Commonsense Leadership: No Nonsense Rules for Improving Your Mental Game and Increasing Your Team's Performance

Jack H. Llewellyn



Win the mental game before you ever step out on the field

Commonsense Leadership is the playbook for leaders who want to win. From rallying the team to hitting it out of the park, every leader needs to understand the mental game. It's what separates winners from survivors, and champions from second place—it's what gives your team the edge, and the strength to forge ahead through adversity. This book shows you how to boost performance with tips and advice gathered over 45 years of working with major corporations and world-class athletes. Whether your team battles on the field or in the boardroom, the mental component is a critical factor in determining outcomes—and left neglected, can become the number-one driving force behind failure.

A winning team must be highly skilled, but they must also be resilient, motivated, attentive, and ready to charge the field. Skills can be taught, but the mental factor comes from the environment and the leadership. This book shows you how to boost performance, with real-world solutions for instilling that razor-sharp mental edge.

• Emerge from setbacks stronger and more agile
• Learn to thrive on stress and play on the emotional edge
• Build a culture and environment that fosters motivation
• Adopt practical strategies for leading your team to win

When equal opponents are matched, winning ultimately comes down to mindset. Although sports analogies are ubiquitous in corporate leadership, the mental development aspect is too often ignored—but those who play the mental game and play it well have an unmistakable edge. Commonsense Leadership reveals the secrets to motivation and performance, with practical techniques for building a winning team.

Table of Contents

Foreword

Preface

1 Let Common Sense Be Your Guide to Leading

2 Recognizing Your Assets and Liabilities

3 Personality and Leadership

4 Goals and Leadership

5 Expectations and Leadership

6 Teamwork

7 Creating a Positive Work Environment

8 Leading Your Team from Habitual to Perceptual Behaviors

9 Teach Your Team to Visualize

10 Motivate the Environment, Not the Team

11 Lead by Thriving on Stress

12 Teach Your Team to Play on the Emotional Edge

13 Recover More Quickly from Adversity and Win

14 Help Your Team to Achieve Balance

15 Summary for Leaders: Winning versus Surviving

Index