The Joy of Leadership : How Positive Psychology Can Maximize Your Impact (and Make You Happier) in a Challenging World

The difference between flourishing and floundering is 10X. The difference between quantity and quality is a factor of 10. The difference in levels of engagement is exponential. People functioning at the highest level are what the authors call 10x leaders. Research on these leaders consistently brought up five major strengths. This book teaches readers to become a 10x leader using these five key areas, the SHARP framework.●**Strengths****10X**leaders stop trying to eliminate weaknesses and__learn to focus on their strengths__●**Health****10X**leaders stop trying to eliminate stress and__learn how to integrate periods of restoration__●**Absorption****10X**leaders stop waiting for the lightning of focus and creativity to strike and__learn how to achieve consistent engagement and presence__●**Relationships****10X**leaders stop trying to exert power and control and__learn to cultivate healthy relationships through positivity and authenticity__●**Purpose****10X**leaders stop grinding out tasks and__learn how to find meaning and commitment in everything they do__The 10X elixir of peak performance comes not from focusing on just one of these areas, but from learning to light the fire of all five aspects of SHARP and functioning naturally with them on a daily basis. If you just cultivate one or two aspects of leadership skills you are unlikely to succeed. If one of the five isn't taken care of it affects the performance of the whole. But if you focus on all five areas, you will not only be more likely to find what helps you most, you have the best chance of enjoying the synergy of performance multiplication. Think of the last time you were at your best and working in the zone. Now compare that to all the time you've spent just going through the motions. How would you quantify the difference between the two in terms of how you felt and what you produced? Would you rate it as a 5% difference... a 50% difference? Most people would describe the gulf between those two states of being as vast—as deep and wide as the Grand Canyon. For quality of experience, engagement, productivity, and just the sheer joy of living, the majority of people asked to rate the difference between flourishing and floundering found it to be around a factor of 10. In their work with managers and executives at leading companies around the world, authors Tal Ben-Shahar and Angus Ridgway have identified a select group of individuals who consistently perform at their peak, and who make work seem effortless and working with them feel easy. The name they've given to those lucky few is “10X Leaders”. You know who they are. They're the team leaders who bring out the best in everyone. They're the senior managers who drive growth and innovation. They're the dream bosses, dream partners, and dream colleagues. There's a good chance you've encountered at least one 10X leader in your career—you're probably thinking of one right now. And you wondered how they did it. Dr. Ben-Shahar and Mr. Ridgway believe they know the answer. They have identified the core characteristics, behaviors, and cognitive styles that all 10X leaders share. Even better, they've developed a way for virtually anyone to cultivate those traits and ways of thinking in themselves to become happier, more effective, and more successful. In this powerful new book they describe their revolutionary SHARP (Strength, Health, Absorption, Relationships, and Purpose) program for becoming a 10X leader. They tell you the true stories of people at organizations around the globe who've become more effective by learning to use these performance multipliers. And they offer proven strategies for mastering those characteristics and habits for lasting change—the kind of change that can bring you greater fulfilment and success, not just at work, but in every area of your life. The difference between flourishing and floundering is 10X. The difference between quantity and quality is a factor of 10. The difference in levels of engagement is exponential. People functioning at the highest level are what the authors call 10x leaders. Research on these leaders consistently brought up five major strengths. This book teaches readers to become a 10x leader using these five key areas, the SHARP framework. ● Strengths 10X leaders stop trying to eliminate weaknesses and learn to focus on their strengths ● Health 10X leaders stop trying to eliminate stress and learn how to integrate periods of restoration ● Absorption 10X leaders stop waiting for the lightning of focus and creativity to strike and learn how to achieve consistent engagement and presence ● Relationships 10X leaders stop trying to exert power and control and learn to cultivate healthy relationships through positivity and authenticity ● Purpose 10X leaders stop grinding out tasks and learn how to find meaning and commitment in everything they do The 10X elixir of peak performance comes not from focusing on just one of these areas, but from learning to light the fire of all five aspects of SHARP and functioning naturally with them on a daily basis. If you just cultivate one or two aspects of leadership skills you are unlikely to succeed. If one of the five isn't taken care of it affects the performance of the whole. But if you focus on all five areas, you will not only be more likely to find what helps you most, you have the best chance of enjoying the synergy of performance multiplication. pt. I. The disaggregated world 1. The 10X effect : performance multipliers to achieve lasting success and fulfillment 2. Giving way to the new : the boundaryless Twenty-First-Century work environment 3. Myths of happiness and leadership : making the case for SHARP pt. II. What 10X leaders do 4. Strengths : making the most of your gifts 5. Health : injecting energy into life and work 6. Absorption : revealing the extraordinary in the ordinary through mindful engagement 7. Relationships : forming authentic and positive bonds 8. Purpose : meaning and commitment are the path to joyful leadership 9. The balanced approach : SHARP and cascading success pt. III. How to change and stay changed 10. Obstacles, and pathways, to lasting behavioral change : neuroplasticity and the possibility of joyful transformation 11. Creating new, durable pathways to joyful leadership : tools and tactics for making SHARP changes 12. Finale : the 10X effect revisited and becoming the sum total of who you are.