On Purpose Leadership by Dominick Quartuccio | Book Review

The email contains a photo of a red plastic broom with a dustpan leaning against a wall. On both sides were two workstations. Spaghetti-like wires and electronic boards piled on the top shelves.

The message body reads:

Team, 

The lab floor is dirty. As you know, the janitor only does the cleaning x number of times in a month. I've swept it. Please also do your share.

Sincerely,

The Manager.

Never once in a decade, working as an engineer, have I received such an email until I joined this company back in December 2021. I'm impressed by this simple gesture of our manager. That to me is a characteristic of a good leader. Before demanding it from others, demand it from yourself first. In other words, lead by example.

"You must master the art of leading yourself before you can effectively lead others." is the core message of Dominick Quartuccio's book On Purpose Leadership: Mastering the Art of Leading Yourself to Inspire and Impact Others. All the success of leadership hinged upon looking inwards before going outwards.

According to the author, here are the four tenants of the On Purpose Leader: 

• Purpose - What gives you the greatest energy. Your Why? What motivates you?
• Principles - Guides action.
• Plans - Execution
• Practices - Routines and habits for optimization.

3 Nuggets Gleaned from the Book

• It's often the little things that either erode or fortify trust in leadership.
• Losing energy is a by-product of complexity and lack of clarity. It signals that something is out of alignment with your purpose, principles, or the plan itself.
• When the people you lead aren't executing, it's either because you yourself aren't executing (coaching it), or you're not putting the proper accountability protocols in place (allowing it to happen).

And a favorite quote from Tom Bilyeu, founder of Quest, a protein bar company.

I'd rather run 200 miles an hour in the wrong direction than standstill because being in motion gives me valuable feedback on where the right next direction is. 

On Purpose Leadership Book Review

I love that this book is an easy read. I believe there are less than 50 words per page with illustrations that support the author's points. I finish it in three days and I barely got time in my schedule. 

See, I'm a software engineer and a mom. I work more than 8 hours per day because I wasn't the sharpest knife in the toolbox. Maybe, not yet. And I got loads of house responsibilities with an energetic little man at home. For me, to be able to sit down and read a book is a luxury. I thank the author, Mr. Dominick Quartuccio for keeping the book short and succinct.

This book deserves a 5/5 rating. I highly recommend it.