The Silent Rebellion: Becoming a Modern Leader
Chris Lewis and Inez Robinson-Odom
Kogan Page (September 2024)
“People may not get all they work for, but they must work for all they get.” Frederick Douglass
In 1970 (in his classic work, Future Shock), Alvin Toffler made this prediction: “The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn.”
Whatever a company’s size and nature may be, its leaders at all levels must keep this prediction clearly in mind as well as this assertion by Marshall Goldsmith: “What got you here won’t get you there.” That’s true of individuals as well as organizations. In fact, I am now convinced that what got you here won’t even allow you to remain here, however and wherever “here” and “there” are defined.
To what does the title of this refer? Briefly, Chris Lewis and Inez Robinson-Odom are convinced — and I agree — there is a compelling need for “modern leadership” at all levels and in all areas of the given enterprise. More specifically, they stress the importance of leaders who
o Bring all stakeholders together, including the communities in which their employees reside
o Actively support effective communication, cooperation, and (especially) collaboration
o Insist on a high-level of civility
o Also nsist on being told what they need to know, not what they want to hear
o Wholeheartedly embrace Lao-Tse’s perspective on leadership in this passage from his Tao Te Ching:
“Learn from the people
Plan with the people
Begin with what they have
Build on what they know
Of the best leaders
When the task is accomplished
The people will remark
We have done it ourselves.”
They make excellent use of several reader-friendly devices, most notably QR codes that will enable you to access an abundance of invaluable material. For example, links to video and audio-only podcasts by the authors of each chapter. Also, they provide graphic mini-commentaries throughout the narrative (e.g. “Use of Social Media by Age Group in the US”) and a detailed summary of key points at the end of each chapter.
These are among the passages of greatest interest and value to me, also listed to indicate the nature and scope of Lewis and Robinson-Odom coverage:
o How Did Covid-19 Change Us? (Pages 1-28, 184-184, and 162-163)
o Leadership Profile: Iolanda Chirico (9-11)
o Leadership Profile: David Stanley (33-36)
o leadership (37-38, 54-55, 62-79, and 130-160)
o Anxiety (71-72, 163-164, and 178-181)
o What Matters in Leadership? Being and/or Doing (62-68)
o Success & Failure, Potential, Balance of Good &BBad (71-73, 165-166, and 188-189)
o Leadership Profile: Joe Schpani (75-79)
o Leadership Profile: Alicia Altorfer-Org (89-92)
o Leadership Questions (97-99)
o Leadership Profile: Donna Schoenherr (108-110)
o Benefits of Being “In the Zone” or”In the Flow”(115-117)
o o The Psychology of Persuasion (120-126)
o Leadership Profile: Jo Roberts (140-143)
o Alignment, Perception, and Leader as Midwife (169-172)
o Leadership Profile: Jacqui Campbell (178-181)
o The Leader as the Point of Culpability (186-187)
o Hope, Expectations, and Leadership (192-196, 155-207, and 213-216)
o Leadership Profile: Heather Bradley (213-216)
o The Loneliness of Leadership (219-220)
Customers and employees now have far more choices than ever before because they have direct access to more and better sources of information than ever before. In countless research studies, they continue to rank [begin italics] feeling appreciated [end italics] among what is of greatest importance to them. The customers’ silent rebellion is to stop buying the given product or service and then perhaps break the silence and badmouth it. Employees’ silent rebellion is to do only what is necessary to keep their job (“mail it in”) or undermine the success of their employer. The most valued employees tend to “fire the boss” and relocate to another employer.
So-called modern leadership faces two substantial challenges: Get most (if not all) employees actively and productively engaged in efforts to create what Jackie Huba and Ben McConnell characterize as “customer evangelists.” First, they must create employee evangelists. HOW?
Read Chris Lewis and Inez Robinson-Odom’s brilliant book.
* * *
Here are two suggestions while you are reading The Silent Rebellion First, highlight key passages Also, perhaps in a notebook kept near-at-hand (e.g. Apica Premium C.D. Notebook A5), record your comments, questions, action steps (preferably with deadlines), page references, and whatever you have learned that will be most helpful. Pay special attention to chapter summaries.
These two simple tactics — highlighting and documenting — will facilitate, indeed expedite your frequent reviews of key material later.