It doesn’t matter whether you work at a Fortune 500 company, a non-profit, or something in between: one area that is critical to the health of your organization is leadership — specifically, modeling “good” leadership and training leaders for the future. Creating and maintaining an effective leadership culture matters whether you’re part of a business, church, sports team, social committee, town hall, or something else. What does that mean exactly?
Today’s featured author explains what a “leadership culture” involves and how to create it — with ideas like defining, training, practicing, and measuring — in his newest book, Leaders Made Here. He believes that people want more than a paycheck and basic benefits from their job, and that most people do want to grow, though they may need a little encouragement to combat complacency. In his words, “the best leaders are always learners.”
Meet the Author — Mark Miller
Mark Miller began writing over decade ago when he teamed up with Ken Blanchard on The Secret: What Great Leaders Know and Do. In 2011, he released The Secret of Teams, outlining the key principles that enable some teams to outperform the all the rest. Great Leaders Grow: Becoming a Leader for Life came next in 2012, followed by The Heart of Leadership in October 2013, the 10th Anniversary Edition of The Secret in September 2014, Chess Not Checkers: Elevate Your Leadership Game in April 2016, and Leaders Made Here in March 2017. With more than 700,000 books in print, Mark has been surprised by the response and delighted to serve leaders through his writing.
In addition to writing, he really loves speaking to leaders. Over the years, he’s traveled extensively around the world teaching for numerous international organizations. His theme is always the same: encouraging and equipping leaders.
He also sells chicken. Mark started his Chick-fil-A career working as an hourly team member back in 1977. In 1978, he joined the corporate staff working in the warehouse and mail room. Since then, he’s provided leadership for Corporate Communications, Field Operations, Quality and Customer Satisfaction, Training and Development, and Organizational Effectiveness. Today he serves as the Vice President of High Performance Leadership. During his time with Chick-fil-A, annual sales have grown to over $5 billion, and the company now has more than 1,700 restaurants in 39 states and the District of Columbia.
He’s been married to his high school sweetheart, Donna, for more than 30 years, and they have two sons, a daughter-in-law, and a beautiful granddaughter. He keep a full schedule and lives an active life. He works hard to stay fit — but he also has a weak spot for Starbucks — specifically, Venti two-pump soy mochas with no whip. He also loves photography. He’s had the privilege to shoot in some of the world’s hardest-to-reach places, including Mount Kilimanjaro, Everest Base Camp, Antarctica, and the jungles of Rwanda.
Want to connect with Mark? Find him on Twitter or LinkedIn.
Discover the Book — Leaders Made Here
Every organization dreams of having enough leaders. Yet most take a haphazard or inconsistent approach to leadership development. They either assume they can find new leaders when they need them, or they believe leaders are born, they can’t be made. The consequences of this thinking are devastating, creating a perpetual shortfall of high caliber leaders; yet without them, no organization can thrive. The good news: this problem is solvable.
Bestselling author and Chick-fil-A executive Mark Miller describes how any organization can create a culture in which leaders are routinely and systematically developed, resulting in a surplus of leaders. Miller details how to nurture leaders throughout the organization, from the front lines to the executive ranks. He provides a game plan for organizations to create a deep and effective leadership bench.
To bring his ideas to life, Miller uses the story of Blake, a new CEO, and Charles, and old friend and colleague, as they search for best practices from around the world to ensure a continuous supply of their most precious asset leaders. Blake and his team then translate their findings into a practical plan that any organization can use to create a leadership culture that will ensure a sustainable competitive advantage and long-term success.
Intrigued? Visit the book site to download a free chapter, add it to your Goodreads shelf, or buy a copy on Amazon or Barnes & Noble.
What People Are Saying
“Mark Miller tells stories. He tells them with engagement and purpose. This book is no exception. The book is not extensive in writing, consisting of 144 pages (according to the publisher; the actual story is 130 pages) of easy reading. Even the format – font and layout – are conducive to making this a quick read. However, this small book can make an impressive impact on a leader. As straight-forward as the principles are, they could take a career to implement.”
— Roy Wallen, 5-star Amazon review
Learn More
Stop by the book site to learn more about Leaders Made Here, find tweets and graphics to share with your friends and coworkers, and read some of Mark’s recent guest articles.
Elizabeth Johnson loves the color yellow, strong {black} coffee, editing, and exploring the mountains in rural Wyoming and Utah, where she and her husband serve as church planters. In her free time, she enjoys learning new things, hand-lettering and acrylic painting, and gaming with her husband.