Look at me doing two book reviews within a week: This Infinite Game by Simon Sinek, and now Herding Tigers: Be The Leader That Creative People Need, by Todd Henry. I don’t love every book I read. Honestly, I just recently gave a negative review on a book that missed the mark. However, this was not that book. I can confidently say that this is the best book on leadership I’ve ever read. And I’ve read some of the greats (most of which were good). If I could say one overarching quality this book had that many others don’t is this:

Not only did Herding Tigers: Be The Leader That Creative People Need give great information (not just a bunch of inspirational fluff), but action elements. Each chapter ends with takeaways and action elements to do this week, month, and quarter. Not only that, but if you’re interested in even more action elements, there is a free workbook on Todd Henry’s website to accompany the book. That’s so legit.

Like in all my book reviews, I don’t give away all the information (because I want you to read the book as well). But I’m happy to share a couple of my favorite concepts. One of my favorite concepts of the book was the three “F”s of leading a creative team. Those “F”s are: Focus, Function, and Fire. Focus talks about what the team is working on, and also what they are not working on. Function refers to having the resources needed to be productive as a team. And Fire deals with keeping the team inspired and not bored. That, of course, is an oversimplified version, but you get the gist from this.

Another main point of the text was that creatives crave stability and challenge. By having both, creatives thrive. If they are missing one or the other, it leads to anger or feeling “stuck,” and if they are missing both, creatives feel lost. It makes total sense, the way Todd Henry explains it. You can download the book’s first two chapters for free right here.

Finally, it’s so important for creatives who wish to expand brilliant work to shift from maker to manager. Todd Henry discusses how to do this effectively in Herding Tigers: Be The Leader That Creative People Need. Give it a read! Or a listen (it’s on audible).

Talk to you soon,
Dale