The Truth About Leadership

This is a book from which you will gather insights and reaffirm key learnings as well as provide you with an overall 21^st century view of where we are with respect to leadership.

Your assignment is to read this book and take note of the key aspects that resonate with you.

Once you’ve compiled your notes, write an executive summary of this
book (no more than 2 pages). The largest part of this summary should be
focused on the 5 key leadership insights you took from the reading and
how you foresee integrating these key insights into your leadership
habits. Please include why these insights are important to you in both
your role and as a leader, and what impact you will have by integrating
these into your leadership habits.

This summary document will not be summarized as a class document.

The required format is the same as the individual choice book:

Formatting

• Self-selected Book summaries should be no more than 3 pages single spaced
• Size 11 Arial font
• Microsoft Word format
• Summary of book narrative should be written in the executive summary fashion. Include a text box of 5 bullets – Key Leadership Insights with actions for application.
• Top of the page left corner: will have your name, book title and
  author (not in the header first page) Insert a picture of the book on
  the first page. Wrap text tight around book picture – the size of book
  picture should not be more than 2 inches.

  How to Write an Executive Summary

  Being asked to write an executive summary, whether for a policy
  paper, pamphlet, briefing paper or report, may be a daunting prospect if
  you’ve never done it before.
  However, ask a few questions, and keep a few simple rules in your
  mind and it becomes much more straightforward. This page sets out the
  questions to ask, whether of yourself or someone else, and a few
  warnings and conventions to bear in mind.

  Executive Summary Content

  There are two key questions you need to ask before you start:

  1. Who is the intended audience for my executive summary?
  2. Which of the contents of the paper that I am summarizing do they really need to know?

  These questions are important because they tell you what you
  need to include in the executive summary, so let’s unpack them a little:

  The Intended Audience

  As with all writing projects it is important to know your audience (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site..
  The intended audience for an executive summary may be quite different
  from the intended audience for the longer document, whether it’s a
  policy paper, report, or something else.
  The executive summary serves several possible purposes.
  People may read the executive summary to find out if they need to read the full report. This
  group may include people within the organization and outside, but the
  report is likely to touch on what they do every day. They will often be
  subject experts; they just need to know if there is anything new that
  they should read. This group will be looking for a broad summary of the
  contents of the wider paper.
  People may want to find out if they’d find the full report interesting and relevant,
  even if not strictly essential. Again, this group is likely to be
  subject experts, but may also include analysts searching for a
  particular ‘angle’ on the subject. This group will also welcome a
  straightforward summary of the contents.
  They may read the executive summary instead of the full report.
  It’s this group that you really need to worry about because they’re
  likely to include the Board or executive team of your organization, as
  well as journalists. What goes into the executive summary, therefore, is
  the message that they’re going to take away, that may well be spread
  more widely. For these people, the executive summary is their window
  onto the subject and it needs to be transparent, not opaque, if they are
  to understand it.
  Think about your intended audience: who do you want to read your executive summary and why?
  Don’t worry about other people who might read it; this is your intended audience,
  the people to whom you or your immediate line manager are going to send
  the summary. If the summary is for publication, which groups do you
  most want to read it?

  What Does Your Intended Audience Need to Know?

  Once you have identified your intended audience, you can then think
  about what they need to know or do as a result of reading your paper.
  This can be split into two parts:

  1. First, categorize the document by whether it needs action or is for
     information only. This will determine the language that you use.
  2. Next, you need to identify what, when they have finished reading,
     are the key messages that you want your audience to have in their heads.
     Information and concepts that they did not have before.

  Top Tip

  A good way to think about the key content is to imagine meeting
  your boss or CEO in the parking lot or at the coffee machine. What three
  key points about your document would you want to tell them?

  Work on reducing your key messages down to three, or at the most,
  five bullet points of one or two sentences. Working on them before you
  start writing will mean that they are absolutely clear in your head as
  you write.

  Writing your Executive Summary

  When you are writing your executive summary, you should keep your intended audience in mind at all times and write it for them.
  If your audience includes your boss or Chief Executive think: how
  much do they already know, and how much do you need to explain?
  If your audience includes journalists, you probably need to explain
  everything. If it’s simply as a summary of a paper because you have to
  publish one, then you simply need to summarize the paper.
  If you find yourself getting bogged down in the detail at this stage,
  it’s a good idea to talk to someone else about what to include.
  The language you use needs to be fairly formal, whether or not the summary is intended for publication.

  Executive Summary Structure

  Broadly, an executive summary, as you might expect,
  summarizes the main points of the underlying paper, and draws out the
  key points. It usually has three sections: introduction, main body and
  conclusion.

  • The introduction sets the scene and explains what
    the paper is about, including what action needs to be taken as a result.
    It doesn’t need to be more than one or two sentences. For an internal
    paper, you might write:
    • This paper explains the findings of the research about [subject]
      and its relevance to the organization. It notes five key findings and
      makes three recommendations for action within the organization. You are
      asked to take note of these, and decide whether the recommendations
      should be implemented.
    • For an executive summary of a published paper, it is not unusual for the first paragraph to be more attention-grabbing.
    • For example, from a recently-published report about green energy and the internet:
      • For the estimated 2.5 billion people around the world who are
        connected to the internet, it is impossible to imagine life without it.
        The
        internet has rewoven the fabric of our daily lives – how we communicate
        with each other, work and entertain ourselves – and become a foundation
        of the global economy.
      • This example still sets the scene: the importance of the internet,
        but the idea here is to keep people reading, not just provide
        information. Again, it’s all about your audience and what they need or
        want.
  • The main body of the text outlines the key findings
    and/or recommendations from the report or paper to which this is the
    summary. The main section needs to focus on the interesting and most
    relevant bits of the report.
    • Most importantly, the main section of the executive summary needs to
      stand alone without the reader having to refer to the main body of the
      report or policy paper. This is worth checking by getting someone who
      doesn’t know much about the subject to read it over for you.
  • Finally, you need a conclusion, which outlines the
    take-home messages or action needed from the person reading the report.
    Bullet points are a useful form to highlight the key points, and this is
    where your three to five messages come in.

  Once you’ve finished, check it against our checklist to make sure that you’ve covered everything.

  Executive Summary Checklist

  Checklist for writing an executive summary:

  • Have you kept in mind the audience at all times?
  • Have you addressed it to them?
  • Have you met any word count or structural requirements?
  • Have you clearly outlined the key messages and any action needed as a result?
  • Does the executive summary make sense by itself, without the report attached?

  Final Words of Warning

  An executive summary cannot be all things to all people. You
  only have a few hundred words. You need to focus firmly on your intended
  audience and their needs. Other people may find it useful; your
  intended audience relies on it.
  Find more information at skillsyouneed.com (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site..
  Remember for our paper – you will add key learning’s at the end of the summary in bullet format.