Leading At The Edge

Drawing on the amazing story of Shackleton and his polar exploration team’s survival against all odds, author Dennis N. T. Perkins demonstrates the importance of a strong leader in times of adversity, uncertainty, and change. Part adventure tale and part leadership guide, Leading at the Edge uncovers what the legendary Antarctic adventure of Sir Ernest Shackleton, his ship Endurance, and his team of twenty-seven polar explorers can teach us about bringing order to chaos through true leadership. Among other skills, you’ll learn how to: instill optimism while staying grounded in reality, step up to risks worth taking, consistently reinforce your team message, set a personal example, find things to celebrate, laugh small things off, and--even in the face of extreme temperatures, hazardous ice, scarce food, and complete isolation--never give up. This second edition of Leading at the Edge features additional lessons, new case studies of the strategies in action, tools to uncover and resolve conflicts, and expanded resources. An updated epilogue compares the leadership styles of the famous polar explorers Shackleton, Amundsen, and Scott, which transcend the one-hundred-plus years since their historic race to the South Pole to help today’s leaders learn valuable lessons about the meaning of true success.

Lessons on authentic leadership from the 58th annual Antarctic expedition In Leading on the Edge, successful business speaker and consultant Rachael Robertson shares the lessons she learned as leader of a year-long expedition to the wilds of Antarctica. Leading eighteen strangers around the clock for a full year—through months of darkness and with no escape from the frigid cold, howling winds, and each other—Robertson learned powerful lessons about what real, authentic leadership is. Here, she offers a deeply honest and humorous account of what it takes to survive and lead in the harshest environment on Earth. What emerges from her graphic account is a series of powerful and practical lessons for business leaders and managers everywhere. Features practical leadership lessons that are particularly helpful for any leader who must get the best out of the team they've got Features solutions to many challenges common to all workplaces Includes real excerpts from Robertson's personal journals through twelve months of leading in the most challenging environment in the world Written by a popular speaker and business leader who has appeared at more than 350 national and international conferences and events for a wide range of industries Leading on the Edge explains what it's like to take charge when you've no place to hide and how truly harsh environments can serve as a leadership laboratory that results in truly effective, authentic leadership.

The old model of globalization—including offshoring to save money—no longer applies. Globalization now means you can better position your company for innovation and growth. To be a global leader, you must change and lead from the edge. Every day as a global leader seems to be a paradox: balancing the needs of daily operations while creating conditions that drive success in the future. Rather than try to resolve that paradox, this book helps you think about how to live within it, by developing essential traits and hearing from leaders who succeed globally. Learn from seven top executives how they shifted from individual thinkers to leading and growing organizations in an ever-changing economy. Learn the specific traits and model for business professionals to emulate and achieve success in global business enterprises. Get the on-the-ground, common-sense advice that has been applied by today’s successful global executives.

Leading at the Edge: True Tales from Canadian Police in Peacebuilding and Peacekeeping Missions around the World is a collection of ten short biographical stories about the work of Canadian police peacebuilders and peacekeepers overseas, now available in an economic black and white edition. Through the stories, the reader is transported to new and fledgling democracies such as Namibia, Croatia, Guatemala, Kosovo, East Timor, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Jerusalem, Afghanistan and Haiti. The book presents a digest of the experiences of the police officers and illustrates how they have positively influenced their host country in an attempt to make this world a safer and better place to live. Leading at the Edge is a reference for anyone who loves history, travel, adventure and who has an interest in social science and criminology. It is also a reference for police officers, people interested in foreign diplomacy, international affairs, military affairs, criminal justice reforms, humanitarian work or for anyone who has an interest in peacekeeping. In this book, you will learn about the work of Canadian police peacekeepers in international operations and vicariously experience their efforts through photographs provided by the peacekeepers themselves. This book will demonstrate that peacebuilding and peacekeeping continue to be pillars for human security especially in light of recent worldwide attacks on democracy by terrorist groups. Canada and the rest of the world have a crucial role to play in helping those nations respect human rights, build up their economies and ensure they have the tools to fight back terrorism for the prosperity of their citizens.

Develop a high-performing team based on a culture where respect trumps harmony As teams become more diverse, we won’t always see eye to eye. We won’t agree on everything, and we may not even like each other. In order to achieve results, we need to have robust, candid and constructive discussions. Respect Trumps Harmony offers a proven approach to navigating the difficulties faced in teams and workplaces today. To build collaboration; strengthen innovation; and manage safety, risk and well-being, it’s critical that there is a foundation of respect, not harmony. Developed during author Rachael Robertson’s time leading one of the toughest workplaces on the planet—Davis Station, Antarctica—and further informed by over 15 years of research, case studies and feedback, Robertson suggests that harmony in the workplace is overrated, and can even be dangerous, and that above all else, respect is the key ingredient of a high-performance culture. A focus on respect over harmony improves everything from morale to productivity. Respect Trumps Harmony integrates the three pillars at the core of Robertson’s leadership practice: No triangles, The bacon wars, and Lead without a title, enabling you to: • Manage conflict and put an end to gossip • Improve accountability and the quality of feedback, • Recognise and manage dysfunctional behaviour • Build collaboration to strengthen innovation • Identify and manage risk • Inspire trust and confidence by displaying personal leadership, and encourage others to do the same irrespective of their title Respect Trumps Harmony is a contemporary leadership handbook, essential for all modern leaders and those who wish to transform the culture within their own team.

Based on 30 years of consulting experience, this unique book provides a concrete program for prospering in dangerous times. Using examples, case studies, guidelines, and worksheets, this father and son team explain how exceptional leaders and companies have transformed the threat of economic meltdown into an opportunity for new levels of success.

“If you’re not living on the edge, you’re taking up too much space.” —Jim Whittaker, first American to climb Mt. Everest A leader’s job—in a radically changing world—is standing on the cliff edge, getting a grip on unfamiliar landscapes, and acquiring the skills for leading the enterprise into new territory. In a world facing the unprecedented challenges of global pandemic and economic distruption, every leader needs to find the edge for leaping across the breach and breaking new ground on the other side. Michael Useem provides rare insight into how ten leaders confronted hard realities. He looked close-in at the lide and work of people such as Bill McNabb of Vanguard, Jeffrey Lurie of the Philadelphia Eagles, Alex Gorsky of Johnson & Johnson, and Tricia Griffith of Progressive Insurance. His “you are there” profiles chronicle fateful decisions such as: Meeting the concerns of a next-generation workforce that considers inclusiveness an integral part of business Developing a strategy for growth in a market that is cratering Escaping the confines of an insane, always-on, 24/7 world to learn about the real, granular changes happening in the marketplace Useem’s profiles of leaders on the edge provide the inspiration and the guidance we all need for adapting and thriving in an era of massive disruption and continuous transformation.