How to leverage ordinary greatness to create a competitive
advantage for any organization
Enabling readers to maximize leadership skills, no matter the
venue, Ordinary Greatness helps those who are in leadership
positions to optimize their organizational results by improving
their ability to recognize and create greatness in those who they
lead. Featuring real-world stories, this practical guide helps
readers relate to both famous and everyday heroes and shows leaders
how to improve their immediate environment. In addition, actionable
tips and insights are included to equip business leaders to remove
the blinders that keep them from seeing their organization’s
ordinary greatness.
Pamela Bilbrey and Brian Jones are organizational
consultants, executive coaches, and international speakers and
workshop facilitators
Table of Content
Foreword ix
Preface xi
Acknowledgments xv
Chapter 1 What is Ordinary Greatness? 1
Chapter 2 Ordinary Greatness Observed 9
Chapter 3 Why People Do Not See Ordinary Greatness 23
Chapter 4 How Leaders Open Their Eyes to Ordinary Greatness 39
Chapter 5 Characteristics of Ordinary Greatness 55
Chapter 6 Creating the Context for Ordinary Greatness 75
Chapter 7 Promoting Ordinary Greatness 95
Chapter 8 Cultivating the Potential for Ordinary Greatness 109
Chapter 9 Changing the Way You View the World 123
Chapter 10 Ordinary Greatness in Challenging Times 143
Closing Comments 157
Appendix A Assessments 159
Appendix B Questions and Answers 166
Notes 180
For More Information 188
About the Authors 189
Index 190
About the author
PAMELA BILBREY helps organizations maximize their current strengths and bring out their ordinary greatness to achieve extraordinary results. A sought-after consultant, coach, and international speaker, she has authored three books and over fifty articles on employee engagement, leadership and team development, and organizational change. She was senior vice president of corporate development at Baptist Health Care, a Fortune 100 Best Places to Work organization and a Baldrige National Quality Program recipient. She also founded the Baptist Health Care Leadership Institute.
BRIAN JONES has been described by his clients as ‘a breath of fresh air’ and ‘the most effective consultant we’ve ever hired.’ He travels the country helping teams and organizations achieve real results with ordinary, yet great tools and advice. As the former director of people development for Baptist Health Care, he was instrumental in the organization’s recognition as Training magazine’s Top 100 Training Organizations in America for five consecutive years. He is the author of several articles on leadership development and employee engagement.