What If The Right Book Reached A Leader At Exactly The Right Time?

The greatest investment in a leader is not simply preparing them for where they are but equipping them for the decisions, they have yet to face. ~Dr. Shelly

When I look at this collage, I see more than individuals holding copies of The GreenLight Factor. I see an investment.

The books pictured were donated by sponsors who believe in the importance of developing emerging leaders. That distinction matters because the books were not simply gifts or keepsakes from an event. They were placed into the hands of leaders as resources for the journey ahead.

And leadership is certainly a journey.

Leadership Comes With Intersections

We often celebrate people when they receive a promotion, accept a new position, earn recognition or step into leadership. What we don’t always see are the decisions that come afterward.

• Should I accept this opportunity?
• Is this still the right environment for me?
• Do I speak up or remain silent?
• Should I continue on this path?
• Is my hesitation fear or is it telling me something I need to examine?
• Am I ready?

These are the intersections that inspired The GreenLight Factor.

The framework uses something familiar, the traffic light, to encourage a more intentional approach to decisions:

🔴 RedLight: STOP.
Something requires attention. Continuing simply because we have already started isn’t always the best decision.

🟡 YellowLight: ASSESS.
Not knowing doesn’t mean failure. Sometimes wisdom requires slowing down long enough to gather information, reflect, ask questions and gain clarity.

🟢 GreenLight: GO.
There are also times when preparation, opportunity and alignment come together. At that point, continuing to analyze can become its own obstacle. It may simply be time to move.

Developing Leaders Before the Crisis

Organizations often invest in leadership development when something has already gone wrong.

• A manager is struggling.
• An employee is considering leaving.
• A promising leader has become overwhelmed.
• A team isn’t functioning effectively.
• A professional has reached a crossroads and doesn’t know what to do next.

But what if we gave people tools for reflection and decision-making before they reached the crisis? That’s one reason this particular sponsorship meant so much to me.

Someone recognized that investing in emerging leaders isn’t only about celebrating what they have already accomplished. It is also about helping prepare them for what comes next.

A Book Can Start a Conversation

No book can make someone’s decisions for them, and it shouldn’t. What a good leadership resource can do is provide language, questions and a framework that helps someone think differently. That is what I hope The GreenLight Factor does.

A reader may recognize that they have been sitting at a RedLight but refusing to stop. Another may realize that they aren’t stuck, they are simply in a YellowLight season that requires additional assessment.

Someone else may discover that they have already done the preparation, asked the questions and gathered the information. Their challenge isn’t clarity anymore. It’s having the courage to GO.

From Reading to Application

This is also where leadership development and coaching can go deeper.

The book can help identify the signal.

A leadership conversation can help explore what the signal means.

Coaching can help someone determine what to do about the decision directly in front of them.

That’s why I see opportunities for The GreenLight Factor beyond individual readership.

Organizations, associations, educational institutions and community partners can use books as part of leadership development programs, emerging-leader initiatives, new-manager development, facilitated discussions or sponsored book distributions.

The photograph accompanying this article is one example of what that can look like.

What Are We Putting Into the Hands of Emerging Leaders?

We talk frequently about developing the next generation of leaders. Perhaps another question deserves our attention:

What are we actually placing in their hands and in their minds to prepare them for the decisions leadership will require?

My hope is that long after the photograph was taken, there will come a moment when one of them faces an important intersection, remembers the framework and asks:

Do I need to Stop?

Do I need to Assess?

Or is this finally my GreenLight to Go?

That is when the gift of a book becomes something more. It becomes an investment in a leader’s next decision.

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The GreenLight Factor is available for individual purchase and can also be incorporated into sponsored book initiatives, leadership-development programs, facilitated conversations and coaching engagements.

If you’ve already read The GreenLight Factor, I invite you to leave an amazon review and share the idea, question or chapter that spoke most strongly to you.