Vince Molinaro

Vince Molinaro

Vince Molinaro in 2014

Vince Molinaro in 2014
Born Venanzio Molinaro
1962 (age 53–54)
Residence Toronto, Ontario
Alma mater
Occupation
  • business strategist
  • author
  • speaker
Website www.theleadershipcontract.com

Venanzio "Vince" Molinaro (born 1962) is a business strategist, public speaker, and author of three books, most notably The Leadership Contract, which argues that too many employees slip into leadership positions without adequate consideration, resulting in a poor outcome. He claims a better outcome for those that instead make a conscious decision to take on the role, by going so far as to write down, sign, and date an explicit "leadership contract" with herself or himself.[1][2][3][4]

Early life, education, and career

Molinaro has degrees from Brock University and McMaster University and received his doctorate from the Department of Education, University of Toronto.[1] For doctoral research he interviewed four employees and their co-workers about an approach to work which was based not on materialism but on substance, spirituality, reflective practice, and on building strong relationships with others. The resulting doctoral thesis was entitled Holism at work, exploring the experiences of individuals creating a new holistic story of work.[5]

In 2008 Molinaro became Managing Director of Leadership Solutions at Knightsbridge Human Capital Solutions.[1]

Publications

Books

Molinaro's first two books, The Leadership Gap and Leadership Solutions were co-authored with David S. Weiss and Liane Davey.[2][3]

The Leadership Gap ranked #3 on list of best selling business books by the Canadian newspaper The Globe and Mail in May 2011.[6] It claims that the growth of an organization can outstrip its capacity to cultivate a sufficient quantity of leaders, and that this "leadership gap" can be corrosive. The book proposes a system for identifying high priority gaps and filling them. Reviewing the book in the Journal of Organizational Excellence, LaRoi Lawton said, "The highly motivated, self-directed reader can gain a great deal of learning and other results from using the guidelines and materials in this timely book."[7] The book has influenced business authors Garth Johns and Jennifer Britton. Garth Johns includes the methods in his book Common Sense Leadership[8] and Jennifer J. Britton in her book From One to Many.[9] Writing about the book in CMA Management magazine, Robert Coleman stated "Building leadership capacity for the future can be a challenge, and pundits have started to jump into the fray..."[10] The book review in the same issue comments that "The Leadership Gap provides a road map for creating such an [leadership development] environment."[11]

Leadership Solutions "challenges the conventional focus on individual leadership development. By highlighting the critical role of culture and organizational practices, it provides the pathway to build the leadership capacity of your organization".[12]

His most recent book The Leadership Contract claims the majority of employees accept leadership positions without "reading the fine print." He draws on an analogy of web site users who accept the terms of service of the site without ever reading them.[4]:6 He advocates that an employee who wants to cut through bureaucratic sclerotics and make changes in their organizations instead make a conscious decision to lead, going so far as to write down, sign, and date an explicit "leadership contract" with herself or himself.[4]:155 Molinaro suggest the contract contain clauses on four aspects of this commitment:

  1. Make the decision to lead - don't just drift into it.
  2. Step up the obligations of leaders have to the stakeholders of their organizations (customers, employees, investors, community, etc.) including the obligation to act ethically.
  3. Resolve to put in the hard work required to overcome obstacles to change
  4. Build connections to others in the organization for mutual support

The book ranked #4 on The New York Times Best Seller list in the Hard cover business books category for the month of September 2013[13] and #3 in the Advice, how-to, & miscellaneous category for August 2013.[14] In a five-star review at Goodreads, Carolyn Kost found the book inspiring.[15] Writing for Inc. magazine, Minda Zetlin comments that making these four commitments may determine effectiveness.[16] In a review for a Colorado State University magazine, Sara Daubert says the book "offers practical suggestions" but cautions that some of the examples are "more remedial" in nature and that some are "lengthy and lack relevance."[17]

Articles

Notable articles from Molinaro include three in the book The Trainer's Portable Mentor edited by Terrence L. Gargiulo, namely "The Synergy of Co-Facilitation: Creating Powerful Learning Experiences", "The Integrated Approach to Leadership Development" (with David Weiss), and "The Trainer as a CAPABLE Leader" (also with Weiss).[18] For the Banff Centre, he wrote "Driving Employee Engagment", again with Weiss.[19] Nick Morgan, reviewing Molinaro's blog for Forbes, observed: "Vince's blog will make any leader stop and think about the predominant model of leadership that still exists today."[20] He has authored two articles for Harvard Business Review namely "Do Millennials Really Want Their Bosses to Call Their Parents?"[21] and "Why a Corporate Scandal Will Follow You Even If You Weren’t Involved."[22]

Public speaking

Molinaro frequently gives keynote speeches at business conferences. Topics include how to identify and learn from the best companies,[23] his belief that the ability to lead is not a trait of a special few, but something that is in everyone,[24] and how businesses can cultivate leadership.[25][26]

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 "Vince Molinaro: Official bio". Knightsbridge Human Capital Solutions. Retrieved September 1, 2013.
  2. 1 2 David S. Weiss; Vince Molinaro (April 29, 2005). The Leadership Gap: Building Leadership Capacity for Competitive Advantage. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978-0-470-67815-2.
  3. 1 2 David S. Weiss; Vince Molinaro; Liane Davey (October 15, 2007). Leadership Solutions: The Pathway to Bridge the Leadership Gap. Jossey-Bass, John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978-0-470-67562-5.
  4. 1 2 3 Vince Molinaro (July 16, 2013). The Leadership Contract: The Fine Print to Becoming a Great Leader. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978-1-118-71478-2.
  5. ↑ Venanzio Molinaro (1997). "Holism at work, exploring the experiences of individuals creating a new holistic story of work". Retrieved September 1, 2013.
  6. ↑ "The List / Bestselling Business Books". The Globe and Mail. May 24, 2011. Retrieved May 18, 2014.
  7. ↑ LaRoi Lawton (2006-02-09). "Currents: Books in brief - Lawton - 2006 - Journal of Organizational Excellence - Wiley Online Library". onlinelibrary.wiley.com. Retrieved 2015-01-02. The highly motivated, self-directed reader can gain a great deal of learning and other results from using the guidelines and materials in this timely book.
  8. ↑ Garth Johns (15 May 2013). Common Sense Leadership: Hundreds of Ideas and Practical Solutions to Declutter Your Home and Stay Uncluttered. BalboaPress. p. 19. ISBN 978-1-4525-7349-6. According to David Weiss and Vince Molinaro in their book The Leadership Gap, leaders need to apply the following...
  9. ↑ Jennifer J. Britton (24 June 2013). From One to Many: Best Practices for Team and Group Coaching. Wiley. p. 257. ISBN 978-1-118-54928-5. ...in this context we need to consider "leadership capacity" as defined by David Weiss and Vince Molinaro...
  10. ↑ Coleman, Robert (August 1, 2005). "Editorial: Fostering leaders". CMA Management magazine  – via HighBeam Research (subscription required) . Retrieved 2015-01-03. Building leadership capacity for the future can be a challenge, and pundits have started to jump into the fray... David S. Weiss and Vince Molinaro are two such pundits...
  11. ↑ "The Leadership Gap: Filling the gaps". CMA Management magazine  – via HighBeam Research (subscription required) . August 1, 2005. Retrieved 2015-01-03. The authors recommend a long-term strategy for leadership development, integrated into the day-to-day business of the company. The Leadership Gap provides a road map for creating such an environment.
  12. ↑ Marianne Hasold-Schilter, quoted in Ketter, Paula (December 1, 2007). "Leadership Solutions: The Pathway to Bridge the Leadership Gap". T+D  – via HighBeam Research (subscription required) 61 (12): 73. Retrieved June 6, 2014.
  13. ↑ "The New York Times Best Sellers: Hard Cover Business Books: September, 2013". The New York Times. September 1, 2013. Retrieved September 1, 2013.
  14. ↑ "The New York Times Best Sellers: Advice, How-to, & Miscellaneous: August, 2013". The New York Times. August 1, 2013. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
  15. ↑ Carolyn Kost (2014-06-04). "Review of The Leadership Contract: The Fine Print to Becoming a Great Leader". Goodreads. Retrieved 2015-01-02. This book ... will inspire you to never stop challenging yourself...
  16. ↑ Minda Zetlin (2014-01-28). "4 Commitments Every Great Leader Makes". Inc.com. Retrieved 2015-01-02. What commitments are you making when you take on a leadership role? Your answer may determine how effective you really are.
  17. ↑ Sara Daubert (Spring 2014). "Great Reads". The Difference: Magazine for alumni of the College of Business of Colorado State University. Retrieved 2015-01-02. The book ... offers practical suggestions about adopting new leadership policies ... some of the leadership examples are more remedial ... tend to be lengthy and lack relevance; .. beneficial ... to engage in a deeper level of self-reflection going forward with their own leadership goals.
  18. ↑ Terrence L. Gargiulo; Ajay Pangarkar; Teresa Kirkwood (August 25, 2008). The Trainer's Portable Mentor. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978-0-470-27841-3.
  19. ↑ Molinaro, Vince; Weiss, Alan (May 12, 2013). "Driving Employee Engagment" (PDF). Banff Centre. Banff Centre. Retrieved May 18, 2014.
  20. ↑ Morgan, Nick (27 August 2012). "How Leaders Communicate". Forbes. Retrieved 2015-01-03.
  21. ↑ Vince Molinaro (2014-04-14). "Do Millennials Really Want Their Bosses to Call Their Parents?". Harvard Business Review. Retrieved 2015-03-01.
  22. ↑ Vince Molinaro (2014-12-04). "Why a Corporate Scandal Will Follow You Even If You Weren’t Involved". Harvard Business Review. Retrieved 2015-03-01.
  23. ↑ Vince Molinaro Ph.D. (April 27, 2001). "KEYNOTE: Learning from the Best: How Canada's Best Managed Companies Create a High Performance Leadership Culture". The Canadian Institute. Retrieved May 18, 2014.
  24. ↑ Foran, Tim (April 15, 2009). "Leadership is in all of us: speaker tells non-profit groups". Burlington Post. Retrieved May 18, 2014.
  25. ↑ Urbanski, Adelina (February 18, 2009). "Leadership Matters in Halton". halton.ca (Press release). Halton Region. Retrieved May 18, 2014.
  26. ↑ "CBC Vancouver sponsors The Art of Leadership from CBC BC Community Blog". CBC BC Community Blog. 3 October 2014. Retrieved 2015-01-01. Dr. Vince Molinaro - Bestselling Author; Topic: The Leadership Contract: The Fine Print to Becoming a Great Leader

External links

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