How to Lead

This book is your essential guide to the theory and practice of leadership. Whatever your level in an organisation, this is your practical handbook for getting to the top and staying there. Learn how to:

• Get promoted, and survive promotion
• Influence and persuade someone, particularly when they're not your direct report
• Handle a crisis and survive adversity
• Step up and know when to step back in moments of risk, opportunity and uncertainty

Jo Owen has worked with over 100 of the best, and a couple of the worst, organisations on our planet. He is a founder of eight NGOs which have a collective turnover of £100 million annually. He led businesses in Japan, North America and Europe; he created a business bank; he was a partner at Accenture and is one of the founders of Teach First which is now the largest graduate recruiter in the UK. 

Part 1 Idea: set your direction 1. Take control 2. Why your idea matters 3. Crafting your idea: creating the future perfect 4. Ideas when you are leading from the middle 5. Communicating your future perfect idea 6. Build your idea into a plan 7. Sell your idea 8. Dealing with strategy 9. Strategy and the art of unfair competition 10. How to evaluate your idea
Part 2 People: make your network work 11. Find your role 12. Attract the right team 13. Motivate your team: theory 14. Motivate your team: practice 15. Motivation and moments of truth 16. Delegate well 17. Coach your team for performance 18. Manage performance 19. Dealing with difficult people 20. Difficult conversations 21. Firing people
Part 3 Action: make it happen 22. Managing change 23. Managing projects 24. Handling conflicts 25. Handling crises 26. Negotiate your budget and targets 27. Control your costs 28. Making decisions in uncertainty 29. Build your machine: the rhythms and routines of success
Part 4 Skills of success: the tradecraft of leaders 30. Use time well 31. Present to persuade 32. Making meetings work 33. Write effectively 34. Read for insight 35. Work the numbers
Part 5 Skills of success: the 21st century leader 36. Leading professionals 37. Manage your boss 38. Build influence across your organization 39. Influencing decisions 40. Listen to influence 41. Leading in a global world 42. Careering versus careers 43. Craft your personal success formula 44. Stepping up, not back: moments of truth 45. Act the part 46. Be the part