The Promises of Giants: How YOU can fill the leadership void --THE SUNDAY TIMES HARDBACK NON-FICTION & BUSINESS BESTSELLER--

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John Amaechi well understands the responsibilities and potential that come with being a giant. The Promises of Giants is the product of a lifetime spent observing and studying effective leadership – from accompanying his mother’s visits to her dying patients to competing at the highest levels of professional sport, through two decades of management consulting with multinational corporations. These experiences have shown that everyone has the ability to act decisively to influence the world in a positive way. Everyone is a giant to someone. But there are factors that work against us and make it difficult to fulfil this promise. I have already mentioned the stultifying effect of bureaucratic processes and policies that numb the mind and are often unnecessary. Further, though, as we become more skilled in the technical demands of our work and more familiar with the routines of our workplaces, there is a natural tendency toward desensitization. It becomes easier to put on blinders and operate on autopilot when carrying out responsibilities that have become habitual. Add to this toxic stew the cult of busy, which mandates that all serious professionals look and sound like they have no time to breathe, and you have a recipe for disaster. None of the promises are just about you—even that first group. Those promises are directed to you, yes. But leadership is never about the needs or desires of the leader or the external pressures that influence that leader. Leadership is not about the leader at all, in fact. It’s about the people that leaders elevate and inspire and those that they leave bloodied on the dance floor.

But that’s bunkum. That’s not how it works. The most lasting interactions are seldom planned, and you will rarely know which will be the most consequential. Think about your own life and career, and you’ll see that this is true. When we reflect on mentors or managers who’ve inspired and shaped us, we rarely think first of their performance in formal or familiar situations—the sales meeting speech or the annual performance review. We remember how they treated us in everyday moments or unexpected periods of strife. Hochschild noted that emotional labor in the workplace has traditionally been expected from women more than men—the idea being that emotional moderation of any environment is a woman’s burden. It is a ridiculous notion but one that has proven durable. Recall the word association experiment discussed in Chapter 4 and the descriptors that people used to capture their views of women in the workplace—words around nurturing and caring and mothering. And as a giant, it’s crucial to understand your innate power because of the second truth Amaechi discovered: that you can use this power to empower and elevate others – or leave a trail of unintended destruction in your wake.John Amaechi well understands the responsibilities and potential that come with being a giant. The Promises of Giants is the product of a lifetime spent observing and studying effective leadership - from accompanying his mother's visits to her dying patients to competing at the highest levels of professional sport, through two decades of management consulting with multinational corporations. These experiences have shown that everyone has the ability to act decisively to influence the world in a positive way. Everyone is a giant to someone.

Sounds pretty good, doesn’t it? But if you want to do something extraordinary with your life – whether that’s heading up a successful business, advocating for marginalized communities, or nurturing meaningful connections with everyone you meet – you need a solid game plan. That game plan is a series of promises you must commit to keeping, every day of your life. In one exercise he shared, the audience is asked to jot down the words they associate with a) LGBT+ and B) women. Then they are asked to jot down the words others think about the same topic. This is an eye-opening exercise. It shows how deep our biases run.The Promises of Giants is a challenge to anyone who aspires to make a difference in their environment. Over 14 promises, it seamlessly intertwines personal anecdotes and workplace and social observation with the latest research, to provide practical, proven tips and strategies to empower you to maximise your own potential and inspire others. It is not a self-help book. It is a how-to guide for winning, rooted in the belief that the most unlikely of people, in the most improbable of circumstances, can become extraordinary. From socio-political chaos and workplace disruption to the climate change crisis, we have never needed people with the skill and will to collaborate to create a better world more than now. We need people who are willing to fill the leadership void. People who will embrace the influence they have. People who believe in improving society and workplace culture – not only because it makes life better, but because it is proven to yield positive results. We need more leaders.