Soft Skills Hard Results: A Practical Guide to People Skills for Analytical Leaders

***BUSINESS BOOK AWARDS 2021 WINNER: SELF DEVELOPMENT BOOK OF THE YEAR*** Everyone says a great leader needs EQ, Emotional Intelligence, soft skills, blah, blah, blah. What does that even mean? Where do you start? Where’s the line for that on the P&L? You might think that business is all about facts and figures. You probably prefer it that way. The truth is that as uncertainty and business complexity increases, successful leaders need to embrace soft skills to get the best out of their people in a sustainable manner. In this succinct, no-nonsense approach, Anne Taylor shares: * Key soft skills relevant for leadership and practical applications of how to use them every day drawn from real-life case studies * Straightforward tools to better understand yourself, because your leadership starts with YOU * Simple frameworks to communicate with others to get things done while building a stronger relationship with them (at the same time, how efficient!) Logical ideas you can try immediately with on-line support if you want it. All done in an easy to read, logical, organized manner for people who prefer facts and don’t consider themselves natural ‘people people.’ In a direct yet professional manner, Anne combines the results-oriented focus from her extensive business background in Fortune 100 corporations with her passion for personal awareness and conscious choice to help you get better results through your people, fast. The practical principles in this book, when applied, practised and honed, can improve your effectiveness, impact and bottom-line results.

Table of Contents:
Foreword Note to Reader Introduction Part I – INSIDE Principle 1 – It starts with YOU Principle 2 – You think you know yourself? Go Deeper inside with more self-awareness, self-management and conscious choice Part 2 – OUTSIDE Principle 3 – Actively give (and solicit) feedback Principle 4 – Choosing a coaching approach more often over telling Principle 5 – Influence and engage through storytelling Part 3 – BETWEEN Principle 6 – Adapt authentically to others and the situation Principle 7 – Human interaction is a balancing act Principle 8 – Choose courage and vulnerability in leadership (and life) Part 4 - BEYOND Principle 9 – Live a life of no regrets Principle 10 – Live a life of gratitude Final note to reader Contact, coaching and speaking Acknowledgments Notes Bibliography Index of Tools

About the Author :
Anne Taylor is the Director of DIRECTions Coaching Ltd. Armed with a degree in Business from Wilfrid Laurier University in Canada, she built an impressive career over 20 years with companies such as Procter & Gamble and Nestlé where she held positions of increasing responsibility in marketing, overall business management and business strategy development. After leaving her Global Marketing role at Nestlé in Switzerland, she re-trained as an Executive Coach. Her first clients included IMD business school and Nestlé. Later in the UK she established a successful practice with clients such as LEGO®, Deutsche Bank, L’Oréal and Ford among others. She is an associate coach for London Business School and LHH Penna and is certified through ICF to the level of Professional Certified Coach – one of fewer than 300 in the UK. She creates safe spaces for executives to grow as leaders by bringing challenge & support and provocation & acceptance. She helps successful leaders their impact particularly around EQ, strategic thinking and influencing.

Review :
Loved this book! Easy to read, full of practical advice and resources for maximizing your potential as a leader and your team’s potential. Buzzing with ideas on how I’ll implement them! This intelligent, well-written and thought-provoking book is packed with practical and actionable insights into the challenges of leadership. Ms Taylor’s personal experience as a senior executive in major corporations has clearly given her an acute appreciation of the importance that's attached to the emotional life of her professional colleagues. In this book, she shows how leaders that develop 'soft skills’ can increase their own effectiveness - and bring significant advantages to the organisations they manage. Good book on emotional intelligence. It proves that people leave and managers and not bad companies. This is one of the key and well known findings. How can managers who are very good at business become emotionally empowered leaders? The question sounds easier than the answer. Some good advice can be found in this book. Personally I hate the nomenclature of "soft skills," as if these skills are somehow weaker or less serious than technical skills. The truth is that it takes a variety of skills and qualities to make an effective leader or colleague, and these are essential to the success of any endeavor, as anyone who's suffered through bad leadership or a toxic environment knows well. This book is actually a wonderful bridge, though. It seamlessly leads a person who might have been oblivious to people skills on a journey to competence in interpersonal communication and leadership. It is logical and practical, answering the resistance and frustration that usually arises when these topics come up. Buy it for your floundering boss and lousy coworkers ASAP, and get yourself a copy too--we can all use a little more emotional intelligence. Thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for a digital ARC for the purpose of an unbiased review.