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Press ReleaseYour First Leadership Job

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© Development Dimensions International, Inc., 2015. All rights reserved.

Your First Leadership Job

Congratulations! You’re now in charge. Perhaps it’s your first time as a leader,or maybe you want to fine-tune your skills. Either way, you’ve begun one of themost rewarding chapters of your career. But, like many beginnings, the first fewyears can be challenging. Fortunately, you don’t have to tackle this challengeon your own. Your First Leadership Job gives you practical advice straight from others who have walked in your shoes. Not only does it include dozens oftools to ensure your success, it’s also based on the authors’ and DDI’s extensiveexperience and research, which ultimately have led to the development of millions of leaders around the world. In fact, a quarter-million leaders will bedeveloped this year alone via DDI training.

Your First Leadership Job is divided into two sections. Part 1 introduces the concept of catalyst leader—one who sparks energy, passion, and commitmentin others. Your transition to catalyst leader is a major step in your leadershipjourney. This book provides essential tips to put you on the catalyst path. Ultimately, leadership is about the many conversations—frequent, clear, authentic, and occasionally difficult—that you will have daily. Your First Leadership Job builds awareness of the fundamental skills you’ll come to rely onto make every one of these interactions successful.

Part 2 devotes 13 chapters to critical core leadership competencies, includingcoaching for success, hiring the best employees, turning dreaded appraisals intodiscussions that propel performance, and handling difficult employees. It alsoincludes a chapter for first-time female leaders.

Look at Your First Leadership Job as an indispensable companion to becomingan awesome leader—one who will make a positive, lasting impact on your team,family, and career. Visit www.YourFirstLeadershipJob.com to learn more.

Introduction

BECOMING THE VERY BEST FIRST-TIME LEADER

TACY M. BYHAM, Ph.D., is theCEO of Development Dimen-sions International (DDI). Tacy

has worked with dozens of global organiza-tions, creating custom solutions to improvetheir leaders’ performance. She believes thatbetter leadership is not only about the work-place, but also about better communities and,ultimately, a better world.

RICHARD S. WELLINS, Ph.D.,is a global expert in leadershipdevelopment. Your First Leader-

ship Job is Rich’s fifth book on talent manage-ment, including the best-seller, EmpoweredTeams. His research has been featured in Fortune, Business Week, CNBC, NPR, BBC,and Forbes.

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© Development Dimensions International, Inc., 2015. All rights reserved.

Your First Leadership Job

For Immediate Release

April 21, 2015

DDI Contact:

Dianne Stetzer

Dianne.Stetzer@ddiworld.com

412-257-3623

Two out of Three First-Time LeadersFeel Unprepared for New Jobs

New book from DDI leadership development experts provides guidance,tools and resources to significantly increase chances for success.

Pittsburgh—Tens of thousands of new leaders are promoted into jobs managing

people for the first time every year. Some will find the transition easy, but

Development Dimensions International (DDI) research shows that more than

half will struggle. Since no one steps into leadership knowing everything they need

to be successful, Tacy M. Byham, Ph.D., CEO, and Richard S. Wellins, Ph.D.,

Senior Vice President, created a step-by-step resource, titled Your First Leadership Job: How Catalyst Leaders Bring Out the Best in Others, that

explores the mindset, toolkit and practical advice first-time leaders should

employ to become better and more productive leaders. It draws on the authors’

unparalleled research, experience and lessons learned helping companies

select and develop thousands of leaders each year. The book covers a number

of topics:

Leadership is a Choice

The authors help those considering leadership positions make the right career

choices. “Contrary to popular belief, a step up to a leadership position may not

be the right decision for many,” states co-author Wellins. “Both research and

experience show that individuals pressured into taking a leadership role were

three times more likely to be dissatisfied and twice as likely to consider quitting

than those who voluntarily sought the position.”

Managing Transitions

Transitioning into a leadership position carries with it a unique set of challenges.

DDI Leaders in Transition research identifies a transition into a first leadership

role as one of life’s most stressful—landing on the “awake-all-night” continuum

somewhere between personal illness and managing teenagers. The top

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Your First Leadership Job

challenges new leaders face identified in the book related to that transition

include: 1) shifting mind-set from individual contributor to getting work done

through others; 2) earning the right to lead; 3) developing a wider, broader

network; and 4) translating strategy into action. For each top challenge,

Your First Leadership Job provides first-time leaders with a clear path to

navigate the challenges flawlessly.

The Catalyst Leader

Byham and Wellins paint a clear picture of what it takes to become a remarkable

leader. They call this person a catalyst leader, who ignites energy, passion and

commitment in others. The traits of this new breed of leader are critical to a new

leader’s success in the current VUCA (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Am-

biguous) business environment. “Catalyst leaders represent the gold standard—

energetic, supportive, forward-thinking mentors who spark action in others,”

states co-author Byham. “They help people and organizations grow by inten-

tionally pursuing goals that stretch their skills and test their mettle. And, catalyst

leaders are opportunity creators—they open doors of opportunity for others.”

Great Leadership is Built One Conversation at a Time

More than half of a new leader’s day is spent in conversations. They may be

communicating a change, gathering data or collaborating to solve a problem.

The best conversations help colleagues feel understood, valued, trusted and

motivated. Byham and Wellins identify “interaction skills” as the essential foun-

dation for these conversations and include tips on how to build those skills and

make each conversation count. They point out that leaders with strong interac-

tion skills have more engaged teams (89 percent), lead teams to exceed their

productivity goals (83 percent) and are three times less likely to have turnover.

Becoming a Master of Leadership

Thirteen chapters focus on diverse and vital leadership skills such as having

successful meetings, selecting new employees, handling difficult employees,

dealing with your boss and more. Mastering these core skills will provide

ongoing benefit now and throughout the new leader’s career.

To help reinforce learning, each book chapter includes practical guidance,

technology tips and interactive toolboxes in the form of exercises, quizzes and

diagnostics to bridge what is learned in the book to immediate application on

the job. It also includes crowd-sourced lessons from six-dozen other leaders in

the midst of their own job transitions who candidly share their struggles and offer

advice for translating those early challenges into a successful leadership career.

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Your First Leadership Job

Among the dozens of endorsements the authors received, J. Scott Boston,

Vice President of Human Resources, Kimberly-Clark shared, “We've done

the research—leaders who build the critical skills and behaviors mentioned in

this book succeed far beyond those who do not. First-time leaders who heed

this advice show much greater competence and confidence and get better

results through others.”

For more information visit: www.YourFirstLeadershipJob.com

Available for Interviews:

Tacy M. Byham, Ph.D.,

Development Dimensions International (DDI) CEO

@TacyByham

Richard S. Wellins, Ph.D.,

Development Dimensions International (DDI)

Senior Vice President

@RichWellins

Resources: Photo of Book Cover (Click to download photo)

About Development Dimensions International

Founded in 1970, DDI is a global talent management consultancy that helps

companies transform the way they hire, promote and develop their leaders.

DDI’s expertise includes identifying and developing frontline leaders to

executives. Clients include half of the Fortune 500 and multinationals doing

business across a vast array of industries from Berlin to Bangalore and

everywhere in between. We serve clients from 42 DDI-owned or closely

affiliated offices. www.ddiworld.com

Visit DDI’s Website

Check out DDI on LinkedIn

Follow DDI on Twitter

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Your First Leadership Job

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© Development Dimensions International, Inc., 2015. All rights reserved.

Your First Leadership Job