How to Earn the Gift of Discretionary Effort by thought leaders Karla Brandau and Douglas Ross is a deep dive into a comprehensive approach to catapulting your leadership career and turning your employees into your competitive advantage in a difficult marketplace. This cutting-edge book details how earning the gift of discretionary effort is the distinguishing characteristic of 21st-century leaders. Any skill requires discipline to become proficient, and this book is the training manual for individuals with the perseverance and determination to become the leader people CHOOSE to follow - not HAVE to follow because of their place on the organizational chart.

Leadership is about getting work done through others. As you become the leader people CHOOSE to follow, you will earn the gift of discretionary effort on a daily basis. You will move your employees from minimal effort to amazing contributions, resulting in increased profitability and economic sustainability for your company. Discretionary effort is the difference between what one is capable of bringing to a task versus the minimum effort required to get by or make do and still receive a paycheck. Each day, when an employee walks in the office door (or logs in remotely) and starts work, that employee makes a choice whether or not to give discretionary effort. It takes a special kind of leader to achieve the environment of exceptional employee experience and workplace optimization where workers naturally give discretionary effort, not just give the stereotypical second mile.

The book teaches you how to be that special kind of leader that gets much more than the second mile from all who work with you. You’ll learn to refine the touchpoints between you and your employees from potential misunderstandings to productive conversations that move projects along to successful conclusions. The principles in the book are based on the RossBrandau Discretionary Leadership Model(TM).