Clear Leadership: How Understanding Leaders Make Themselves Understood, Cut Through the Mush, and Help Everyone Get Real at Work

by Gervase R. Bushe

Combating what the author calls interpersonal mush - a dysfunction that stifles learning, hampers collaborative teamwork and closes down honest communication - this text details the skills that make... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0891061525
• ISBN13: 9780891061526
• Release Date: March 2001
• Publisher: Davies-Black Publishing
• Length: 250 Pages
• Weight: 1.28 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.3" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

Incredibly Thought Provoking

In Western society we have excellent tools and models for dealing with the objective realities associated with money and resources: we have budgets, schedules, metrics, etc. But quite often, subjective realities play a more important role both in managerial decision making and performance evaluation. What tools do we have to effectively manage subjective realities like: what is the story through which I interpret actions my manager takes? what do I think my coworkers are up to? what did that statement/action just mean?This book offers tools for managers (and employees!) to get real with the people they work with. These tools will help you develop a better understanding of the subjective realities people around you carry with them. It can help people on your team to communicate more clearly and effectively with you, their manager, and each other.I quietly applied the techniques in this book and found that they were really useful in a recent situation with really difficult personalities. Frequent conflict existed between leads working for the same manager. It turns out that a large portion of the problem was the stories we interpreted each others actions through. To the extent we were able to clear up the untrue aspects of the "stories" ... which we seldom ever question ourselves about ... was the extent to which we were able to communicate clearly and develop cooperation.This is a great book, worth twice this price. The entertaining yet useful anecdotes skillfully make his points more memorable, and make it easeir to explain his concepts to others.

Tired of office toxicity? Buy this book for the cure!

Anyone interested in unraveling the mysteries of office toxicity, this is the book! Bushe masterfully ties together the psycho-social dynamics that make us all tick and offers sound strategies for creating clarity in our working relationships. Now here is the bonus! The book not only offers the keys to interpersonal clarity, it presents the ideas in language that anyone (toxified or not) can understand. For those involved in leadership training that is principles or values focused, here you will find the all important missing link. Bushe explains the psychology behind our thinking and behavior which often times is the driving force behind office dysfunction despite our most noble principles and values. I have read this book at least 4 times. I have sent this book to all the people who are important in my life. I have recommended this book to anyone who is genuinely interested in growing as a leader. Treat yourself and make this investment. In my case, it is the very best investment I have ever made. The book changed my thinking and then my behavior followed. This is from someone who has read all the leadership thoeries, seen many of the videos, listened to books on tape across country. Nothing has been as effective as this book. We will be hearing a lot more from Gervase Bushe in the future.

Fills a Strong Need

In today's corporate world, efficiency, effectiveness, and profit are diminished by communications problems. As a Certified Management Consultant, I hear clients complain about "communications" so much, I've dubbed it the "C Word." What's the problem? People aren't real, open, honest, direct, and thorough in their conversations with each other. Hidden agendas, inability to say what you mean, fear of consequences and more problems contribute to the debilitating "mush" that inhibits organizational achievement. We've certainly seen enough evidence of the problem in the serious problems reported in the newspapers in recent months. And more corporate crises are in the works because the people at the top are not providing clear leadership-clear, "real" communication. And if the role models aren't working, the rest of the bureaucratic system is in trouble. Bushe, a PhD consultant and professor of business administration, has given us a fine tool in "Clear Leadership." This is the kind of book that can be read and enjoyed, almost like a corporate novel. He communicates his message with a well-organized presentation supplemented by a wonderful collection of vignettes. The illustrative stories really bring this book to life, stimulate the thinking, and teach the lessons. As emotional beings, we all relate well to story-telling; this book has a good mix to help the reader get the message. I gained insight from the first two stories! Good stuff!The author's objective is to teach the skills that build clarity and agreement. To quote from the book, "Clarity comes from clearing out the interpersonal mush and sometimes requires an organizational learning conversation. This is a conversation where people level with each other about their experience so that they can learn about anad change the troublesome patterns they find themselves in. Agreement comes from the ability of a group to think together and make decisions.""Clear Leadership" is organized into three sections, plus a valuable introduction and an inspiring conclusion. Part One is Clarity and Mush in Organizational Life. Part Two, The Four Selves of Clear Leaders, has chapters on the Aware, Descriptive, Curious, and Appreciative aspects of the concept. Part Three, Clear Leadership at Work is filled with practical advice to putting this valuable concept into practice. A lot of knowledge, insight, and advice packed into 250 pages. It's the kind of book you'll want to share with others-maybe simultaneously-to build clear leadership in your organization.

Solid Content Well-Presented

Unlike those of so many others, the subtitle of this book really does suggest precisely what it is all about: "How outstanding leaders make themselves understood, cut through the mush, and help everyone get real at work." I would have rated this book another star had it offered truly innovative, cutting-edge thinking on what is obviously a much-discussed subject. Bushe does offer a somewhat different nomenclature but affirms essentially the same core concepts which countless others (e.g. Warren Bennis, James O'Toole, John Kotter, Peter Senge, and William Isaacson) have already introduced or refined. However, in fairness to Bushe, he has done an excellent job of organizing and presenting his material. His book will probably be of greatest value to those who have done relatively little reading on the subject.According to Bushe, Clear Leadership is based on four deep skills: "those of the Aware self, the Descriptive self, the Curious self, and the Appreciative self." In the Introduction, he goes on to observe that "these skills are easy to explain and demonstrate but tough to actually live day to day and master....Most of us don't act this way. Not because we lack the courage, caring, or basic personal integrity, but because we don't know how! No one ever taught us." His objective is to "teach" the reader a "system of interaction " which is based on specific "interpersonal dynamics." Bushe organizes his material within ten chapters divided into three Parts: Clarity and Mush in Organizational Life, The Four Selves of Clear Leaders, and Clear Leadership at Work. His sources are acknowledged within the chapter Endnotes.There is much to be said in favor of clarity in terms of shared goals and objectives, performance expectations, division of labor, channels of authority and communication, etc. Obviously, the effectiveness of any "system" of human interaction depends on it. Moreover, leadership is essential to ensuring that clarity is maintained throughout any collaborative effort. Bushe offers some useful insights into what he characterizes as "new skills and attributes" that are required of everyone involved in an "empowered" organization, whatever its size or nature. He invites his reader to consider very carefully a "basic, underlying platform, the absolutely essential and different ingredients that make a person able to use the usual assortment of management techniques and get outstanding results." Those in need of other perspectives are urged to check out the works of authors cited previously (Bennis, O'Toole, Kotter, and Isaacson) as well as David Maister's Practice What You Preach and Bossidy and Charan's Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done.