After a week and a half, I've set up my new book Leadership Is/Isn't Easy, as a standalone product. It can be purchased for $12.95, much lower than the package that I was, and still am offering through the end of June. There's another another deal on that page where you can purchase both of my books; go check it out!

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the cover

Interestingly enough, I had someone ask me a question on Twitter about the title. It's interesting because I've been asking people for years to ask me questions they'd like me to address, and finally it happened, and of course it's on a book title. Hey, I'm not scared to address it.

The question was "is leadership easy or hard? It's an interesting question for more than one reason.

First is the assumption that leadership is either one or the other. It can be, but it doesn't have to be. It's kind of like good and evil; the majority of people have a bit of both in them, but one will usually outweigh the other depending on the person.

Second, not everyone will ask this question, but most people have probably thought about it, whether or not they're good at it. I like to think I'm good at it, thus it's easy for me. However, I always thought playing the piano was fairly easy until I watched someone who was outstanding at it playing. I also saw many people who thought they were pretty good playing horribly, either in tempo or making a lot of mistakes.

This leads us to the third point, which is people perceive themselves differently than others do here and there. Unless the leader has the guts to allow their employees to rate them here and there to find out how good or bad they are, they might have the wrong impression of whether it's easy or hard for them to do.

Of course, in the long run all of that is just a dodge; thus, I didn't answer the question that way. It would have been hard to answer it that way on Twitter anyway; only 140 characters available at one time.

Instead, I answered it this way, in two tweets; you're getting them both together:

Leadership is easy to those who care about making sure others have everything they need to be successful. Leadership is hard for those who believe it's all about them and getting things done their way only.

That might seem simplistic but the person on Twitter liked it. Still, let's flesh it out just a little bit.

In my post What Is Leadership?, I defined leadership as “the ability to get other people to agree with you and help you achieve your goal.”

How do you get other people to agree with you?

Do you do it by forcing them to do things they may not like to do? Do you do it by making them feel insignificant? Do you do it by telling them what to do every step of the way, or by ignoring them and expecting that they'll know what to do?

Not even close. Sure, they may come along, but they never agree with you, even if you're right. In those instances, you may get good results out of spite, but in the long run you'll fail.

Do you get people to agree with you by explaining what the goals are and allowing them to participate? Do you get agreement by giving them the tools they need to succeed? Do you get agreement by acknowledging their production, proficiency and how they get along with the team? Do you offer motivation by words and/or actions? Do you get people to agree with you by being fair and unbiased?

Indeed! They may not come along 100% but the majority will embrace what you're giving them. They're more willing to come to work. They're more willing to share in the process. They want to succeed by helping you succeed. And you, them, and the company is more apt to be successful long term.

Which way do you think is easier? Look at my two choices above and decide for yourself. Then think about checking out the book (aren't I a master salesperson? lol). Also, let me know what you think here; after all, I don't write these things for myself! 😉