The Leadership House by Patrick Flesner
Dec. 3rd, 2023 11:39 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
quippeThe Blurb On The Back:
Focusing on all leadership and growth topics relevant during times of uncertainty and in our fast-paced and ever-changing business environment, Patrick Flesner delivers both in-person and virtual keynotes that inspire your leadership teams and equip them with frameworks and tools they can use systematically to reach their biggest goals.
Patrick Flesner worked for 20 years in private equity, venture capital and mergers and acquisitions and is now an independent board member who advises on leadership. Unfortunately, he’s chosen to use poorly written fiction that includes some unpleasant sexism to convey leadership principles that I didn’t disagree with (and indeed some of it is useful particularly if you’re new to this), but which I think get lost in the alienating structure.
I picked this up because I’ve read a number of books on management, leadership and business and am always open to picking up new tips and hints in order to improve the way I work. I was particularly interested because Flesner’s foreword says that he wrote the book because he felt that there wasn’t a leadership book out there that provides “actionable insights and frameworks people can systematically follow to develop their leadership skills, climb the leadership ladder and lead effectively”.
Flesner has structured the book as a work of fiction, based around 28-year-old Felix, the CEO of an accounting software start-up called DGTLY that he founded with his friend Mark in Cologne, Germany, who has just been told by the key investor in his company that he’s going to be fired as CEO at the next board meeting because he’s lost confidence in his leadership skills due to the business’s failure to scale. Dejected, Felix decides to stop off at a talk scheduled at an incubator in the business park where his office is based. The talk is being given by a famous “business angel” on leadership and growth, but when he gets there he finds himself stuck in a lift with Sophie van de Sand, the CEO of a Dutch family business. When he explains that he’s about to be sacked, she offers to give him advice on how to become a better leader and gradually, he finds himself questioning whether maybe his investor had a point about his leadership skills and whether he can improve …
I get why Flesner used a fiction format - usually people respond better to stories than they do to facts and are more likely to retain information. My problem here is that the fiction narrative just doesn’t work well - it’s badly written, very stilted and the twist is so obvious that it’s not an entertaining but rather a tedious reveal. I think this is one of those books where the reader would have been better served by Flesner sharing real world anecdotes from his business career to illustrate the principles he’s trying to illustrate rather than create an incredibly artificial situation.
I was particularly annoyed by the casual sexism within the book - Sophie is in her 50s and bears a stunning likeness to Uma Thurman, but her outfit (leather trousers and high heels) makes her look 40 (and for reference, at the time of publishing the book in 2023, Uma Thurman is 53). You can make the argument that Flesner is writing from the point of view of a 20-something tech bro and therefore a touch of sexism goes with the territory, but it I just needlessly gross and doesn’t go to the message that Sophie is going to convey. Given the additional hurdles that women face when taking leadership roles, it is very disappointing that a man of Flesner’s experience has decided that a woman giving leadership advice needs to look like a younger version of an actress known for her beauty.
Unfortunately the sexism does not stop there. When Felix is recounting issues with employees within his business, it’s the female senior programmer who disagrees with the leadership’s decisions (including decisions taken by the Chief Technology Officer) and is popular with the team. Even though it’s clear that Felix and his leadership team have been making bad decisions, the advice is that Felix should talk to her and emphasise that he wants to help her but cannot tolerate her behaviour. I find that pretty outrageous, to be honest and the fact that it comes from the female character is not an excuse for it because given Felix’s business has clearly been dysfunctional and she has an issue with the CTO, the better thing to do is to have an honest discussion with her about what’s been happening, why she takes the positions she does and emphasise that although the final decisions rest with the CTO and executive team, her input is still valued and will be followed where they think it appropriate (and this would also be consistent with the later advice to involve teams in decision-making processes).
The leadership skills that Sophie imparts to Felix consists of the following:
- The leadership drama triangle - where you need to assess the roles that people play in critical situations involving conflict - victim, villain and hero and as a leader you have to step outside that triangle and accept responsibility for the situation so that you don’t seek to place blame or play the victim;
- the leadership debt - this is caused by people who fail to develop their personal leadership skills and fail to build a strong leadership team. Sophie/Flesner then sets out some of the symptoms of this - none of which I disagreed with as it gives a good insight into where leadership teams fall down;
- the leadership house - this involves inspiring vision (i.e. the purpose of the company), having a strong team, developing trust using the RESPECT framework (relationship, emotional intelligence, skills, professionalism, empowerment, consistency, transparency), and involving the team in the decision-making process;
- the leadership scale - shared values and joint goals which feed into each other and enables the leader to understand that they cannot be involved in all aspects of the business so they need to give up control so they need a strong team who can take decisions themselves. This involves developing accountability mechanism whereby people take ownership of the tasks they do and the results they achieve
I didn’t disagree with any of the actual advice that Flesner gives here. I do think that some readers may find it a little basic and obvious, even though Flesner dresses it up by referring to other experts and systems. My issue is that you are wading through a big chunk of quite bad fiction to get to it, making what is already a thin book even thinner. Given the RRP of this book, it does make me question whether it’s actually value for money.
The Verdict:
Patrick Flesner worked for 20 years in private equity, venture capital and mergers and acquisitions and is now an independent board member who advises on leadership. Unfortunately, he’s chosen to use poorly written fiction that includes some unpleasant sexism to convey leadership principles that I didn’t disagree with (and indeed some of it is useful particularly if you’re new to this), but which I think get lost in the alienating structure.
THE LEADERSHIP HOUSE was released in the United Kingdom on 27th April 2023. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.
Focusing on all leadership and growth topics relevant during times of uncertainty and in our fast-paced and ever-changing business environment, Patrick Flesner delivers both in-person and virtual keynotes that inspire your leadership teams and equip them with frameworks and tools they can use systematically to reach their biggest goals.
Patrick Flesner worked for 20 years in private equity, venture capital and mergers and acquisitions and is now an independent board member who advises on leadership. Unfortunately, he’s chosen to use poorly written fiction that includes some unpleasant sexism to convey leadership principles that I didn’t disagree with (and indeed some of it is useful particularly if you’re new to this), but which I think get lost in the alienating structure.
I picked this up because I’ve read a number of books on management, leadership and business and am always open to picking up new tips and hints in order to improve the way I work. I was particularly interested because Flesner’s foreword says that he wrote the book because he felt that there wasn’t a leadership book out there that provides “actionable insights and frameworks people can systematically follow to develop their leadership skills, climb the leadership ladder and lead effectively”.
Flesner has structured the book as a work of fiction, based around 28-year-old Felix, the CEO of an accounting software start-up called DGTLY that he founded with his friend Mark in Cologne, Germany, who has just been told by the key investor in his company that he’s going to be fired as CEO at the next board meeting because he’s lost confidence in his leadership skills due to the business’s failure to scale. Dejected, Felix decides to stop off at a talk scheduled at an incubator in the business park where his office is based. The talk is being given by a famous “business angel” on leadership and growth, but when he gets there he finds himself stuck in a lift with Sophie van de Sand, the CEO of a Dutch family business. When he explains that he’s about to be sacked, she offers to give him advice on how to become a better leader and gradually, he finds himself questioning whether maybe his investor had a point about his leadership skills and whether he can improve …
I get why Flesner used a fiction format - usually people respond better to stories than they do to facts and are more likely to retain information. My problem here is that the fiction narrative just doesn’t work well - it’s badly written, very stilted and the twist is so obvious that it’s not an entertaining but rather a tedious reveal. I think this is one of those books where the reader would have been better served by Flesner sharing real world anecdotes from his business career to illustrate the principles he’s trying to illustrate rather than create an incredibly artificial situation.
I was particularly annoyed by the casual sexism within the book - Sophie is in her 50s and bears a stunning likeness to Uma Thurman, but her outfit (leather trousers and high heels) makes her look 40 (and for reference, at the time of publishing the book in 2023, Uma Thurman is 53). You can make the argument that Flesner is writing from the point of view of a 20-something tech bro and therefore a touch of sexism goes with the territory, but it I just needlessly gross and doesn’t go to the message that Sophie is going to convey. Given the additional hurdles that women face when taking leadership roles, it is very disappointing that a man of Flesner’s experience has decided that a woman giving leadership advice needs to look like a younger version of an actress known for her beauty.
Unfortunately the sexism does not stop there. When Felix is recounting issues with employees within his business, it’s the female senior programmer who disagrees with the leadership’s decisions (including decisions taken by the Chief Technology Officer) and is popular with the team. Even though it’s clear that Felix and his leadership team have been making bad decisions, the advice is that Felix should talk to her and emphasise that he wants to help her but cannot tolerate her behaviour. I find that pretty outrageous, to be honest and the fact that it comes from the female character is not an excuse for it because given Felix’s business has clearly been dysfunctional and she has an issue with the CTO, the better thing to do is to have an honest discussion with her about what’s been happening, why she takes the positions she does and emphasise that although the final decisions rest with the CTO and executive team, her input is still valued and will be followed where they think it appropriate (and this would also be consistent with the later advice to involve teams in decision-making processes).
The leadership skills that Sophie imparts to Felix consists of the following:
- The leadership drama triangle - where you need to assess the roles that people play in critical situations involving conflict - victim, villain and hero and as a leader you have to step outside that triangle and accept responsibility for the situation so that you don’t seek to place blame or play the victim;
- the leadership debt - this is caused by people who fail to develop their personal leadership skills and fail to build a strong leadership team. Sophie/Flesner then sets out some of the symptoms of this - none of which I disagreed with as it gives a good insight into where leadership teams fall down;
- the leadership house - this involves inspiring vision (i.e. the purpose of the company), having a strong team, developing trust using the RESPECT framework (relationship, emotional intelligence, skills, professionalism, empowerment, consistency, transparency), and involving the team in the decision-making process;
- the leadership scale - shared values and joint goals which feed into each other and enables the leader to understand that they cannot be involved in all aspects of the business so they need to give up control so they need a strong team who can take decisions themselves. This involves developing accountability mechanism whereby people take ownership of the tasks they do and the results they achieve
I didn’t disagree with any of the actual advice that Flesner gives here. I do think that some readers may find it a little basic and obvious, even though Flesner dresses it up by referring to other experts and systems. My issue is that you are wading through a big chunk of quite bad fiction to get to it, making what is already a thin book even thinner. Given the RRP of this book, it does make me question whether it’s actually value for money.
The Verdict:
Patrick Flesner worked for 20 years in private equity, venture capital and mergers and acquisitions and is now an independent board member who advises on leadership. Unfortunately, he’s chosen to use poorly written fiction that includes some unpleasant sexism to convey leadership principles that I didn’t disagree with (and indeed some of it is useful particularly if you’re new to this), but which I think get lost in the alienating structure.
THE LEADERSHIP HOUSE was released in the United Kingdom on 27th April 2023. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.
