Leading Made Easy

DO YOU WANT TO IMPROVE YOUR EFFECTIVENESS AS A LEADER? With all the different leadership theories, models, and approaches available for leadership development, finding the method that works best for you can be daunting. In Leading Made Easy, Dr. Alonzo Johnson uses a simple acronym, LEAD, to present four key principles for effective leadership:

  • Learn from Mistakes,
  • Exemplify Competence,
  • Add Value, and
  • Do the Right Thing.

The author engages and guides readers through the principles and associated behaviors by using lessons learned from his leadership journey, while interspersing relevant examples from other well-known leaders.

WHO SHOULD READ THIS BOOK?

Leading Made Easy is the second book in the Made Easy Series. The first book, Hiring Made Easy as PIE, is written primarily for hiring managers with little hiring experience. Accordingly, it presents a straight forward approach for interviewing and selecting best-fit employees.

This book explores how to lead effectively after the hiring process is over, and is intended for anyone desiring to improve his or her leadership effectiveness. Although the principles presented in this book can be scaled and used at any leadership level, this book is written in an easy to-read format and with easy-to-understand terms and leadership concepts.

Three options are offered for learning to use the LEAD approach:

  1. Read the book from cover to cover,
  2. Read only the part that you need to enhance your knowledge, and
  3. Review any part of it as a reference.

An end-of-section reflection activity is included for each principle. The activity provides an opportunity for readers to informally assess the degree to which they use the behaviors and principles presented in the book.

Praise for Leading Made Easy

  • “Wow! A book on leadership that is an easy read—a first for me! In Leading Made Easy, you’ll find yourself immersed in many interesting leadership stories, and before you know it, you will have gained new knowledge that is easy to apply in your leadership role. This book provides common sense tips and insights about leadership behaviors, which many of us have forgotten in this era of technology. This is a must read for everyone who wants to positively influence self-growth and the performance of his or her organization, team, or family!”
    Miriam Wallace
    Vice President, Human Resources, JourneyCare, Inc.
  • “Appreciate the common sense approach to leadership that isn’t always common practice. Leading Made Easyreminds leaders of the behaviors necessary to effectively lead and develop people. The author delivers it in such a way that leaders cannot only relate, but also immediately understand how to apply it to their own journey. As leaders, we can never be reminded enough of what it takes to lead successfully. This book does just that!”
    Hope Zoeller, EdD
    Founder & President, HOPE (Helping Other People Excel), LLC Author of HOPE For Leaders Unabridged
  • "Alonzo makes the subject of the leadership relevant and with at-your-fingertips ease. LEAD is an acronym that punches four valuable principles. These principles are derived from his exceptional career journey. The principles and behaviors apply to life, as well as work-life. Everyone can learn from Alonzo's style--he reads like cool jazz, lyrically following through his messages with perfectly toned scenarios. Pow!"
    Marigrace McKay
    OCMAdvantage Consulting, Organization and People Solutions Contributing Author, Lessons in Leadership
  • "If you are a seasoned leader, Leading Made Easy will refresh you. If you are new leader, you will be inspired by it! Dr. Johnson uses the LEAD acronym to present four leadership principles that will enhance leadership effectiveness for anyone, at any level of the organization. The behaviors that he outlines for each principle are easy to understand and apply to real world situations. This book is an excellent resource for any leader wishing to improve his or her effectiveness!”
    Davis M. Robinson, PhD
    CEO & President of Horizon Consulting Services, LLC Author of Discipline Your Motivation

As mentioned above, Leading Made Easy offers an end-of-section reflection activity for each principle. For a more comprehensive evaluation, a companion 360° leadership assessment instrument (LEAD 360) is available.

LEAD 360

A Leading Made Easy Assessment

The LEAD 360 is a companion assessment instrument for Leading Made Easy. The instrument measures behaviors associated with the four principles presented in the book. The principles from the LEAD acronym which means:

  • Learn from Mistakes,
  • Exemplify Competence,
  • Add Value, and
  • Do the Right Thing.

The principles assessed by the LEAD 360 matter most for the development of new and experienced leaders and are grounded in research on leadership effectiveness. The four principles are scalable for leaders at all levels of the organization.


The feedback that leaders receive from the LEAD 360 provides information that can be used to improve self-awareness, develop various leadership skills, and serve as a guide for overall leadership effectiveness. This instrument provides information that allows leaders to

  • Identify their strengths and weaknesses,
  • Learn how others in the organization view their behavior
  • Use the information to create a leadership development action plan, and
  • Make continuous improvements to maximize their potential.

The LEAD 360 allows multiple raters (self, boss, direct reports, peers, and others) from a leader’s immediate work circle to assess the degree to which he or she exhibits behaviors associated with the four principles.


The instrument was developed through a rigorous process of analyzing leaders’ behavior at various levels within a variety of organizations. The LEAD 360 has undergone a series of validation and reliability testing to ensure its robustness.

Leading Made Easy and the LEAD 360 assessment present a straightforward, yet effective approach to increase your effectiveness as a leader and make leading easy.

Purchase the companion LEAD 360 assessment along with your copy of Leading Made Easy today! (And remember that we sell both the book and the LEAD 360 in bulk quantities!)