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“What has become clear over the years is that a “best” leadership style does not exist; rather a successful leader is one that matches the style with the current situation to maximize productivity and human satisfaction. The adaptability of a leader appears to be his or her greatest asset.”

Anne Breen

5-D LEADERSHIP
Key Dimensions for Leading In The Real World

by Scott Campbell and Ellen Samiec

5-D Leadership dispels the myth that there is only one right way to be an effective leader. Campbell and Samiec identify the five key Leadership Dimensions that most successful leaders use to master today's complex business challenges.

Using real-world examples from Harley-Davidson to Nestle, Rudy Giuliani to Shackleton's Antarctic expedition, they demonstrate that lasting leadership effectiveness requires the ability to shift between these five leadership approaches.

5-D Leadership delivers a dynamic process that helps current and aspiring leaders employ all five Leadership Dimensions. Offering a wealth of self-assessment and planning tools, Campbell and Samiec guide leaders to identify and leverage the strengths they already possess, challenging the conventional wisdom that demoralizes so many individuals with its emphasis on overcoming weaknesses.

By following the authors' recommendations, leaders will better achieve their desired objectives while avoiding the damage inflicted by relying on a one-dimensional leadership style.

"This book will challenge leaders to think about the needs of their organization and how to meet them with a well-thought-out strategy of flexible leadership styles appropriate to their situations."

Ralph Hyatt, Vice President & General Manager,
Toshiba of Canada Information Systems Group

Book Reviews

Kirkus Report
Stern & Associates
MidWest Book Review
Society for Human Resource Management

Campbell and Samiec offer a practical, inspiring guide to unlocking your leadership potential.

They argue that anyone can become a good leader—it’s just a matter of building on strengths and identifying and overcoming weaknesses. This book crystallizes the leadership lessons developed by Campbell and Samiec as consultants and speakers who have worked with the likes of Nike, IBM and General Electric.

They divide leadership into—you guessed it—five dimensions, all of which you must possess and master in order to be able to adequately respond to challenges. These are the ability to take charge, to possess and communicate a worthwhile vision, to get people to “buy-in” to that vision, to relate well with your staff and to develop talent in others.

With case studies from the realms of politics, business and sports—including the stories of Harley-Davidson, Nestle and New York City in the wake of 9/11—Campbell and Samiec move beyond the out-of-context pontificating so common in this genre and show how their abstract “tool-kit” is easily applicable to everyday challenges.

An important lesson for bosses who want to motivate their staff members and staff members who want to become bosses themselves.

This book stands out among the many on the subject of leadership by providing a clear framework of 5 dimensions (tools), each with strategic objectives and appropriate contexts for their application.

The dimensions are further made applicable by specific core building blocks (actions to take), made more meaningful by distinguishing between the intention behind the action and the manner in which it is carried out.

Numerous tools are provided to help the reader develop leadership competencies, flexibly using the 5 dimension framework. Central to the authors' approach is the use of dimensions to suit specific situations; chapter 8 provides an overview of seven common business contexts and their appropriate leadership dimensions.

The book also helps you identify the size of the gaps between leadership dimensions you have and those your current context requires; the next chapter offers a four-step process for overcoming large gaps.

The authors also explore ways to apply your strengths in unique ways that fit the demands of your business/organizational context. This is a highly valuable book that is well written and organized. It may be extremely useful not only for those who want to strengthen their leadership skills, but for those who train and coach others in the art of effective leadership. Very highly recommended.

Internationally recognized consultant Scott Campbell and leadership development specialist Ellen Samiec, cofounders and directors of the Toronto-based leadership development and coaching consortium 5-D Leadership, present 5-D Leadership: Key Dimensions For Leading In The Real World, a self-instructional resource for improving one's capabilities in the five dimensions of leadership: Commanding/Taking Charge, Visioning/Pointing the Way, Enrolling/Getting Buy-In, Relating/Creating Harmony, and Coaching/Devel-oping People.

Chapters cover the importance of knowing oneself and one's abilities inside and out, identifying contextual dynamics, leveraging one's strengths, and more.

Written in no-nonsense language with an abundance of examples taken from everyday events, 5-D Leadership is a valuable tool for practicing and prospective managers to hone their skills.

Many business books promote particular leadership styles, from servant leadership to strategic leadership to leader-as-coach, because potential leaders are shopping for one leadership style with which they’re comfortable, say authors Scott Campbell and Ellen Samiec. But different situations call for different styles of leadership, and this book’s goal is to show readers how to increase their flexibility and adapt styles to situations.

Campbell and Samiec are co-founders of 5-D Leadership, a leadership development training, coaching and consulting consortium. They outline five leadership styles, with examples of each, and they show readers how to build each leadership style for themselves based on the strengths they already possess.

The leadership styles are the following:

• Commanding. Used less often in today’s collaborative working world, this style—“taking charge and seeking immediate compliance,” as Campbell and Samiec describe it—still can be necessary in crises.
  
  Building blocks to develop a commanding style include learning to set priorities, issue clear directives, track compliance and enforce consequences if directives aren’t followed.
  
  
• Visioning. If staff members are losing their personal connection to their work, if tragedy strikes the workplace or if the group’s focus grows fuzzy, visioning leadership can create and communicate a clear picture of the future.
  
  Visioning requires learning to create a picture of the organization’s desirable future, to communicate that picture and to recognize people’s contributions publicly.
  
  
• Enrolling. These leaders seek input or use democratic processes at work to get commitment from employees. When leaders need to improve quality, enrolling leadership is appropriate.
  
  An enrolling leadership style is built from eliciting input, actually implementing others’ ideas, giving public credit for others’ ideas and learning to make decisions by consensus.
  
  
• Relating. The relating leader creates and maintains “harmonious relations” in the workplace in a style best used when there are rifts, communication problems or workplace stress.
  
  Relating leaders care about the whole person, paying attention to employees’ lives outside work and the impact those lives have on work. The book looks at ways to be more encouraging toward individual employees and workgroups and how to mediate conflicts.
  
  
• Coaching. This leadership style develops individual employees’ potential and performance while aligning their goals with the company’s.
  
  Would-be coaching leaders receive help in assessing strengths, weaknesses, motivations and potential of employees and teams. Finding stretch assignments, giving effective performance reviews and locating appropriate training opportunities build the coaching style.

5-D Leadership contains tools, including checklists of leadership strengths, worksheets to help you determine specific situations when you demonstrated successful leadership (and to help you figure out what you did right), and advice on soliciting and using 360-degree feedback about your skills. The book provides sample scenarios with questions to gauge your reactions and leadership styles in specific situations. Once readers have learned about leadership styles and examined their own strengths, they can draw help from the book in identifying the leadership contexts at work in their offices.

For example, in a fast-paced workplace, visioning and coaching might be needed to maintain focus, while an organization dealing with a sudden crisis might call for a commanding style with visioning and relating aspects.

Campbell and Samiec provide worksheets that let readers look at varied business contexts and then decide for themselves which leadership styles apply.

To contact 5D Leadership, click here