and still accomplished his goal.

Overall, it is a solid read and one that would help many grow as employees and leaders.

[Jonathan Jerden · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book reminds me a bit of Peter Senge's "The Fifth Discipline," in that the original book outlined a most interesting theory about behavior but lacked much practical application. It wasn't until the Fieldbook came out later that we all did the 'ah ha . . . this is how we can apply it at work.' The catalyst theory of leadership is an intriguing one. The book lacks the guidance to 'turn the corner' and begin to both observe and apply some of the behaviorial benefits at work, recreation, etc. I look forward to The Cataylst Effect Fieldbook surely to follow.

[Wyatt Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Catalyst Effect is another grad school reading, which I was initially excited about for how it was lauded as pragmatic, practical, and skill based. It supposedly extended ideas and theories about leadership into concrete action items and ideas for improving leadership. I found this to be only sort of true. It will require some hard note taking and reflection to make that so, but those are things I could have (and have) done without this book. It, ultimately, is just another leadership book, like so many others. I’m left with two thoughts.

1. Leadership is simple but hard. Every book says the same thing. Have a vision, be value driven, communicate clearly, effectively, and inspirational. Be selfless. It’s about the mission and the people. Empower them by investing genuinely in each one, involving people in decisions and handing over and delegating responsibility where it’s possible to do so. A leader who has a vision worth believing in, a capacity to communicate it clearly and command a room, and a genuinely love for his people is bound to do it well.

2. It makes me appreciate Coach Mike Swider all the more. He was and is all these things, and just watching him and listening to him and taught me far more about leadership than all the books I’ve read. The real lessons in leadership that have given me value come from watching and imitating good leaders and men that I know.

[Lori · Rating 3 out of 5]

*yawn*

I guess if I knew how to sucker people into paying $40 for 12 platitudes and 37 stories, I too could write this book and sit back while the money rolls in.

3 stars only because the leadership advice isn't bad. It's just.... so.... thin. Purchased for a class I'm taking and will immediately put up for sale on Amazon. If you're genuinely curious, get a coffee at B&N and read this in the 20 minutes it takes you to sip your latte.

If you're looking for better books on leadership, try Simon Sinek or Jim Collins or the folks at VitalSmarts.

[Rich · Rating 4 out of 5]

Valuable book with great insights. Fantastic ideas for managers who want help their teams perform better.

[Mike Abrams · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book recently and really enjoyed the framework put together by Jerry and Craig. The cornerstones were easy to follow and the examples ranged from many different industries. Personally, I enjoyed the sports stories since a lot of them hit close to home. I highly recommend this book to everyone looking to become strong leaders in their organization.