Chapter 1

Take control

The first task of any leader is to take control. As a manager it is easy to take control. You are appointed, you have a budget and you have people reporting to you. You probably inherit systems which help you manage performance, budgets and progress. To manage effectively, you simply manage the people, plans and systems you inherited.

But this book is not about management: it is about leadership. If you want to step up to leadership, you need a higher level of control.

As a manager it is enough to control the existing business. As a leader, you have to take the business somewhere different and better. There is nothing wrong with sustaining and gradually improving the situation you inherited – that is what all managers ...

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