The Promises of Giants is a challenge to anyone who aspires to make a difference in their environment. Over 14 promises, it seamlessly intertwines personal anecdotes and workplace and social observation with the latest research, to provide practical, proven tips and strategies to empower you to maximise your own potential and inspire others. It is not a self-help book. It is a how-to guide for winning, rooted in the belief that the most unlikely of people, in the most improbable of circumstances, can become extraordinary.

THIS IS ONE OF THE MOST POWERFUL BOOKS EVER WRITTEN ABOUT LEADERSHIP. Adam Grant, #1 New York Times bestselling author of THINK AGAIN and host of the TED podcast WorkLife If you want to transform those environments to support success, you need to make some promises – to yourself and to others. These blinks will guide you through seven of those promises, so that you can actively support yourself in reaching your full potential, while helping others do the same. When we ignore the unique complexities of the humans in our human resources and box them into their job descriptions, we create a grim existence where people are not quite full people. When we illuminate those complexities, we avail ourselves of an entirely new range of possibility. We create conditions in which the most unlikely of people, in the most improbable of circumstances, can become extraordinary. The following excerpt comes from Chapter 8, the eighth promise, "I Promise to See You as an Individual and Not as a Job Description."

Summary

Leadership is a promise to support people not only through the inherent demands of work but also through the unique challenges that we put forward to stretch and develop them. Whether they meet those demands and challenges is not determined by output alone. As leaders, we promise to assess effort, process, diligence, and the individual’s willingness to learn, adapt, and grow into a true colleague and, in time, a fellow custodian of the culture. The way we understand many role descriptions needs to shift. Whether it’s social or a job description, people seem to imagine there is a tiny, barely capable version of a person stretching to occupy that cavernous role, when in reality the idea of a giant being suffocated by a label is probably a more apt metaphor. The content is of good quality - a lot of it is autobiographic based on his own experiences, and is about setting up a mindset, rather than a prescription for solving problems. I could find some new ideas in this book - and some such as Diversity & Inclusion which went into much more depth than other books of same genre. Here are three of them: When you invest emotional labor and start viewing and treating people as individuals, it unleashes their potential to contribute more than you thought possible when you hired them. More than you asked for in the job posting. It allows them to be a true team-mate. This is one key difference between teams and groups. In groups, your job description is the endpoint of responsibility. In teams, it is only the starting point. Giants will always set the tone, but giants should never dominate. In most workplaces, it is the preferred style of named leaders that shapes the dynamic of their relationships with direct reports and the broader workforce. In the Promise model, leaders must tailor their style during every interaction—planned or spontaneous—to engage that specific individual in that specific space and time.

Technical labor is usually predictable and well defined and the focus of our daily efforts. It encompasses the nuts and bolts of what it takes to “get the job done.” Basic skills, knowledge, and cognitive capabilities can be acquired through technical labor alone, as well as a fundamental awareness around processes and procedures, business strategy, and human resource management. Emotional labor means taking the time to understand individuals’ emotional needs. And that is serious, selfless work. It’s not as simple as the Golden Rule implies. That rule is more of a narcissist’s charter than good advice: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. No. Why would anyone in this increasingly diverse, international, and connected world, imagine that how they want to be treated is a good template for the rest of the world?! The author John Amaechi is a former NBA player turned psychologist and management consultant. Being 6'10" tall and bulky, John is considered as a giant. As a giant, even the slightest swing of your arm or jerk of your elbow can give an unsuspecting passerby a bloody nose. Hence giants need to be extremely cautious and mindful of even the slightest move they make. Leaders are like giants - and need to be so by choice. Every behavior of theirs has huge impact on people around them - their words, their body language, their actions, decisions etc. So like giants, leaders need to be cautious and self-aware of every behavior of theirs. And leaders can do so by making certain promises to uphold certain leadership principles. In this book, John takes us through 14 such promises. But Amaechi is a giant in another, more significant sense. After retiring from professional basketball, he became a psychologist. He wanted to explore and share two life-changing abilities that he’d discovered on his journey to success – both on and off the basketball court: the first was that he had the power to tap into his own potential. In fact, everyone does. No matter who you are, what you do, or where you sit in your workplace’s organizational chart, you’re like Amaechi: a giant. Whether you realize it or not. The book is extremely well written. Mr. Amaechi shares lots of examples from his work, his workshops and his own life. He bares his soul and ask that the reader do the same.It is past time that we reverse this trend toward the dehumanization of our workforce and start tapping into the unique talent that is right under our noses. To do this—to recognize the potential that lurks beyond job description—requires that we see every person as an individual and act in ways that are tailored to their individual needs. It requires that we take the emotional labor of work every bit as seriously as the technical labor. Some sections will be a bit uncomfortable to read. We all have our biases. We have been conditioned by our culture. We need to have the courage to question our long-held assumptions. But that’s bunkum. That’s not how it works. The most lasting interactions are seldom planned, and you will rarely know which will be the most consequential. Think about your own life and career, and you’ll see that this is true. When we reflect on mentors or managers who’ve inspired and shaped us, we rarely think first of their performance in formal or familiar situations—the sales meeting speech or the annual performance review. We remember how they treated us in everyday moments or unexpected periods of strife. John's ability to identify and communicate the qualities of effective leadership is remarkable. After reading The Promises of Giants, your view of the world will most definitely improve. -- JJ Abrams, Director, Producer & Scriptwriter, CEO of Bad Robot

Being a giant means committing to success – but not just your own. Giants understand that success isn’t an individual pursuit. It occurs in an environment where everyone is given the chance to thrive. That means taking a two-pronged approach to achievement. In one exercise he shared, the audience is asked to jot down the words they associate with a) LGBT+ and B) women. Then they are asked to jot down the words others think about the same topic. This is an eye-opening exercise. It shows how deep our biases run.

We cannot lose sight of humanity and individualism. We must promise to see more in our people than just what is outlined in their job descriptions. Organizational culture depends upon it. Realizing the full potential of our people depends upon it. And, ultimately, winning depends upon it. For example, have you taken the time to unearth all the hidden assets and liabilities that will affect the outcome? And how much thought have you given to the people and the spaces you’re working in? Success isn’t just about personal achievement, after all. It’s about creating environments that foster the potential in everyone. THIS IS ONE OF THE MOST POWERFUL BOOKS EVER WRITTEN ABOUT LEADERSHIP." Adam Grant, #1 New York Times bestselling author of THINK AGAIN and host of the TED podcast WorkLife Amaechi is a towering force for good with a rare ability to defuse the most pungent provocations. -- James O'Brien, broadcaster & writer