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Good Authority: How to Become the Leader Your Team Is Waiting For Kindle Edition

by Jonathan Raymond (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 306 ratings
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"Required reading for anyone who wants to do more than merely manage people. Good Authority is a modern classic, and it will redefine what it means to be the boss." - Seth Godin, Author, Linchpin

Imagine a world where personal and professional growth are one thing, where improving your relationships and owning your strengths at work translate directly into the rest of your life.

Creating a company culture like that is not a dream. Through personal stories and real-life conversations, Jonathan takes you into the room with managers and employees where real culture change happens, and shows you a new kind of employee mentoring where each person gets the real-time feedback, support, and clear boundaries we all need to get beyond the patterns that hold us back.

In this provocative and timely new book, Jonathan brings together what he has learned over a twenty-year journey as an executive, entrepreneur, team leader and leadership trainer.

Combining his experience as the CEO and CBO of EMyth where he led the transformation of a global coaching brand with the lessons learned along his own personal growth journey, Jonathan walks us through a step-by-step approach that integrates the leading edges of both. You ll discover a way to lead your team that is both profoundly human and results-oriented at the same time.

Whether you re a CEO or business owner, executive, team leader, consultant, or coach, Good Authority will give you new ideas and inspiration you can put into practice. Most importantly, it will give you permission to be more of who you are at work than you ever thought possible.
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  1. Print length
    175 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publication date
    October 4, 2016
  5. File size
    1010 KB
  6. Page Flip
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  7. Word Wise
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Editorial Reviews

Review

Studies show that less than one-third of employees are engaged at work and that managers are the key to fixing the problem. Jonathan Raymond's Good Authority gives managers exactly the tools we need, and shows us that the best way to get people to be engaged is to be more engaged with them.

-- "Jonathan Becher, chief digital officer at SAP"

Required reading for anyone who wants to do more than merely manage people. Good Authority is a modern classic, and it will redefine what it means to be the boss.

-- "Seth Godin, author of Linchpin"

Full of practical, no-nonsense guidance for the leader who wants to do work that matters. If you're looking for a roadmap to help the people on your team to own their work, this book is for you.

-- "Bernadette Jiwa, bestselling author and brand strategist"

A beautifully written book that will help you be a better leader and build a strong and lasting company culture.

-- "Michael Port, New York Times bestselling author "

Review

“A powerful, personal, persuasive guide to becoming a better leader in the modern, digital age. Highly recommended!”
― Jay Baer, President of Convince & Convert and author of Hug Your Haters: How to Embrace Complaints and Keep Your Customers

“Studies show that less than one-third of employees are engaged at work and that managers are the key to fixing the problem. Jonathan Raymond’s Good Authority gives managers exactly the tools we need, and shows us that the best way to get people to be engaged is to be more engaged with them.”
― Jonathan Becher, Chief Digital Officer at SAP

“Jonathan has lived the changes he inspires other leaders to make. His refreshing new book is full of practical, no-nonsense guidance for the leader who wants to do work that matters. If you’re looking for a roadmap to help the people on your team to own their work, this book is for you.”
― Bernadette Jiwa, bestselling author and Brand Strategist

“Good Authority is a beautifully written book that will help you be a better leader and build a strong and lasting company culture. With the tools in this book, you’ll not only improve your bottom line, you’ll also improve the lives of the people at your organization, including your own.”
― Michael Port, New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of Steal the Show

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B01M06R11R
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ IdeaPress Publishing (October 4, 2016)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ October 4, 2016
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 1010 KB
  • Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 175 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 306 ratings

About the author

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Jonathan Raymond

Jonathan Raymond

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After twenty years of not being able to decide whether he was a business executive or a personal growth teacher, Jonathan stopped trying to figure it out. He’s the CEO at Refound, a leadership training company that teaches people how to have human conversations at work. He's madly in love with his wife, tries not to spoil his daughters, and will never give up on the New York Knicks. Jonathan is an experienced CEO and people manager and has thrown his heart, mind, and soul into more than a few culture change projects. He lives in Encinitas, California.

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
4.6 out of 5
306 global ratings
Incredible practical for building an empowering company culture
5 Stars
Incredible practical for building an empowering company culture
I wish every manager I had growing up had read this book. It’s a great guide to building a positive and empowering company culture through the use of candid feedback and holding employees (and managers) up to the highest level. If you’re looking to level up your leadership or create a space where people WANT to come to work, read this.
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Top reviews from the United States

Rish
5.0 out of 5 stars Beyond The Foosball Table Culture
Reviewed in the United States on October 11, 2016
Verified Purchase
Finally a book that addresses what is still kind of taboo in the workplace - Intermingling of personal and professional development. Mind you, the author doesn't talk about the extra-curricular activities, team-bonding excursions or the lunch yoga class in your office. It is not some "money isn't the only thing that drives people" rehash either. This is the closest roadmap (that I have come across so far) that shows you how you could build a company culture by working on "People Dynamics" , one person at a time. This is a critical tool for people in positions of authority in the workplace.

Where the book really shines is giving you a walk-through of the most critical and hard-to-have conversations in your role as a manager or in any role of authority for that matter. The author doesn't just skirt through the uncomfortable parts, he gets down to the intricacies - the tough conversations, holding people accountable, opening up to the vulnerability of being a leader, classifying and profiling people ( in a human sense!) - their strengths, weaknesses, how to mentor them , their motives, and even examples of how a conversation would go! I believe the stories are from personal experiences so you can model your own process. The stories are appropriately placed and as much as needed ( the book is quick to read and an easy read for that matter, unlike the filler books that have to more than 250 pages these days with unneeded stories).

When it comes to interpersonal dynamics at the workplace, there is not a manual with a series of linear steps that you can take.
I believe with this book, the author has been able to identify AND provide a vocabulary for one of the elusive parts of work life.

If I started pointing out everything that stood out to me, I would have to put almost the entire book here.
Personally, there is a lot more in these pages that I would have to revisit for again and again. I believe the lessons on Accountability and Archetypes ( doesn't sound Sexy I know) alone would be 1000 times the price of the paperback if not more. I honestly believe most people could be blindsided their entire careers by these blind-spots ( I know people that have been and it certainly was an eye-opener for me).

This was a "full" book in my opinion. It wasn't like a commercial where I got a couple of steps but needed to buy something else to get "the real insider secrets". I know the author has a coaching program ( and I am sure it is an excellent one!) but at the end of the book, it was't something I felt I NEEDED to have, there wasn't a sales pitch. I felt I walked with "full" pieces ( a lot of them for that matter) that are immediately implementable and something I would probably be using for years to come!

If you are in a position where you manage other people or rely on other people to be managing people, this is a MUST-READ!
5 people found this helpful
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Depeng
5.0 out of 5 stars Low on BS, high on insight.
Reviewed in the United States on August 21, 2022
Verified Purchase
This book is not written by a business school professor or a "thought leader" who's never led a real team. It is from an experienced leader/CEO/founder who somehow hasn't lost his true empathy towards his employees through his career.

The book focuses on illustrating a simple but profound mindset shift that helps you to truly balance the needs of an employer and those of an employee. Along with practical tips. If you just read the summary, it may seems too superfluous (accountability and that's it!?) but the book itself does help you connect the dots and nudge your brain to think in different ways.

Note 1: if you haven't managed people in your life, you won't get much out of this book. Connecting the ideas to your own management experience is very powerful.

Note 2: I personally found the "branding" of the frameworks in the book a bit confusing. However, the actual descriptions were very insightful.
2 people found this helpful
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Tony
4.0 out of 5 stars Waiting for a Book launch in the Philippines
Reviewed in the United States on May 14, 2017
Verified Purchase
Concepts were easy to understand. I enjoyed the archetypes from Friend, Fighter and Fixer. It was easy to relate this to any culture in varying degrees of relation to our current work cultures in the Philippines.
I found 1 link from the book that has an error on the website. Initially I was disappointed but after informing the company website. Mr. Jonathan Raymond replied personally to the query. He even added me to Refound group that gave me access to the newsletters of Refound. I felt really important with the personal response of Jonathan Raymond.
Thank you again Jonathan. I continue to learn and apply the knowledge of the book .
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Bryan Sykes
5.0 out of 5 stars This book should be the bible for “effective leadership”
Reviewed in the United States on October 4, 2016
Verified Purchase
Jonathan’s treatise successfully uncovers many ingrained leadership blind spots (behaviours and habits) that often go undetected resulting in ineffective leadership. I strongly recommend the Good Authority. Anyone who genuinely desires to better understand the underpinnings of influencing others to make positive change for the greater good would appreciate this read.

The book offers a much-needed paradigm for unlocking the hidden potential in others. The structure is set up like a careful surgeon working from the inside-out starting with basic tenets and principles of the Good Authority manifesto. I love #10 “The strength to wait for others to discover their own truth for themselves.” In era where disengagement is at an all time high, that principle alone is a game changer in terms of creating space that generates net value for all stakeholders.

In part one, you’ll be challenged to refashion your perspective about the concepts of culture and engagement through the lens of how each are best structured and functions to inform one another. In part two, you’ll explore a uniquely powerful paradigm to help people tap into their greater potential and to empower themselves to achieve greater success. Lastly in part three, you’ll bring it all together to focus on the practical tools and resources to bring about positive change right where you are. If you ever found your asking, “How can I offer the deepest part of my unique talent as a contribution to my community, work environment, or society at large?”, then let the Good Authority be your Sherpa.
2 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

PH
5.0 out of 5 stars Every leader needs this!
Reviewed in Canada on January 3, 2023
Verified Purchase
I first listened to this audio book and bought the physical book so I could highlight it. Well worth it.
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Anon
2.0 out of 5 stars Meeeh... Difficult to follow the main points
Reviewed in Germany on May 28, 2022
Verified Purchase
I found the book somehow interesting at the very beginning, but then I noticed how the book was quickly becoming more and more disconnected. Although I was trying to read the book very carefully (e.g., by taking notes), I couldn't follow the main underlying logics in the content/structure of the chapters, and I had to ask myself several times, 'What is the point you are trying to make, dear author? Be clearer, please!'

For instance, it would have greatly helped the reader if the author had worked a little bit more on the writing (it looks like the book has been written in one go without any revision), as well as on the organization of the book itself (what is the underlying narrative/main motive of the book? What is the connection among the various chapters? What about adding some key takeaway points at the end of the chapter, as well as at the end of the book?). For example, if someone asked me now to summarize the book, I wouldn't be able to report any key points, and basically, I will forget everything about this book in a few days’ time.

The author also makes very frequent references to (what appear to me as) imaginary situations that he refers to as sort of 'universal examples'; however, these imaginary dialogues among team members are often boring (no one is really interested in the story of Catherine or whatever) and do not get straight to the point, as if they were a sort of mystery story to be solved. Dear author, please just tell me the points you want to make without making reference to long stories that no one cares about, and everyone will forget about them after one second. They are also written using a sort of melodramatic, childish/high-school tone of language I’ve never come across at work.

The author also thinks everywhere is like in the US, so please note that all the examples provided in the book make sense only if you live in the US (e.g., the fact you can fire anybody at your wish). I've also found the overly exasperating use of acronyms to refer to some phases, or childish names given to processes, like 'the dial' (come on…), or the fact everything is an archetype. The author often refers the reader to later parts of the book (just tell me now!), and uses a paternalistic tone often to bring 'life lessons' to the reader.

I also found the last thought on 'work-balance' (according to the author, there’s no such thing as that), believed by the author to be true for everyone (including the reader) a little bit insulting/depressing. It’s your choice, dear author, to merge work with your private life, but most of the people are also happy (and are better leader/managers) by actually keeping them very well separated.
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Andrew Stewart
5.0 out of 5 stars Self discovery moment!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 30, 2017
Verified Purchase
Two bombshells for me: one was to beware the pitfalls of the friend archetype and the second was the awareness of my follower archetype (pragmatist) which explains a few challenges I have in my career and relationship with my boss.

A good read - highly recommended.
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars A good mix of practical actions you can take and different ways you can approach a situation
Reviewed in Australia on August 14, 2022
Verified Purchase
I'm a big highlighter on the kindle and I've highlighted a lot of stuff. Some of it I do already but there is definitely a lot of value in this book that makes it a worthy read for any manager or person in charge of a team. It's not a be-all and end-all methodology but it does provide a lot of possible actions you can take in order to deal with situations that arise. I impelled me to think more about my own management style and what things I already do and where I might need improvement. A great book that can most definitely add a few tools to the aresenal. :-)
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Evelyn
5.0 out of 5 stars A Keeper
Reviewed in Canada on October 4, 2016
Verified Purchase
An excellent handbook for leaders and managers to help pilot their way through the tricky waters of leading people effectively.
One person found this helpful
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