Leaders Open Doors by Bill Treasurer - Book review
Leaders Open Doors
A Radically Simple Leadership Approach to Lift People, Profits, and Performance
By: Bill Treasurer
Published: March 7, 2013
Format: Hardcover, 114 pages
ISBN-10: 1475976380
ISBN-13: 978-1475976380
Publisher: iUniverse.com
"Leaders open doors of perception, possibility,and most importantly, opportunity. This book is about how leaders help people and organizations by creating opportunities for growth", writes leadership guide, humanitarian, and Chief Encouragement Officer at Giant Leap Consulting, Bill Treasurer, in his transformational and refreshingly straightforward book Leaders Open Doors: A Radically Simple Leadership Approach to Lift People, Profits, and Performance. The author describes how the very concept of leadership has become much too complicated, and provides a simpler philosophy and practice of leadership that is both effective and caring of people and their lives.
Bill Treasurer recognizes that the theory and practice of leadership has become overly complex, and along with the introduction of complicated analysis and jargon, the real values of leadership were covered over with confusion. To remedy this overemphasis on formulas, technical terminology, and difficult to understand ideas, the author takes the principle of leadership back to its most basic premise. Bill Treasurers presents the leader's role as that of opening doors of opportunity for others to grow and succeed. That basic and simple concept forms the foundation of this book in what the author calls open-door leadership.
Bill Treasurer (photo left) understands that, as a leadership consultant himself, that the leadership consultancy industry has made becoming an effective leader more difficult than ever. Instead of developing effective leaders, the author points out that there are fewer good leaders than ever before. Bill Treasurer returns to the core leadership principle of helping to inspire leaders, to open those doors of opportunity for those they lead, to achieve their goals and aspirations.
Bill Treasurer provides a complete and readily understood set of concepts that share the principle of leaders as opening doors of opportunity for their followers. In keeping with the book's theme that leadership should be simply, and not overly complicated, the author shares the following six doorways of opportunity and growth:
* The proving-ground door
* The thought-shifting door
* The door to a second chance
* Opening doors for others
* The door to personal transformation
* The door to your open heart
For me, the power of the book is how Bill Treasurer combines a strong theoretical and philosophical framework, with the practical and hands on skills to become an open door leader. The author emphasizes opportunity and growth, but not only for the benefit of the organization at the present time. The principles also fulfill that crucial role of a leader of creating more leaders for the future.
To his credit, Bill Treasurer points out that while the open door leader principle is a simple one, it is by no means easy. As with any other effective leadership development plan, open door leadership requires constant self awareness, practice, and acting on the ideas to make them effective. Knowing that leadership is always a wonderful and challenging journey is part of the development process.
At the same time, the author points out the important distinction that open door leadership is not the same thing as having an open door policy. Indeed, Bill Treasurer considers the much vaunted open door policy to be a weak leadership concept. Open door leadership is not about opening doors to others; but instead is about opening doors of opportunity for others.
I highly recommend the clear and concise book Leaders Open Doors: A Radically Simple Leadership Approach to Lift People, Profits, and Performance by Bill Treasurer, to any leaders at any stage of their career development and in any industry, who are seeking a readily applicable road map to becoming a better and more effective leader. This book will transform you from an ordinary leader, to an outstanding leader, who creates opportunities and real growth for your followers as they become great leaders as well.
As an additional benefit of owning this book, Bill Treasurer has donated 100 percent of of the proceeds from the sale of this book to organizations that assist individuals with special needs. This generous support, opens doors of opportunities for people with special needs, to achieve their goals as well.