Learning to Lead

About the Author

Ronald A. Williams is a distinguished leader in the business world, having served as the chairman and CEO of health insurance giant Aetna Inc. He is now the chairman and CEO of RW2 Enterprises, LLC, where he focuses on private equity, values-based leadership, transformational change, and health-care value creation. Williams is renowned for his ability to counsel C-suite corporate executives on strategy and transformational leadership.

Karl Weber, the co-author, is a writer and editor who specializes in a wide range of topics including business, politics, current affairs, history, and social issues. His collaboration with Ron Williams has resulted in a powerful guide on leadership, drawing from Williams' extensive experience and insights.

Main Idea

Learning to Lead: The Journey to Leading Yourself, Leading Others, and Leading an Organization by Ron Williams with Karl Weber is a comprehensive guide on leadership. The book offers practical, tested advice and strategies for those seeking to improve their leadership skills. Developed from Williams's personal and professional journey, as well as the experiences of America's leading CEOs, the book provides wisdom and strategies for leading oneself, teams, and organizations. It emphasizes the importance of self-leadership, reframing, intelligent planning, creating a positive company culture, and practicing communication as a team sport.

Table of Contents

1. Leading Yourself
2. Leading Others
3. Leading an Organization

Leading Yourself

The journey of leadership begins with leading oneself. Williams shares his personal story, growing up in a working-class family in Chicago, and how he overcame numerous challenges to become the CEO of a $34 billion corporation. He emphasizes the importance of self-leadership, which starts with discovering and nurturing the inner drive that spurs one to achieve seemingly impossible goals.

Williams advocates for rejecting stereotypical thinking, taking calculated risks, keeping future options open, and exceeding job descriptions. These strategies help individuals carve out a unique path in their careers, breaking free from traditional molds and expectations.

“Growing into leadership begins with self-leadership—which starts with discovering and nurturing the inner drive that will spur you to seemingly impossible achievements.” - Ron Williams

Williams also highlights the concept of reframing, which involves creating a new mental landscape with greater flexibility and alternative ways of approaching problems. He shares his personal experience of not seeing himself as a potential business leader due to his background but eventually realizing his potential through studying organizational dynamics and reframing his perception of leadership.

“Reframing is about creating a new mental landscape with a larger scope of freedom, a greater degree of flexibility, and a set of alternative ways of approaching any problem—which can often lead to new and unexpected solutions.” - Ron Williams

reframing in business:

• Howard Schultz's transformation of coffee from a cheap commodity to an affordable luxury through Starbucks.
• Reengineering projects that turn seemingly impossible tasks into learning and growth opportunities.

Williams provides specific suggestions for early career decisions: