Are you a smart leader? Maybe there’s a better question. Do you want to be a smart leader? If the answer is yes, then you’ll want to get a copy of Smart Leadership – Four Simple Choices to Scale Your Impact by Mark Miller.

Miller is one of my favorite leadership authors because he is straightforward and presents exercises and information you can put into practice immediately. In Smart Leadership, Miller outlines four choices leaders can make to have maximum impact on an organization. He says, “Effectiveness is the strategy; the goal is impact.” According to Miller, a leader’s superpower is the power to make choices. Obviously, the idea behind this book is to help leaders make smart choices.

Here are some highlights from the book.

Smart Choice #1: Confront Reality

Leaders have many reasons for avoiding the truth. Maybe it’s a fear of failure, living in denial, arrogance, short-term thinking, too busy to confront, happy with the status quo, etc. But, Miller says, “Reality is a leader’s most precious ally.” One key thing a leader can do is to have trusted voices who speak truth and who help the leader stay grounded in reality. Leaders find these truth speakers by creating a personal board of directors, by finding mentors, by hiring coaches and consultants, and by using peer groups. The bottom line is a leader “can never stop seeking what is true about his/her world.”

One outstanding section under this choice is the importance of who you have on your team. Leaders must evaluate their team members to determine if they have the right people on board. Can the women and men on the team help the organization go where it needs to go? If the individuals don’t have the capabilities and the personal capacity to create the future, then they don’t need to be on the team.

Smart Choice #2: Grow Capacity

The best leaders are constantly looking for ways to increase their influence and impact. Miller says a leader’s “capacity for contribution is not finite,” unless the leader chooses to limit himself or herself. A growing leader grows organizations. As the leader you are not responsible to do the team’s job, but if you are doing the team members jobs, they are probably going to let you. A leader must create margin, so he/she has the time and space needed to reflect, assess, think, create and plan. Otherwise, the leader will always be reacting instead of creating.

Smart Choice #3: Fuel Curiosity

The best leaders leverage curiosity. Curiosity pays dividends in the short and long term. It fuels growth and enables leaders to envision the future. It sparks creativity, challenges complacency, creates energy, and can help “future-proof” an organization.

Miller recommends leaders learn to ask better questions, get out more, test and learn, and read.

Smart Choice #4: Create Change

Miller says leaders get stuck in action. They are busy, but not going anywhere because they are unwilling to embrace the fundamental idea that leaders are supposed to create change. “You can’t lead while stuck in the status quo.”

Leaders need a growth mindset. They must create a vision they can communicate so that it resonates with a diverse audience.

Final Thoughts

There are many exercises and best practice ideas in Smart Leadership that you can implement. It’s written in an easy-to-understand manner, but that doesn’t mean it’s simplistic. It has substance that should enable a leader to take his/her organization to the next level. So, I’ll ask it again: Are you a smart leader?

You can find more book reviews on my blog.