H3 Leadership: Book Review
Brad Lomenick, author of the Catalyst Leader and former lead visionary and president of Catalyst, just released a new book called H3 Leadership. H3 Leadership stands for: Be Humble, Stay Hungry, Always Hustle.
The premise behind the book is that the patterns and habits we cultivate shape the person we become. To that end, Lomenick shares 20 habits that will teach you to be a better, more effective leader. Through sharing his transition from Catalyst leadership to unknown next steps, Lomenick tells with great authenticity some of the lessons he has learned along the way and in his transition.
The book is broken up into three main chunks, with each chunk containing the 20 habits. He defines a habit as a practice shaped by behavior or daily action that helps turn ideals into action, principles into practice, and concepts into concrete. If you want to change, you need to create habits in your life. Leadership is hard work and thus must be habitual work. The three main questions he asks and sections of the book are:
Humble: "Who am I?"
Hungry: "Where do I want to go?"
Hustle: "How will I get there?"
Below I will provide an example of one or two of the habits listed in each section above. I recommend you buy the book and read it with a friend. Preston Hagaman and I read through the book together and discussed over iced tea (Preston) and coffee (me).
Be Humble: Who are you?
When is humility ever a bad thing? Never! Lomenick shares six habits in this section, including self-discovery (know who you are) and openness (share the real you with others).
A few favorite quotes from this section:
We impress people through our strengths, but we truly connect with people through our weakness and areas of struggle.
Humility looks good on everyone.
Talent and ability may get you to the top, but it takes character and integrity to stay there.
It takes years to build your reputation but seconds to lose it.
Stay Hungry: Where are you going?
My favorite habits in this section included the habits of curiosity (keep learning) and passion (love what you do). I probably resonated with both of these habits because I am a learner and I do love what I do at Watermark. Both of these habits keep me hungry and growing. I never want to stagnate or stand still. I hope my curiosity and passion never wane.
A few favorite quotes from Stay Hungry:
Never satisfied, but always content is the posture of a properly ambitious leader.
Every leader must force himself or herself to keep learning regardless of his or her stage of life or career.
Face your fears and take a risk. What would I do if I wasn’t afraid of failing? (by the way, watch this 15-minute video from my friend Ryan Leak, called Chasing Failure).
Always Hustle: How will you get there?
Now that you know who you are and where you want to go, this last section helps you firgure out how to get there: Hustle. A few of my favorite habits shared in this section were the habits of excellence (set standards that scare you), stick-with-it-ness (take the long view), and generosity (leave the world a better place).
Some of my favorite quotes from Always Hustle are:
Demand feedback: Use every opportunity to improve (side note: My boss does an incredible job of this. He asks for and offers feedback all day, every day. He is committed to developing and growing himself and others around him).
Great leaders are great finishers.
Margin is a powerful habit. It creates opportunities… and allows us to leverage time effectively.
Bottom Line:
I know there are a lot of leadership books out there, written from both Christian and secular perspectives. I am glad I chose to read this one. One additional aspect I liked it that at the end of each chapter he included a few bullet points and quotes from other leaders. I appreciate multiple perspectives on each of the 20 habits.
I think both a believer and non-believer could read this book and benefit from it. It’s not filled with Scripture (I wish it had more), but the book is clearly written from a strong, Christian, faith-filled perspective. My number one suggestion is to read this book along with someone else like I did with Preston.
If you’re interested in learning more about H3 Leadership, check out the book here and the H3 Book Website (on Brad’s blog) here.