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Leadership Code: Five Rules to Lead By Hardcover – January 8, 2009

by Dave Ulrich (Author), Norm Smallwood (Author), Kate Sweetman (Author)
4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 84 ratings
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What makes a great leader?

It's a question that has been tackled by thousands. In fact, there are literally tens of thousands of leadership studies, theories, frameworks, models, and recommended best practices. But where are the clear, simple answers we need for our daily work lives? Are there any?

Dave Ulrich, Norm Smallwood, and Kate Sweetman set out to answer these questions—to crack the code of leadership. Drawing on decades of research experience, the authors conducted extensive interviews with a variety of respected CEOs, academics, experienced executives, and seasoned consultants—and heard the same five essentials repeated again and again. These five rules became The Leadership Code.

In The Leadership Code, the authors break down great leadership into day-to-day actions, so that you know what to do Monday morning. Crack the leadership code—and take your leadership to the next level.
Previous page
  1. Print length
    208 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Harvard Business Review Press
  4. Publication date
    January 8, 2009
  5. Dimensions
    5.6 x 1 x 8.2 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    9781422119013
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1422119013
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Dave Ulrich is Professor of Business at the University of Michigan and a partner at The RBL Group. He has published fifteen books and has worked with over half of the Fortune 200. Last year, Fast Company named him as one of the ten most innovative and creative business management thinkers. Norm Smallwood is cofounder of The RBL Group and coauthor of five books, including Results-Based Leadership. He is also on the faculty of the Executive Education Center at the University of Michigan Business School. Kate Sweetman is leadership development consultant and a former editor at Harvard Business Review.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ 1422119017
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Harvard Business Review Press (January 8, 2009)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 208 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9781422119013
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1422119013
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 12.8 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.6 x 1 x 8.2 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 84 ratings

About the authors

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  1. Dave Ulrich

    Dave Ulrich

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    David O. Ulrich is a noted expert on Human Resource Management. He is Professor of Business Administration and Director of the Human Resource Executive Program in the Stephen M. Ross School of Business, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. He is also a co-founder and partner of The RBL Group, a human resources and leadership consultancy, and has carried out consultancy work with many Fortune 200 companies. He was the editor of Human Resource Management Journal for nearly a decade between 1990 and 1999. From 2003 to 2006 Dave Ulrich took a three-year sabbatical from teaching to act as President of the Canada Montreal Mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

    Ulrich consistently argues for a re-assessment of Human Resources. He is very clear about the huge value strategic HR can and should bring to an organization, and challenges practitioners to "either give value or give notice." A lot of the mundane "back office" aspects of HR, such as payroll and benefits administration have now been outsourced. This means that HR departments and their leaders are compelled to validate themselves and their existence. Individually HR managers must concentrate less on what they do and more on what they deliver. Their goal must be the development of value-added HR practices. His new book 'The Why of Work' (July 2010) addresses the much broader issue of motivation. Ulrich's previous titles include 'The HR Value Proposition' and 'Leadership Code'.

    See more on the author's page
  2. Kate Sweetman

    Kate Sweetman

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    Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

    Kate is a founding partner at SweetmanCragun, a global management consulting and training firm. She is a “lifer” in the field of leadership development and its application to organizations and society. She has spent most of her time working internationally with clients. Kate is an entrepreneur, editor, researcher, writer, consultant, and coach. She recently returned from a three-year stint in Asia looking at leadership effectiveness in the 18 core Asian countries. Kate has done considerable work in the Middle East. She is a co-author of the fast-selling book The Leadership Code, published by Harvard Business Press. Kate is an expert chef, and invites all readers over to dinner when in Boston. She speaks rusty French.

    See more on the author's page
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Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5 out of 5
84 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

frederic lefeuvre
5.0 out of 5 stars Values-based Leadership
Reviewed in the United States on October 26, 2013
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Values and Vision are the roots of every leader and the crux of outstanding leadership. Knowing your own personal values and aligning them to corporate strategy is the way to ensure long-term success of your career and organization. This book shows you how...
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Eric G
4.0 out of 5 stars There are eleventybillion "self help" and "leadership" books out there ...
Reviewed in the United States on December 22, 2015
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There are eleventybillion "self help" and "leadership" books out there. I would however say this is one of the more interesting strategies I've read.
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Andrea N Boyle
5.0 out of 5 stars Offers fantastic principles
Reviewed in the United States on December 29, 2013
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This book has become a bible of sorts for me. I glance at it any time I run into a management hurdle or new experience as a manager. I highly recommend it to all managers.
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Fergie
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United States on October 15, 2018
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Great read
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Robert M. Fulmer
5.0 out of 5 stars A "Da Vinci Code" for Leaders?
Reviewed in the United States on January 6, 2009
Is there a "Da Vinci Code" for leaders? Ulrich, Smallwood and Sweetman purport to have found "The Leadership Code," As they point out, "This leadership code, like any other code, provides both structure and guidance, and helps you know not only what to do to be a better individual leader, but also how to build better leadership capability." Since there are probably "half a million books on leaders and leader¬ship, we turned to recognized experts in the field who had...already spent years sifting through the evidence and developing their own theories." Since I was honored to be included in their acknowledgements, my review may be somewhat biased. (But if they appreciate my work on leadership skills and development, they are clearly brilliant people, right?)

From their literature review and body of interviews conducted, they con¬cluded that 60 to 70 percent of leadership effectiveness would be contained in the leadership code. Their analysis and synthesis result in a framework that they believe is accurate, logical, and useful. While many academics will turn up their noses at the lack of elegance in their research design, the book is likely to pass a more important test: perceived value and relevance to leaders on the firing line!
The Leadership Code essentially breaks down into five deceptively simple rules:
Rule 1: Shape the Future. This rule is embodied in the strategist dimension of the leader. Strategists not only envision a future, they help create it . As practical futurists, they figure out where the organization needs to go to succeed, they test these ideas pragmati¬cally against current resources (money, people, organiza¬tional capabilities), and they work with others to figure out how to get from the present to the desired future.

Rule 2: Make Things Happen. The execution dimen¬sion of leadership focuses on the question, "How can we ensure that we get to where we want to go?" Executors translate strategy into action. Executors understand how to make change happen, to assign accountability, to know which key decisions to take and which to delegate, and to make sure that teams work well together.

Rule 3: Engage Today's Talent. Leaders who optimize talent today answer the question, "Who goes with us on our business journey?" After getting "the right people on the bus, talent managers generate intense personal, professional, and organizational loyalty.
Rule 4: Build the Next Generation. Leaders who are human capital developers answer the question, "Who stays and sustains the organization for the next generation?" Just as good parents invest in helping their children succeed, human capital developers help future leaders to be successful.

Rule 5: Invest in Yourself. At the heart of the lead¬ership code--literally and figuratively--is personal proficiency. Effective leaders cannot be reduced to what they know and do. Who they are as human beings has everything to do with how much they can accomplish with and through other people. Leaders are learners: from success, failure, assignments, books, classes, people, and life itself.

The RBL Group has developed both self assessment and 360 degree feedback exercises to help readers know how well they exemplify The Leadership Code. The book is well-written, engaging and pragmatic. Cracking the leadership code might help you take your leadership to a higher level--and you don't have to worry about crazed monks trying to stop you from sharing your insights.

Robert M. Fulmer, Co-Author, The Leadership Advantage, Growing Your Company's Leaders
7 people found this helpful
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Robert J. Newman
3.0 out of 5 stars Summary of Leadership Principles
Reviewed in the United States on March 8, 2009
A good review of standard leadership principles. Thought provoking and an easy read. More of a survey than anything really novel.
3 people found this helpful
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RVO
4.0 out of 5 stars Four Stars
Reviewed in the United States on September 5, 2016
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It is a good book with interesting concepts
One person found this helpful
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Professor M.S.Rao, Ph.D, International Leadership Guru, C-Suite Advisor & Author of 40 Books
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Book - Professor M.S.Rao Author of 18 Books on Leadership
Reviewed in the United States on March 9, 2013
This is one of the best leadership books I have read in my lifetime. I have used this leadership code for my new concept of leadership - "Soft Leadership". I have used this model in my book titled 'Soft Leadership: Make Others Feel More Important' which is receiving a great response globally. Also, in my research papers published by prestigious journals like 'Leader to Leader' and 'Industrial and Commercial Training' of Emerald. This book is a must read for all. It is worth investing your time. I strongly recommend reading this book.
2 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

Will
5.0 out of 5 stars Good book for everybody interesting in Leadership skills. It does not matter your level of expertise!
Reviewed in Canada on September 25, 2014
Verified Purchase
A great summary of thousand of leadership research and theories. Easy to understand with many real example from effective leaders in different industries.
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Andy K
5.0 out of 5 stars This book is great! The Leadership Code is one of the best ...
Reviewed in Canada on December 11, 2014
Verified Purchase
This book is great! The Leadership Code is one of the best "textbooks" I had to read throughout my degree
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