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The Lovable Leader
Become the leader people love to follow.
Have you noticed how broken our culture of work is? For too long, leadership has been defined by the bottom line, at the outrageous expense of the humans leading and being led. Obviously, results matter. But, now more than ever, leaders need to be so much more than a boss wielding the authority of a title to produce results.
The lovable leader knows that all people are capable of extraordinary things, that obstacles can empower you instead of limit you, and that your abilities combined with your choices give everyone you lead the opportunity to become a superhero.
In this essential playbook for new managers, you will learn principles and a powerful framework intended to guide you as a leader. It will teach you indispensable leadership skills, including how In The Lovable Leader , author, speaker, and strategist Jeff Gibbard offers an invaluable set of practical skills that will inspire people to follow you, make your organization a better place to work, and might just change the broken culture of work.
Have you noticed how broken our culture of work is? For too long, leadership has been defined by the bottom line, at the outrageous expense of the humans leading and being led. Obviously, results matter. But, now more than ever, leaders need to be so much more than a boss wielding the authority of a title to produce results.
The lovable leader knows that all people are capable of extraordinary things, that obstacles can empower you instead of limit you, and that your abilities combined with your choices give everyone you lead the opportunity to become a superhero.
In this essential playbook for new managers, you will learn principles and a powerful framework intended to guide you as a leader. It will teach you indispensable leadership skills, including how In The Lovable Leader , author, speaker, and strategist Jeff Gibbard offers an invaluable set of practical skills that will inspire people to follow you, make your organization a better place to work, and might just change the broken culture of work.
- GenresLeadership
218 pages, Paperback
Published January 25, 2022
3 people are currently reading
14 people want to read
About the author
Jeff Gibbard
2 books1 followerJeff Gibbard is an entrepreneur, keynote speaker, strategy consultant, and founder of The Superhero Institute, a certification program for coaches. Jeff is a long-time blogger and podcaster who hosts the podcasts Becoming Superhuman, Shareable, and Rogue. He has an MBA from Drexel University and a BA from Temple University. Jeff is committed to living a life of impact and purpose. He is a board member of Pathways to Housing PA, a housing-first non-profit that believes housing is a basic human right and the best path to solving the homelessness crisis. He is also a board member of the Council For Relationships, a non-profit helping make mental-health services accessible to anyone regardless of their ability to pay for it. Jeff lives in Philadelphia, PA, with his wife and daughter.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
April 13, 2023
Jeff Gibbard offers an invaluable set of practical skills that will inspire people to follow you, make your organization a better place to work, and change the broken culture of work. Thanks Jeff for preaching these important messages so few "leaders" truly exemplify! Maybe I like this book because is strengthens and supports my L.O.V.E. 2 Lead book mantra. Here is a summary:
For too long, leadership has been defined by the bottom line, at the outrageous expense of the humans leading and being led. Obviously, results matter. But, now more than ever, leaders need to be so much more than a boss wielding the authority of a title to produce results. Leadership is not an achievement, nor a destination, but rather a practice that you will adopt for life. This is what lovable leadership is about: the aspects of leadership that require emotional intelligence, empathy, humility, compassion, and trust. Amid all other externalities, these are the things we can control—how we relate to one another. Be the kind of leader people follow from company to company - one who fosters loyalty and grows cohesive and collaborative teams.
Mindset: Leadership is a choice, not a title. Leadership is a practice, not a destination. Leadership is a responsibility, burden, and privilege. Leadership responsibilities include goal setting, strategy development, communication, team management, and navigating change. “Leader” is just another role on the team. You must stay humble, so you’re not seen as a “boss.” You need to care deeply about your people. Care is an essential element of love. Loving anything would be difficult if you simultaneously didn’t care about it. If you want people to feel safe under your leadership – if you want them to trust you, if you want them to be loyal and hardworking for a shared cause, you have to care. To show your team that you care, you should make your leadership about them. Acknowledge and validate them. Be mindful of small gestures like saying thank you. Stand for your team members against outsiders, each other, and themselves. Serve their growth and success. Be their biggest cheerleader.
Trust: Trust is a feeling. You sense it deep in your gut. When you trust, you allow yourself to be vulnerable. When you trust, you feel safer taking risks. When you trust, you can build the deep connections needed to harmonize and align with your people. To build trust, you can sit on the same side of the table by setting the table (conversation context, stating and aligning goals), listening, practicing curiosity, validating (instead of judging), aligning, and getting consent. Remember the Three A’s: Acknowledge, Apologize, and Act. Plus, Announce and Ask. Be honest and transparent. Be consistent. Take full ownership (but not credit or blame) for your team’s success or failure.
Ensure that everyone embraces productive conflict to resolve uncertainty or inaction. Be vigilant about making repairs to the team. Always choose to lead with love over fear.
Communication is your single most important tool as a leader. Mastering the skill of communication is a lifelong endeavor for the lovable leader to continually pursue. Your communication determines your team’s capacity for success. Remember the three functions of communication: inform, influence, and inspire. Your capacity with these three functions exists on a spectrum that begins with misinformation, incapacitation, and demotivation respectively. When you master the art of communication to inform, influence, and inspire, you will be more effective, create environments for collaboration, and readily move everyone in the same direction. Set an example for how the team communicates. Be cognizant of the signals your communication sends.
Understanding where you want to go is critical because if you don’t, you are not leading... you are simply wandering. Great leaders are almost never in it (solely or primarily) for the money. Money is actually a weak motivator. Studies have shown that employees are more likely to be moved by intrinsic motivators. Once you know your destination, you need to chart your path to get there. The best-executed strategies begin with aligned goals. Start with the end and work backward. Involve your team in the creation of strategies to deepen their ownership. Document your plans to provide clarity to the team and increase accountability. Help the team understand and manage priorities. Increase accountability across the entire team by locking in commitments because commitments drive action, and genuine buy-in allows for genuine accountability. The daily practice of leadership is where ideas and words manifest in action. Appreciate each individual by judging them on their strengths, not their weaknesses. Be patient and resilient when detours come along - and they will. Use silence strategically and by asking more (and better) questions.
Maintaining balance as you lead is critical. Avoid extremes on the journey—too controlling and you’ll quash creativity and innovation, too lax and your team will feel directionless. Stay open, stay humble, experiment, and find what works for you. Sometimes you can make unilateral decisions instead of collaborative ones. Sometimes you need to assert control, and sometimes need to let go. Ensure your optimism is not naive. Cater your strictness and leniency to individuals. Balance your praise and criticism. Seek to understand what you need to do to bring out the best in each individual.
Physically, mentally, or emotionally weakened leadership can be a liability to your team’s success. Take care of yourself so you can take care of others.
For too long, leadership has been defined by the bottom line, at the outrageous expense of the humans leading and being led. Obviously, results matter. But, now more than ever, leaders need to be so much more than a boss wielding the authority of a title to produce results. Leadership is not an achievement, nor a destination, but rather a practice that you will adopt for life. This is what lovable leadership is about: the aspects of leadership that require emotional intelligence, empathy, humility, compassion, and trust. Amid all other externalities, these are the things we can control—how we relate to one another. Be the kind of leader people follow from company to company - one who fosters loyalty and grows cohesive and collaborative teams.
Mindset: Leadership is a choice, not a title. Leadership is a practice, not a destination. Leadership is a responsibility, burden, and privilege. Leadership responsibilities include goal setting, strategy development, communication, team management, and navigating change. “Leader” is just another role on the team. You must stay humble, so you’re not seen as a “boss.” You need to care deeply about your people. Care is an essential element of love. Loving anything would be difficult if you simultaneously didn’t care about it. If you want people to feel safe under your leadership – if you want them to trust you, if you want them to be loyal and hardworking for a shared cause, you have to care. To show your team that you care, you should make your leadership about them. Acknowledge and validate them. Be mindful of small gestures like saying thank you. Stand for your team members against outsiders, each other, and themselves. Serve their growth and success. Be their biggest cheerleader.
Trust: Trust is a feeling. You sense it deep in your gut. When you trust, you allow yourself to be vulnerable. When you trust, you feel safer taking risks. When you trust, you can build the deep connections needed to harmonize and align with your people. To build trust, you can sit on the same side of the table by setting the table (conversation context, stating and aligning goals), listening, practicing curiosity, validating (instead of judging), aligning, and getting consent. Remember the Three A’s: Acknowledge, Apologize, and Act. Plus, Announce and Ask. Be honest and transparent. Be consistent. Take full ownership (but not credit or blame) for your team’s success or failure.
Ensure that everyone embraces productive conflict to resolve uncertainty or inaction. Be vigilant about making repairs to the team. Always choose to lead with love over fear.
Communication is your single most important tool as a leader. Mastering the skill of communication is a lifelong endeavor for the lovable leader to continually pursue. Your communication determines your team’s capacity for success. Remember the three functions of communication: inform, influence, and inspire. Your capacity with these three functions exists on a spectrum that begins with misinformation, incapacitation, and demotivation respectively. When you master the art of communication to inform, influence, and inspire, you will be more effective, create environments for collaboration, and readily move everyone in the same direction. Set an example for how the team communicates. Be cognizant of the signals your communication sends.
Understanding where you want to go is critical because if you don’t, you are not leading... you are simply wandering. Great leaders are almost never in it (solely or primarily) for the money. Money is actually a weak motivator. Studies have shown that employees are more likely to be moved by intrinsic motivators. Once you know your destination, you need to chart your path to get there. The best-executed strategies begin with aligned goals. Start with the end and work backward. Involve your team in the creation of strategies to deepen their ownership. Document your plans to provide clarity to the team and increase accountability. Help the team understand and manage priorities. Increase accountability across the entire team by locking in commitments because commitments drive action, and genuine buy-in allows for genuine accountability. The daily practice of leadership is where ideas and words manifest in action. Appreciate each individual by judging them on their strengths, not their weaknesses. Be patient and resilient when detours come along - and they will. Use silence strategically and by asking more (and better) questions.
Maintaining balance as you lead is critical. Avoid extremes on the journey—too controlling and you’ll quash creativity and innovation, too lax and your team will feel directionless. Stay open, stay humble, experiment, and find what works for you. Sometimes you can make unilateral decisions instead of collaborative ones. Sometimes you need to assert control, and sometimes need to let go. Ensure your optimism is not naive. Cater your strictness and leniency to individuals. Balance your praise and criticism. Seek to understand what you need to do to bring out the best in each individual.
Physically, mentally, or emotionally weakened leadership can be a liability to your team’s success. Take care of yourself so you can take care of others.
September 21, 2024
This book is all about the work culture and how you set the tone as a Leader, and more importantly where you need to lead by example and serve your team, genuinely care and Where Empathy and Changing Work Culture: The book aims to shift the traditional work culture from one focused solely on results to one that values people as individuals worthy of care and respect.
June 2, 2025
Didn't find it much interesting as I have already read many books on leadership styles and didn't find anything fruitful in this book except leadership is your burden, responsibility, and privilege. Every experienced leader knows that in their hearts.
This book is definitely not for the experienced leaders.
Can be helpful for first-time leaders but nothing beyond that.
There can be far more better books in the market on the foundation or fundamentals of leadership.
This book is definitely not for the experienced leaders.
Can be helpful for first-time leaders but nothing beyond that.
There can be far more better books in the market on the foundation or fundamentals of leadership.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews