Subject: Leadership -- the irreducible minimum

If you want to focus on the absolute essentials of leadeship, have a look at Steve Radcliffe's paperback Leadership -- Plain and Simple (Pearson, 2010).

He says that there are only three aspects to leading that you've got to grasp.  They are Future, Engage, Deliver.

"Leading always starts with ideas and thoughts about what you'd like to see in the future, how you'd like things to be, where you'd like to get to or what you'd like to build.

If you want the help of others to create that Futrure, you'll need to Engage them.

And third, in Deliver, you make things happen."

This may sound too simple, but Steve Radcliffe takes you through the three stages in a persuasive way.  He has a track record of working with very senior managers. 

For someone in their first leadership role, it can be a useful guide; for an experienced leader it can help you to boil things down to essentials and concentrate on them.  Recommended.