Kevin Cashman - Leadership from the Inside Out. Becoming a Leader for Life

“Breakthroughs in neuroscience and the plasticity of the brain directly connect to Leadership from the Inside Out principles and coaching model. The book gives us the tools we need for leaders to grow and develop.”

“ Leadership from the Inside Out is a resource that spans the ages, integrates multiple disciplines, has experiential validity, and includes proven practical applications. Using (not just reading) this book is a transformative, peak experience.”

“Some books are noteworthy in and of themselves. Others serve as signs that something important is happening in the world. Kevin Cashman’s Leadership from the Inside Out meets both criteria. Throw in the fact that it is well-designed for reading and for doing the exercises throughout, and you have a real mind-opener.”

“ Leadership from the Inside Out is full of practical inspiration and demonstrates why Kevin Cashman is regarded as a world authority on effective leadership. If you want people clamoring to be on your team, read this book!”

“With hundreds of books to choose from on the topic of leadership, it is unusual to come across one, Leadership from the Inside Out , that has the potential to make a meaningful change in your life.”

“Authenticity is the single most important quality of leadership. In Leadership from the Inside Out , Cashman not only captures the essence of inner-driven, intentional leadership, he gives both seasoned and emerging leaders a road map to navigate the challenges of personal and professional growth.”

“ Leadership from the Inside Out is an inspiration to lead from a deep knowledge of one’s core purpose, creating value with true authenticity.”

“The challenge of leadership is to inspire an obligation for people at all levels of an organization to step forward and lead. Leadership from the Inside Out gives you the practical steps to develop leaders in every nook and cranny of your organization.”

It has been a decade since the original writing of Leadership from the Inside Out . As I step back to consider its impact, I find it very humbling and fulfilling to know that the book has been integrated into the curricula at more than 100 universities, became a number one business bestseller, and is influencing numerous leadership programs with its concepts. I ask myself, “Why did the book catch on?” Was it simply because it was one of the first leadership books to connect personal growth to leadership effectiveness? Perhaps. But, on deeper examination, I think its resonance was built on the foundation of timeless, enduring principles of human development and life effectiveness. These principles, including authenticity, courage, and purpose, are not simply values that are nice to have . They are enduring principles, deeply woven into the fabric of life, that produce tangible, measurable cause-and-effect relationships. They serve both parties, people on each side of the dynamic equation, and they tend to sustain their life-enriching impact for the long term. These time-tested principles are not fleeting fads, ephemeral fixes, or charm-school interventions. They are fundamental to who we are as human beings and essential to our effectiveness as leaders.

For almost 30 years, we – LeaderSource – have based our coaching, leadership development, and team-building practice on these same principles. Since writing the original Leadership from the Inside Out , it is extremely satisfying to see the mounting research from authoritative sources, which has finally caught up with and validated many of these principles. What we have known for years from working in the trenches with our clients is now being recognized and confirmed by highly credible, independent research. Jim Collins, in Good to Great , has validated the principles of authenticity and enduring value creation with his research on “Level 5 Leadership.” John Zenger and Joseph Folkman, in The Extraordinary Leader , confirmed through their analysis of nearly 400,000 360° assessments that balancing people effectiveness with results orientation produces quantum leaps forward in leadership effectiveness. Daniel Goleman, in his work on emotional intelligence, clearly articulated how deepening personal awareness and interpersonal connection produces more sustainable leadership results. Lominger International and the Center for Creative Leadership’s research has shown us that Learning Agility is a greater predictor of potential than raw intellectual intelligence. A study by the American Society for Training and Development (ASTD) demonstrated a 72 percent improvement in learning when coaching follows training. Korn/Ferry International and Decision Dynamics, through their Styleview™ Decision Styles assessment tool and study of 1.2 million leaders, have shown how effective leaders must move from task-focused decisive content to strategic and collaborative context to get to the top. It is no longer possible to discount these principles as soft ; they produce measurable results, and they are essential to substantial leadership, team, and organizational success.

In this updated version of Leadership from the Inside Out , we share more of this well-founded, corroborative research, as well as our new learning. Since our last writing, we have worked with thousands of leaders in more than 60 countries. We have coached hundreds of CEOs and senior-level executives worldwide at our Executive to Leader ®and Chief Executive Institutes sm . We have custom designed leadership programs for thousands more high potential leaders. We have taken scores of senior leadership groups through transformational team programs. Additionally, we have merged with Korn/Ferry International and now have 80 offices in 40 countries. We have abundant fresh perspectives to share. In the original book, we focused heavily on personal awareness and personal leadership development. While our continuing work has validated that personal awareness is essential to leadership effectiveness, it is not sufficient alone to make a lasting impact. In this edition, we go deeper and broader by expanding our coaching model with equal emphasis on Building Awareness, Building Commitment, and Building Practice, which measurably strengthens the effectiveness of your team and organization. We still hope to inspire profound moments of personal insight, but we also want to guide you into enduring, transforming practice. By the time you finish this book, our goal is for you to have had an integrated coaching and leadership development experience.