OCTOBER 13, 2016

BOOK REVIEW:
THE LEADER WHO HAD NO TITLE

LEADERSHIP SKILLS MBA RAFFLES UNIVERSITY ISKANDAR

SITI NURAZIAH SYED SARUAT NASIM
STUDENT ID: 201620050
 INTRODUCTION

Robin Sharma, a litigation lawyer that was dissatisfied with his life that he left his legal
career at the age of 25. He later wrote and published his first book, “The Monk Who Sold His
Ferrari” and it even successful and became a Canadian and international best seller when
HarperCollins, a famous publisher picked it up and redistributed the book again.

Sharma has more than 20 years of experience and have spoken to bug organizations
such as Nike, Microsoft, PwC and HP. He has since published 11 more books on leadership
and founded the leadership training firm Sharma Leadership International in 2007.

When I started reading his book, the first thing I noticed was the simple language he
has used throughout the book. His use of language was easy to read and comprehend and the
book was easily divided into chapters that explained each theory completely before moving on
to the next theory. There are so many valuable ideas that can be garnered from this book that
I do not know where to start. Let’s start with the simple concepts first.

Sharma starts with his fictional character Blake Davis and went on to outline his life in
detail. During his struggles, he then meets Tommy that soon became his mentor and started to
impart valuable ideas on leadership and slowly changed his life. Tommy introduced LWT,
Leader With No Title to Blake and thus began the journey filled with acronyms, short forms;
meant for easy recall and remembrance. And Tommy introduces 3 more mentors to Blake and
each mentor has an acronym about leadership.

As I was reading the book, the concepts that were being laid out was similar to the
teachings of Islam. For this book review, I would like to draw some parallels to the teachings
in Islam. In Islam, leadership is part of Islam as each Muslim is a Caliph in his/her family. A
Caliph is a leader and Islam teaches us to be a Caliph every day, every minute, every second
in our life journey

L.W.T – Leader without title

The first acronym that was introduced in this book. It explains that there are those
individuals that are leaders not because of a position in a company or a title that he or she is
born with; rather a leader can emerge from just a plain Jane. In this beginning chapter, Blake
is made to realize that anyone can have and use leadership traits without waiting for a title or
position in a company. “Leadership is for everyone”, Tommy says and everyone can unleash
their inner leader if they choose to. Tommy went on to explain that there is more satisfaction
and accomplishment if Blake applies the simple principles of inner leader in his life
immediately.

In this first chapters, Tommy talks about the motivating factor in a leader is not
necessarily about money, it is the satisfaction of doing a job well consistently. Tommy also
talks about doing the best daily, every time which is essential to embark on a leadership
journey. The basic teachings are introduced in this chapter. Tommy explains about SEW –
Seriously Exceptional Work for a leader to apply. Tommy also talks about the ease of
becoming a leader in the workplace.

I.M.A.G.E

The second mentor taught about IMAGE – innovation, mastery, authentic, guts, and
ethics. Simple and each trait is important to fuel the leadership spirit. And these are the same
traits that is taught to me in Islam. Islam teaches all its disciples the importance of innovation;
our actions today has to be better than yesterday. The Prophet Muhammad, Messenger of Allah
who brought the teachings of Islam was an exemplary leader. Throughout the Prophet’s life,
he led by example. For an illiterate, Prophet Muhammad was innovative and visionary with
his actions and results. The Prophet was able to spread the teachings of Islam into Europe and
Asia all through using his innovative methods. The Prophet was a master in Islam, he
memorized and could recite the Quran at all times. The Prophet was authentic, he only speaks
the truth and there is no one more authentic that the Prophet himself. The Prophet was able to
unite the warring tribes in Makkah by using his guts and ethics; and governed Arab in harmony
amongst Muslims, Jews and Christians.

Through his teachings, the Prophet also built future leaders who were able to continue
his legacy until today. They are the 4 Caliphs who ruled the Islam Empire with justice and
fairness and brought about economic and social success. As a Muslim, I see parallels from what
I read in Robin Sharma’s first principle – IMAGE. In my career, I have seen individuals who
have led without titles, inspiring colleagues and staff by being having some if not all the traits
in this principle. I am inspired by them, I am inspired by what Sharma has written, that IMAGE
is so simple, yet sometimes not obvious to me. Having remembered this simple principle-
IMAGE, I endeavour to use and apply this in my daily life from here onwards.
 Turbulent Times Build Great Leaders

In this chapter, Sharma proceeds to give more insightful principles for leadership. The
story telling continues with Blake meeting more mentors to explain in depth this second
principle. Life is filled with challenges and success; issues and solutions; and ups and downs.
To get through difficult moments in one’s life, Sharma rolls out the 5 rules – SPARK. Speak
with candour, is the first rule a leader has to observe. This is an important trait as a leader has
to be truthful and speak the truth at all times. The Prophet Muhammad was the most honest
person in his lifetime, his nickname is Al-Amin, which means “The Truthful One” and he is
the best example of this rule speak with candour. The Prophet would only speak the truth or
else he would remain silent, that is how a leader must act at all times. To speak the truth and
not be afraid to do so with quiet conviction.

The second rule that Sharma has shared is Prioritize. A leader must be able to prioritize
his actions. Sharma shared a simple example in his book, Michelangelo when he sculpts he
would chisel away all the unwanted stone pieces until he creates his masterpiece. This is how
exactly a leader must act during turbulent times, to focus and keep on prioritizing and doing
the things that important and that will bring results rather than making loud actions that will
not be fruitful;. Sharma spoke about moving away from chaotic complexity to elegant
simplicity; and this can be done through focus, focus and focus.

This rule breeds the third rule that is Adversity breeds opportunity. Every storm has a
silver lining after and this is what a leader has to always remember and focus on. A leader
focusses on the opportunity that is manifest itself and realizes that there is a learning process
through the adversity. Again I look at The Prophet for a similar example of this rule. The
Prophet lived a hard life, full of adversities; yet he always looked at the opportunity beyond
the adversities. The Prophet was visionary, as a Messenger of Allah; he was protected and
guided in all his actions. This is what every Muslim are taught to have faith and believe that
Allah is Merciful and will always bestow success and opportunities to those who focus and
patience.

The fourth rule is Respond versus react, Sharma further explains that when turbulence
strikes a lot of people just respond to the turbulence by trying to douse the flames. A good
leader is someone who can rise above the turbulence and react with solutions. A leader is
someone who is calm against all the chaos and is able to think clearly and strategize and provide
solutions. Sharma again emphasized focus, focus on the things that we can control and take
initiative and be proactive. In Islam this is a fundamental teaching, to be patient and not simply
react with emotion and the solution will come to you.

The last rule is Kudos for everyone. This is a rule that emphasizes appreciation of
others and the ability of leader to articulate this to his/her team. A leader is a person that
nurtures and motivates their team members to heights of greatness and not to breed
individualistic nature. Sometimes fear will set in and can make a person be uncertain, a true
leader will not let the fear overwhelm and be focus and be clear with what needs to be done.
In Islam, to be appreciative and give kudos is also a core teaching. In Islam being thankful and
gracious are virtues of a good Muslim, and this is similar to what Sharma is teaching in this
book.

H.U.M.A.N

The third mentor brought another acronym to the teachings which is HUMAN. This
chapter talks about relationships and how important it is to good leaders because it’s about
team work and not individualism. The first rule is Helpfulness, Sharma goes to explain that a
good leader is helpful and display this attitude to all they connect with. He stressed to be helpful
at all times because it can make a difference.

The second rule is Understanding. A good leader understands the situation and the
people that surrounds them. A good leader is a good listener, and listens with his or her whole
heart and soul to the situation without prejudice and assumptions. So many people let ego and
impatience take over and do not really listen deeply to another person, In this chapter, Sharma
goes in depth to explain the virtues of deep listening that will build trust and comfort; and
strengthen relationships making success inevitable.

The third rule is Mingle and good leader is able to connect and network amongst the
team. Currently, customers are looking for the companies that is able to build clear and strong
relationships because there is so much competition in the market. And the fourth rule is related
to mingle, which is Amuse. Sometimes when the situation gets too serious, a good leader will
be able inject humour to ease the tension and stress. Having fun makes a person engaged and
increases the level of energy and engagement which is important for a leader to excel in any
situation.
 The last leadership rule is Nurture, which is the culmination of all the above. A good
leader who has built strong, creative, dynamic and nurturing relationships in a team will be
able to tackle issue and challenges well. Caring and being taken care of will ensure the place
becomes a better and happier atmosphere.

CONCLUSION

These 5 rules above are in the teachings of Islam, as part of our daily actions and
aspirations. The Prophet Muhammad was a leader by example, as he had all of the qualities
shared in this book and more. He was humble, grounded, a great listener, appreciative and
fearless; and he gained the respect of other leaders of different religions. This is a true leader
that has stood through the centuries and The Prophet is listed as the single Most Influential
Leader in history as he had succeeded to lead in both the secular and religious aspects. There
are many theories of leadership that is available today. I strongly believe in “Leadership by
Example” which is what this book also emphasizes. The characters in this book gave so many
examples that reiterates this point and I found many quotes and teachings that I can use to
improve myself as a leader in my work place and family. Too many times, in a company issues
and challenges can demotivate and stress employees at various levels, and it takes a good leader
who have most of the traits put forth by Sharma to rise to the occasion, bring the employees
together and provide solutions that will propel the company to the next level. A good leader
with influential and strong bonds with the employees with be able to achieve this without
difficulty. This is what I hope and endeavour to be, a good, compassionate, fair and energetic
leader in my current and future work place.
References:

1. http://www.irfi.org/articles/articles_1401_1450/islamic_leadership_principles.htm
2. http://muslimmatters.org/2014/10/28/lessons-in-leadership-from-the-prophet-
muhammad-saw/
3. http://www.quranreading.com/blog/top-leadership-qualities-of-the-holy-prophet-
muhammad-pbuh/
4. http://changingminds.org/disciplines/leadership/theories/leadership_theories.htm
5. https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/leadership-theories.htm