According to CEO and executive coach Daniel Harkavy, effective leadership boils down to just two things: your decisions and influence. Good decisions lead to strong results, which in turn increase your influence. If you get these two things right, your leadership effectiveness improves.
But as all leaders know, it's not that easy, especially in today's fast-paced, complex, and connected environment. To make the best decisions and have maximum impact, you need to see your business from seven perspectives:
- current reality - long-term vision - strategic bets - the team - the customer - your role - the outsider
Drawing upon his 25 years of experience as a successful CEO and executive coach, and including conversations and thinking from more than 20 well-known business and organizational leaders, Daniel Harkavy unpacks a proven framework you can implement for immediate results in your organization's culture and performance. If you're looking to improve your leadership, this book will give you a straightforward framework to do so.
Lots of generic, good things to say. Not as much depth as I might like, but pulls together a lot of ideas from various other sources into a nice short, succinct read.
Wow. Daniel Harkavy really brings a powerful framework in this book to help leaders become more effective in business and life. I truly appreciated the simplicity of the 7 Perspectives. Yet, I understand that despite that simplicity, that doesn't mean it will be easy to implement. Daniel shares great examples of each of the perspectives in this book that help to bring context to each. As he boils down in the sub-title, leadership comes down to improving decisions and increasing your influence, whether that is as a business leader, a human, a spouse, a parent, or a friend. Reading and applying the perspectives in this book could lead to uncommon results. I highly recommend.
Do you need a perspective as a leader? Business Coach and founder of Building Champions Daniel Harkavy shares the "The 7 Perspectives of Effective Leaders. A Proven Framework for Improving Decisions and Increasing Your Influence" in his book, published by Baker Books. His goal is to provide a proven new framework to enable leaders to become more effective. He states: "Your leadership effectiveness will be determined by just tow things: the decisions you make and the influence you have." His framework is supposed to help leaders to excel at both of them. The seven perspectives of his framework which he presents is his book are: 1) Current Reality, 2) Vision, 3) Strategic Bets, 4) The Team, 5) The Customer, 6) Your Role, and 7) The Outsider. Furthermore, he also dedicates a chapter to "Grasping the Framework: Getting the Most from the 7 Perspectives and a chapter to "Executing the Framework: Putting the 7 Perspectives into Action." The book is presented with an well rounded approach and presentation. Harkavy uses examples and tips from his own experience in coaching leaders as well as from interviews with other experienced leaders. The book fits well into the corporate setting and business world, but would need to be adapted / changed to fit non-profit organizations and churches. Furthermore his approach only fits the Western culture and mindset. There are a few notes at the end of the book, but I would have expected more of them for reference and in-depth study and research of the topic. I appreciate that Harkavy clearly states that he is aware that he cannot solve every leadership challenge and problem leaders with his approach but is convinced that the framework will improve leadership effectiveness. I recommend the book for leaders who are not only willing to know the 7 Perspectives but are willing to consistently apply them to their daily lives as leaders in the business world, but I also recommend that leaders of non-profit organizations and churches look for books on leadership that fit their setting better. The complimentary copy of this book was provided by the publisher through NetGalley free of charge. I was under no obligation to offer a positive review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. #The7PerspectivesOfEffectiveLeaders #NetGalley
This is a leadership book that does not provide specific instructions toward being an effective leader, but similar to the great philosophers provides a framework with which to become an effective leader.
To Harkavy, there are seven perspectives that need to harmonize for a person to be an effective leader. The first perspective is an accurate perception of current reality. As Harkavy also cited cognitive psychologists in this text, this can be comparable to a leader understanding the base rates prior to making a decision. Being correctly situated in reality, without any illusions, is the first step, and arguably the most important, toward effecting correct leadership.
Once that is understood, a leader also needs vision, which will provide the direction of the company or the corporation. To be able to bridge the divide between vision (future) and current reality, strategic bets are necessary. These are informed risks that have to be buttressed by insurance and the understanding that failure is possible and expected. Without risk, there can also be little improvement or progress.
Other perspectives are more external to the person: the perspective of the team can offer issues of interpersonal dynamics or a lack of direction for the company; the perspective of the customer also provides insight at optimizing the provision of what the customer truly needs. Understanding of one's role within the company is also pivotal: this is to better able to manage one's time and delegate what can be done by others.
Finally, an outsider's perspective is also necessary, because it is so difficult for us to see the speck in our eye that is easily visible to other well-meaning peers. Integrating these seven perspectives would likely lead to better leadership in this agile world.
V dnešním světě, charakteristickým proměnlivostí, nejistotu, složitostí a dvojznačností, tzv. VUCA, je snadné v záplavě informací ztratit přehled a je o to obtížnější v krátkém čase dělat správná rozhodnutí a nic důležitého při tom neopomenout.
V perspektivním zobrazení se vzdálené objekty jeví menší, vodorovné linie se na horizontu spojují v pomyslných bodech a trojrozměrné reálné tvary se prostřednictvím zjednodušující kresby přenášejí do přehledné roviny.
Díky perspektivě tak můžeme získat relativně lepší přehled o situaci, která se před námi rozprostírá. Daniel Harkavy ve své knize 7 perspektiv efektivních vedoucích hovoří o 7 klíčových pohledech: 1. současná realita, 2. vize, 3. strategické tipy, 4. tým, 5. klient, 6. naše role a 7. outsider.
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p e r s p e c t i v e
In today's world, characterized by variability, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity, the so-called VUCA, it is easy to lose track in the flood of information and it is all the more difficult to make the right decisions in a short time and not to forget anything important.
In perspective view, distant objects appear smaller, horizontal lines connect at imaginary points on the horizon, and three-dimensional real shapes are transferred to a clear plane through a simplistic drawing.
Thanks to the perspective, we can get a relatively better overview of the situation that lies ahead. In his book The 7 Perspectives of Effective Leaders, Daniel Harkavy talks about 7 key perspectives: 1. current reality, 2. vision, 3. strategic bets, 4. team, 5. client, 6. our role and 7. outsider.
Effective leadership is encapsulated through seven critical perspectives. Firstly, leaders must be deeply rooted in the current reality to navigate present challenges and opportunities effectively. Vision is crucial; leaders need to look beyond the present, offering a compelling future that motivates collective effort towards extraordinary achievements. Strategic bets are essential for bridging the gap between the current state and the envisioned future, propelling the organization forward with purpose. Recognizing the importance of diverse viewpoints, effective leaders leverage their team's insights to understand the business's unique challenges and opportunities fully.
Customer orientation is also key; understanding who the clients are, their value perception, and their evolving needs ensures that services or products remain relevant and appreciated. A leader's role is to contribute unique value, focusing on impactful activities while delegating or enhancing others' capabilities to manage additional tasks effectively. Balancing personal strengths and the organization's needs is vital. Furthermore, embracing external perspectives is beneficial; insights from outsiders can unveil blind spots and encourage growth beyond comfort zones, fostering trust-based relationships for broader viewpoints.
Leadership effectiveness hinges on making informed decisions and wielding influence. In an ever-changing environment, prioritizing confidence over certainty enables better decision-making, enhances influence, and elevates leadership effectiveness.
For those who are looking to become a more effective and influential leader in their organizations, Daniel Harkavy has laid out an important book here. He laid out a framework that is challenging and complex, while at the same time will simplify your role and bring clarity to your busy days.
Personally, the 7 Perspectives are all things I have thought about before and practically, but never put it in such clear buckets that make it easier to see the entire picture. This book has helped me realize just how important it is to be intentional about each of the areas in my role as a leader.
Not one of the 7 Perspectives, but one of my favorite concepts Daniel puts throughout the book is the idea of "intentional curiosity"—which is the idea that leaders should be less focused on doing or knowing and instead "an emphasis on questioning and understanding."
Recommend this book to anyone, but don't stop there—Check out Daniel's business Building Champions to get resources that help make these concepts in a book a reality in your life and business.
I was intrigued to see what Daniel was going to focus on in this book. While none of the things that Daniel brings up in his book is new he takes a fresh perspective on his 7 perspectives. If you are a leader that is looking for a quick read that will take years to implement then jump into this book because it is well worth it! You will not be disappointed by this book and you and those around you will get better as a leader!
Leaders: if you are looking for a tune up or a tool to sharpen your saw this book is it. I love the actionable yet conversation tone. This is an easy read that is a huge difference maker in personal leadership development.
This book was a simple, easy read. What was most helpful was to see how the 7 perspectives of leadership fit and work together. I've read books about each one of the perspectives, but Harkavy demonstrates how these 7 elements must work together. Worth the read, even if it's a skim.
The 7 Perspectives of Effective Leaders is a good book, but I couldn’t give it a rating higher than 3 stars.
Fairly early into the book, it became very clear to me that this book is for business owners. I was able to glean some nuggets of wisdom from the book, but once I realized that by “leadership” Daniel Harkavy means “business ownership,” the majority of the book became less applicable to me.
I think if you own a business and want to work on your leadership effectiveness, this book is worth the read. But for anyone else in leadership, skip it. There are plenty of great books out there for “leaders.” Don’t waste your time on this one.
“Your leadership effectiveness will be determined by just two things: the decisions you make and the influence you have.” – Daniel Harkavy
This is a great piece of work, I enjoyed every sentence of the book, a must read for every leader who wants to be the exception and lead their team to the next level.
It’s a book that must be applied! Get it, read it, write notes, and put it into action today! Plus free tools to help you evaluate your current situation.