Boundaries for Leaders

February 25, 2013
Cloud (Boundaries) argues that the personal and interpersonal side of leadership is every bit as important as vision and execution. Leaders, he shows, set the stage and either propel or derail, and most of the time these issues have little to do with a leader's business acumen and more to do with how they lead people and the culture they foster. To that end, Cloud puts forth the principles of boundariesâ" that determine what will exist"âas a key component of effective leadership. He identifies seven leadership boundaries that make everything else work (or not) and shows how they set the tone and climate for performance. Leaders, Cloud suggests, are what they create and what they allow: the vision they invite, goals employees pursue, and behavior that is and isn't allowed. Leaders set the agenda and make the rules and therefore own the culture and the boundaries, which includes allowing for employee brains to work. Cloud also considers leaders to be the gatekeepers of organizational thinking, stressing the connection between control and results. For all leaders who have had less-than-hoped-for outcomes, Cloud offers an insightful and fresh approach to managing people to get the desired results. Agent: Shannon Marven, Dupree Miller & Associates.

March 15, 2013
Noting that a boundary is a structure that determines what will exist and what will not, Cloud, a consultant and author, shows how leaders set the boundaries that will determine whether their vision and people thrive or fail. Leaders determine what will exist and not exist. The author presents seven leadership boundaries that make everything else work and . . . they set the stage, tone and climate for people's brains to perform. These boundaries are helping people attend to what is important; building the emotional climate that fuels performance; facilitating connections that boost peoples' functioning; developing thinking patterns that drive results; focusing on what behaviors shape results; building high-performance teams that achieve desired results; and, for leaders, directing themselves in a manner that creates great performance in others. Cloud concludes with his advice to leaders: Take charge. . . . Create an environment and culture where people can be their best. Though clearly an infomercial for the author's consulting activities, the book offers valuable perspective and ideas.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)