Side by Side Leadership : Achieving Outstanding Results Together

Dennis Romig

1 weLEAD Book Review by the Editor of leadingtoday.org
Dennis Romig has done an excellent job of integrating real world experience with a wealth of research to create a very readable book. Often leadership books are criticized for being "too theoretical" or "too soft" for the real world. This book is different. The principles and best practices presented are backed up with "hard" data obtained from the review of 3,000 studies.

The ideas presented in this book can really make a difference to the bottom line. Applying these innovative ideas will yield productivity gains, improvement in employee morale, and increased profits. This leadership model departs from both the "top down" and "bottom up" models of leadership. It presents a third model which Dennis Romig calls "Side by Side" leadership. The Side by Side model recognizes that leadership is about building and sustaining effective relationships. "Leadership is facilitating Side by Side relationships in pursuit of shared goals."

Romig points out that often the most effective way for leaders to influence others is to "change their own behavior." This is right in line with Stephen Covey's "inside out" approach to leadership and Bowen's Natural Systems Theory. The Side by Side model recognizes that leadership involves facilitating and coordinating a two-way influence process. Such leadership is mutual, interactive, and shared.

In the top-down, authoritarian model of leadership influence is one-way. Top-down leaders usually listen only to a few others-mostly those in authority above them in the hierarchy. On the opposite side of the leadership spectrum are the bottom-up leaders who have allowed participative management practices and "democracy" in the work place to get completely out of hand. Dennis Romig presents a "third way" that is a higher way than either the top-down or bottom-up approach.

The Side by Side leadership model appears to be the closest of the three models to Robert Greenleaf's vision of Servant-Leadership.

"Executives who spent their entire careers practicing autocratic leadership read Robert Greenleaf's Servant Leadership and did a complete turnaround. But they mistake Greenleaf and others like him. They went too far. The proponents of participative management never meant to advocate a one-way, bottom-up model...Neither top-down nor bottom-up has worked very well for us."

Dr. Romig presents five spheres of influence in Side by Side Leadership. These five spheres are:
1. Personal
2. Interpersonal
3. Team
4. Organizational
5. Knowledge

Most of us are strong in one or two of these spheres, but naturally weaker in other spheres. For instance, you may excel at personal and knowledge leadership, but be weaker in interpersonal, organizational, and team leadership. This is an important concept. An organization needs leadership in all five spheres. It is unlikely that a single individual will excel in all five spheres of influence.

Dennis Romig identifies seven principles that are critical in all five spheres of influence. These principles include focused creativity and structured participation. Each of the five spheres of influence can be thought of as an assemblage of these seven principles. Finally, the author shows that it is important for a Side by Side leader to master twenty critical skills, such as two-way listening and living organizational values.

With five spheres of influence, seven principles, and twenty skills to master, this leadership model may seem overly complex. That is just the point. Too many authors have taken a simplistic approach to leadership. Leadership is not simple! It is a complex system with many interrelated parts. However, Dr. Romig has done a superb job of integrating all these elements and relationships into his book, keeping references to research findings brief and to the point. He shows that there are many "entry points" into the Side by Side leadership model, and there are many different ways to be a successful leader. This is not a "one size fits all" kind of book!

I want to thank Ray Bard at Bard Press for suggesting I review this book.

I rarely get this excited over a book. Buy it! Read it. Get excited too!

Review By Dr. J. Howard Baker

2 Great leadership book that works!
I like his 5 spheres of side-by-side leadership. He then added certain skills to each sphere. 20 skills in total spread out among 5 spheres. I found his chapter on "Interaction Fields" to be the most useful part of the book. I read other books on leadership. And this one has a lot of good information. Great book to read for a beginner in leadership.

Just like many other leadership books, he tries to look at great leaders. In general he doesn't present anything new. He just found new ways to say what is now being said repeatedly in other leadership books. Is it worth reading this book? Yes... as I said earlier, especially if you're new to true leadership. If you have been having problems with your leadership position, defiantly read this book.

In conclusion, it is a good leadership book filled with practical tips. Not only defines what leadership is, but tells you how to lead as well, explaining his ideas based on what works.

3 Sis By Side Leadership
... I believe that the leadership points the direction of where to go and when to get there and the frontline people figure out the "how" part. When I picked up Side-By-Side Leadership, I was immediately struck by the wealth of research to support the basic premise of the book. I was also impressed with the careful, almost scientific approach Dennis took in proving the case for frontline people driving performance improvement by working side-by-side with organizational leadership. I knew we were kindred spirits when I read a few lines on page 44 " The effective Side-by-Side leader is aware of all of these influences on the team and organization and knows that frontline people -- the employees who are in daily contact with customers and suppliers -- are often the first to discover new opportunities and threats to the organization. By maintaining a two-way dialog, Side-by-Side leaders and their contributors can respond quickly to changes without losing sight of their goals." If you want true, sustainable and significant performance improvement in your organization, regardless of your industry, read the book and bring the concepts into your heart. Let your actions speak louder than your words to the people in your organization.

4 Experience speaks
Dennis Romig's consulting experience gives real and personal flavor to this research-based guide for leaders. His examples are interesting and the book is especially readable because he keeps his references to research findings brief and compelling. I was especially interested in his references to Bowen's work on patterns to be watched for in teams and organizations. Romig has written a great "how to" text of best practices.

5 Excellent work--especially in these trying times
This is a fine volume of work which all leaders should read--especially in light of today turmoil. The techniques, principles and suggestions outlined here absoulutely make a difference and yield increases in productivity, employee morale and financial gain. Too much emphasis has been placed on the "hard" elements of business--Romig's work reminds us to stand side by side with our people to accomplish significant results.

6 Finally, an easy to read and use leadership book!
I am very impressed with Side by Side Leadership. The approach used in Chapter 1 is very innovative (a meeting with the reader). The book is based upon a review of 3,000 cases and provides "hard data" that this new leadership model is not based on "fluff". The example stories and case studies support that the leadership pracitices work.
I found the book to have an easy reading style, and also to be designed to provide support for the new ideas and skills. Additionally, I found that there were areas in my life (both professionally and personally) that could probably benefit from following the research.

7 Solid Scholarship and Human Friendly
Side by Side Leadership is one of the most carefully constructed blueprints for leadership success that I know. Author Dennis Romig is one of the most curious and persistent science writers I know. The combination, as you might suspect, has produced a work of genuine and lasting value.

Romig work puts the casual researcher to shame. This particular book is not only supported in its no nonsense review of 3000 studies of leadership, it is supported by 300 control group studies from a much larger and more confusing body of speculation and outright speculative fiction. If Romig had done us no more service than that of sorting through the rocks for the genuine jewels, this book would be a significant achievement. That it is also written to make these principles accessible and exciting is a rich bonus.

He has created a user-friendly, chalk talk from a coach who knows-because he has done it himself. For over three years, Romig not only worked on his book, he tested the principles in the harsh cauldron of the real world. Two years ago, we brought Dennis to International SEMATECH just to have him present a portion of his research to date. As a result of the tremendous response to his talk, we have ordered 200 copies of his book, one for each of our managers.

This book belongs on your professional bookshelf right next to Breakthrough Teamwork. Together, they form the core of any comprhensive perfomance improvement library.

8 "Side By Side, By Side, Leadership"
I fully appreciate the merits of what the author has done here to add yet another excellent how-to book to my bookshelf of how-to leadership books. As they all seem to work, I'm sure "Side By Side Leadership" will also work. It is wonderfully creative and imaginative, giving a new twist to what others have approached from a different angle. As with all the other books, it can use a good dose of philosophical foundations, however, to compliment its side by side practical concepts, so that the reader can fully appreciate the author's efforts. For that purpose, allow me to recommend a book I picked up, recommended by another reviewer of a different book on leadership. It is called "West Point", by Norman Thomas Remick (don't let the title mislead you -- its the basic philosophical principles that explain leadership and character). It helped me to more fully understand Mr. Romig's book (and other leadership books), which after all, is what this is all about if we are to have Mr. Romig's great ideas stick to our personas, permanently. Call it "Side By Side, By Side, Leadership" if you will. But, believe me, it works! That's the bottom line. You'll see. In any event, "Side By Side Leadership" will surely be of great value to all who are interested in leadership and the ability to get things done.

9 It's a Two Way Street
Most of us have been mismanaged. Either it was a boss breathing down our necks, watching each move, telling us exactly how to do things, or it was a lack of direction, an absence of guidance, absentee management. Neither one is very fun. In this book, the author poses a new scenario: What if your boss worked with you side by side and gave enough guidance to get you going and enough freedom so you could really learn and grow?

Problem #1 with many books on leadership is reductionism: they boil leadership down to one or a few elements and let that stand for the whole. Real life experience tells us there's more to it. Side by Side offers a new model of leadership informed by systems theory which honors the complexity of leadership. At the same time it integrates many single items into a larger model.

If you're tired of "flavor of the month" leadership or management books, this is the closest you will get to a master operating system without having to wade through a lot of technical or academic jargon.

Some things I really liked...
The substance of the book was based on research and real life testing...
Anecdotes were in service of the key concepts, not replacements for true content...
Layout--lots of illustrations and diagrams of the concepts throughout the book. This is really like a practical primer, a manual for leaders.

Problem #2 with many business and management books is that they run out of steam after the first third of the book. That doesn't happen in Side by Side. The last half of the book is filled with 20 skills and practical examples of how to practice Side by Side Leadership. Romig goes beyond theorizing; he shows us how to do it. There's a helpful self-assessment included toward the end of the book. It would be really valuable to give some time to completing one on yourself...then ask some people who know you well for some feedback after showing it to them.

I'm an executive coach. I want to get this book into the hands of all my clients and I'll recommend they get a copy for all the people who work for them. It's a great book for anyone who wants to improve how they work with others.

10 It's a Two Way Street
Most of us have been mismanaged. Either it was a boss breathing down our necks, watching each move, telling us exactly how to do things, or it was a lack of direction, an absence of guidance, absentee management. Neither one is very fun. In this book, the author poses a new scenario: What if your boss worked with you side by side and gave enough guidance to get you going and enough freedom so you could really learn and grow?

Some things I really liked???
The substance of the book was based on research and real life testing???
Anecdotes were in service of the key concepts, not replacements for true content...
Layout--lots of illustrations and diagrams of the concepts throughout the book. This is really like a practical primer, a manual for leaders.

Problem #2 with many business and management books is that they run out of steam after the first third of the book. That doesn't happen in Side by Side. The last half of the book is filled with 20 skills and practical examples of how to practice Side by Side Leadership. Romig goes beyond theorizing; he shows us how to do it. There's a helpful self-assessment included toward the end of the book. It would be really valuable to give some time to completing one on yourself???then ask some people who know you well for some feedback after showing it to them.

11 It's a Two Way Street
Most of us have been mismanaged. Either it was a boss breathing down our necks, watching each move, telling us exactly how to do things, or it was a lack of direction, an absence of guidance, absentee management. Neither one is very fun. In this book, the author poses a new scenario: What if your boss worked with you side by side and gave enough guidance to get you going and enough freedom so you could really learn and grow?