The Leader Who Had No Title: A Modern Fable on Real Success in Business and in

by Robin Sharma

One of the things I was recognizing as I met each of the teachers was that while they were primarily sharing powerful ideas that would help me lead within my organization, each one of them emphasized the importance of also leading a happy and meaningful life.

it’s easy to sacrifice relationships in pursuit of results. But the irony is that the stronger the bonds between you and your teammates—as well as with the customers you work for—the stronger the results.

Money follows contribution. The more value you create for all your constituents—from your teammates to your customers—the more your organization will see incredible financial success.

you really must treat people exceptionally well if you are really serious about reaching your highest potential in business.

If you want to win, you need to help others win. And part of that is doing all you can do to build a high-performance culture within your organization.

You spend the best hours of the best days of the best years of your life among those you work with. Doesn’t it make sense to really get to know them and have superb relationships with them? You’ll make friends. You’ll feel a sense of belonging. You’ll have a feeling of an encouraging community all around you.

When you show up fully for a teammate, that teammate will show up fully for you. It’s just human nature at play. Make others successful, and they’ll make you successful. But before someone will lend you a hand, you must touch their heart.

Leaders Without a Title always make the first move. Don’t wait for someone else to reach out to you before you start the connection process. You lead the way.”

Give away that which you most wish to receive.

If you want more respect, you need to be giving respect first. And then it will all come back to you in a river. Giving starts the receiving process.”

the single best way to inspire your teammates to become the natural leaders they are meant to be is to model leadership mastery yourself.

Leading by example is one of the most powerful tools for positively influencing change in other people. No one likes to be told to transform.

the humblest is the greatest. ‘Only the humble improve,’

an unbeatable organization is really nothing more than a series of great relationships cascading throughout the entire enterprise all singlehandedly focused on some inspirational outcome.”

One superb relationship inspires the next conversation, which moves on to the next one. And the ripple effect ultimately determines what the culture of the entire place will be like and the quality of the results the enterprise will achieve.

If you truly want your business to lead the field, everyone within an organization matters. Everyone within an enterprise is important. Everyone within a business needs to be engaged and connected.

If you’re really serious about winning in business, become a walking, talking, living, breathing hub radiating positive energy, excellence, and kindness to every person you are fortunate enough to help.”

“HUMAN,”

“The H stands for Helpfulness.

being radically helpful. So one of the most powerful thoughts I can offer you to reach leadership mastery is to always do more than you are paid to do.

human beings have these core human hungers deep within them whether they consciously know it or not. Every one of us wants to know that we are expanding our potential and growing as people. Every one of us wants to know that no matter what we do for employment, we are somehow making a difference. And we all want to know that we are living in a way that when we get to the end of our lives, we don’t feel we have lived in vain.

the U in HUMAN. It represents Understanding.

be masterful at understanding people.

deep listening. Speak less and listen more.

Most people’s idea of listening is simply waiting until the other person has finished talking so they can share the reply they’ve been rehearsing. For most of us our egos are screaming so loudly we have no ears to hear what anyone else is saying.

One of the deepest of all human hungers is the hunger to be understood. We all have a voice inside of us. We all want to express it. And when we feel that someone’s taken the time to hear and acknowledge it, we open ourselves up to that person.

“Because they feel safe, they slowly begin to take down the protective armor that they put on each morning before they leave the security of their homes and move out into a hard and fast world.

That person begins to see that you really care about them. That person begins to get that you want them to win. That person begins to realize that you have their best interests in mind. And so they begin to give you their very best.”

when that starts to happen, the relationship starts to ascend into outright success. Your teammates begin to worship the ground on which you stand. They’ll champion you, encourage you, and go to bat for you when you need them. And your customers will become your goodwill ambassadors evangelizing your good name to anyone who cares to listen to them,

M in HUMAN will remind you to Mingle.

Be out there connecting with your teammates and networking with your customers.

people love doing business with people they like.”

A in HUMAN?” I asked curiously. “Amuse,” came Jackson’s warm reply. “Most of us think work needs to be so serious.

having fun while you do great work will help you boost your productivity.

“The N in HUMAN

“Nurture.

even one angry customer is one too many.

nurture. Be awesomely nice. Being nice isn’t being weak. Please don’t confuse kindness with weakness.

Leaders Without a Title brilliantly balance being compassionate with being courageous. Being friendly with being firm. Being sincere with being strong. Yes, they definitely put people and relationships first. But no one’s saying they don’t demand the highest performance, the largest commitment, and the most spectacular results.

So be nurturing. Be spectacularly caring. Become outstandingly nice. Leave every single person who intersects your path better, happier, and more engaged than you found them.

Take care of people and the money will take care of itself. Help people get to their goals, and people will help you get every single one of yours.

people are really the most important element to a winning business.” “And relationships are one of the most essential pieces to a great life,”

balances being wildly ethical with being absolutely wonderful.

You can’t energize anyone around you if you have no energy yourself. And it’s not really possible to make others feel good about themselves until you’re feeling really, really good yourself.

this final principle of Lead Without a Title is all about the importance of training and strengthening your inner leader so that you perform at extraordinary levels when you go out to work. And building up such extreme amounts of internal power that you’re pretty much invincible in the face of deep change and relentless pressure.”

“To Be a Great Leader, First Become a Great Person.

“You can’t unleash peak performance at work until you feel like performing at your peak. You can’t show world-class toughness against competition if you don’t have mental toughness within yourself.

Lead yourself first. Only then will you get to a place as a person where you can lead other people.

love the best things in life. I adore wonderful music. I travel to fun places on my vacation. And I drink great wine. Life’s just too short to drink bad wine,”

“But here’s the key: those things are not who I am. I’m not attached to any of them. I own them versus them owning me.