The Fundamentals Of Leadership

Just as the Wright Brothers combined science and practice to finally realize the dream of flight, Ryan and Robert Quinn combine research and personal experience to demonstrate how to reach a psychological state that elevates us and those around us to greater heights of achievement, integrity, openness, and empathy. It's the psychological equivalent of aerodynamic lift, and it is the fundamental state of leadership. This book draws on recent advances in positive psychology and organizational science to describe four questions that, when asked in any situation, will help us experience the fundamental state of leadership. Engaging personal stories illustrate how the Quinns and others have applied these concepts at work, at home, and in the community. --

Understanding true leadership principles is essential for success in any endeavor worth pursuing. InFundamentals of Leadership: Essential Tools of the Trade, Lieutenant Colonel Floyd G. Sheldon captures his leadership experience as a United States Army infantryman in fifteen easy-to-read chapters. Sheldon draws from more than twenty-five years of experience to teach basic leadership skills in this rich expose, including: Ways to influence How to use simple decision-making steps A common sense approach to learning and thinking Indispensable communication techniques A sound and practical method to leading in a time of a crisis '¦and much moreTo inspire future leaders,Fundamentals of Leadership: Essential tools of the tradeuses larger-than-life and obscure leaders as examples, and includes Sheldon's own experiences leading in the sands of Iraq, the swamps of the Florida panhandle, and the spit and polish of officer candidate school.

Every significant group accomplishment -- and failure -- in the history of the world can be traced back to leadership. Leaders make things happen. Ideally, leaders make things BETTER. Organizations constantly search for quality leaders, but finding and developing them remains a perpetual challenge. Helpful insights and practical applications for leaders are widely available, but where can you find a comprehensive presentation of the basics of leadership itself, showing from the beginning what it takes to lead effectively? In BETTER: The Fundamentals of Leadership, Tim Stevenson systematically presents the ABCs of leadership, those things that must be known and applied by everyone, from the beginner to the advanced leader. Whether you lead an entire organization or a small team, you will learn what you must know and do if you want others to follow you. Tim draws from his extensive coaching and training experience to present clear principles illustrated by vivid real-life people stories and memorable illustrations. His writing style is conversational and easy-going, making this book a stimulating and inspiring read. BETTER: The Fundamentals of Leadership challenges many of the common assumptions of organizations today, particularly how leaders are chosen. Commonly, a person's professional competence (knowledge & skills) is considered sufficient qualification for leadership, but the high rate of leadership failures demonstrates that something is wrong. Tim Stevenson contends in BETTER that personal conduct (behavior) is just as important, if not more so. The rule of thumb is that many executives rise to leadership on the basis of their professional competence, but fail because they fall short in managing the people side of their roles. BETTER clearly outlines what kind of behaviors are required for leadership success, and provides clear guidance for anyone in a leading role. The book is divided into three parts: Part I consists of three chapters which form the foundation for this investigation, beginning with the elementary question, "What is a leader?" Also addressed is whether or not a particular temperament is necessary, and what is required to win followers. Part II presents the requirements of effective leadership in 10 Leadership Propositions. These are ten assertions explaining essential qualities and practices for successful, long-term leadership. They lay out the cost required in order to lead and awareness needed for the leader's journey. Part III shares insights from an executive coach's perspective and valuable equipment for moving ahead in leadership. These final three chapters present helpful tools for conducting a leadership self-evaluation, making desired behavioral changes, doing essential self-maintenance, and setting and protecting boundaries. Each chapter in the book is followed by a summary of take-aways called "Leading Insights" to help crystallize and capture its major applications. BETTER: The Fundamentals of Leadership shares wisdom and applicable principles for leaders at the highest levels of organizations. At the same time, it can be given to young people at the starting line of their careers to provide them with what they need to know and do to progress and learn how to lead others effectively. In short, BETTER: The Fundamentals of Leadership provides valuable wisdom, necessary understanding, and practical insights for anyone interested in the challenging subject of leadership.

Uncover the extraordinary leader in you with straightforward exercises and advice from two of the world’s foremost leadership experts From the bestselling authors of The Leadership Challenge and over a dozen award-winning leadership books comes a new book that examines a question of fundamental importance: How do people learn to become leaders? Learning Leadership: The Five Fundamentals of Becoming an Exemplary Leader is a comprehensive guide to unleashing the inner leader in us all and to building a solid foundation for a lifetime of leadership growth and mastery. The book offers a concrete framework to help individuals of all levels, functions, and backgrounds take charge of their own leadership development and become the best leaders they can be. Arguing that all individuals are born with the capacity to lead, bestselling authors Kouzes and Posner provide readers with a practical series of actions and specific coaching tips for harnessing that capacity and creating a context in which they can excel. Supported by over 30 years of research, from over seventy countries, and with examples from real-world leaders, Learning Leadership is a clarion call to unleash the leadership potential that is already present in society today. Learning Leadership provides readers with evidence-based strategies to ignite the habit of continuous improvement and the mindset of becoming the best leaders they can be. Emerging leaders, as well as leadership developers, internal and external coaches and trainers, and other human resource professionals will learn from first-hand stories and practical examples so that they can deeply understand and apply the fundamentals for becoming the best leaders they can be. Learning Leadership: The Five Fundamentals of Becoming an Exemplary Leader is divided into digestible bite-sized chapters that encourage daily actions to becoming a better leader. Key takeaways from the book include: Believe in Yourself. Believing in oneself is the essential first step in developing leadership competencies. The best leaders are learners, and they can’t achieve mastery until and unless they truly decide that inside them there is a person who can make and difference and learn to be a better leader than they are right now. Aspire to Excel. To become an exemplary leader, people must determine what they care most about and why they want to lead. Leaders with values-based motivations are the most likely to excel. They also must have a clear image of the kind of leader they want to be in the future—and the legacy they want to leave for others. Challenge Yourself. Challenging oneself is critical to learning leadership. Leaders must seek new experiences and test themselves. There will be inevitable setbacks and failures along the way that require curiosity, grit, courage, and resilience to persist in learning and becoming the best. Engage Support. One can’t lead alone, and one can’t learn alone. It is essential to get support and coaching on the path to achieving excellence. Whether it’s family, managers at work, or professional coaches, leaders need the advice, feedback, care, and support of others. Practice Deliberately. No one gets better at anything without continuous practice. Exemplary leaders spend more time practicing than ordinary leaders. Simply being in the role of a leader is insufficient. To achieve mastery, leaders must set improvement goals, participate in designed learning experiences, ask for feedback, and get coaching. They also put in the time every day and make learning leadership a daily habit. Kouzes and Posner offer unrivaled insights into what it means to become an exemplary leader in today’s world with their original research and over 30 years of experience studying the practices of extraordinary leadership. They show that anyone can become a better leader if they believe in themselves, aspire to excel, challenge themselves to grow, engage the support of others, and practice deliberately. Learning Leadership challenges readers to do the meaningful and disciplined work necessary to becoming the best they can, using a new mindset and toolkit that can make extraordinary things happen. It’s not the once-in-a-while transformational acts that demonstrate leadership. It’s the little things that one does day in and day out that pave the path to greatness.

Jack Stahl became President of two global companies, The Coca-Cola Company and Revlon, before the age of 50. Now Stahl offers down-to-earth approaches, frameworks, and practical solutions to successfully capture business opportunities and manage the critical organizational issues leaders face every day. Stahl lays out seven "Frameworks for Success": Leadership and Management, Creating a High-Capability Organization, Developing People, Brand Positioning with Consumers, Customer Relationship Management, Financial Strategy, and Influencing People. Written in Stahl's accessible and conversational style with illustrative examples, Lessons on Leadership provides immediately usable and proven action frameworks for a leader requiring a fast start to drive value in these important areas.

The one primer you need to develop your leadership skills. Put aside all the overhyped new frameworks, the listicles, the "10 best things you need to succeed as a leader today." The critical leadership practices--the ones that will allow a leader to make the biggest impact over time--are well established. They're about how you create a vision and inspire others to follow it. How you make difficult strategic choices. How you lead innovation. How you get results. These fundamental skills are even more important today as organizations and teams become increasingly networked, virtual, agile, fast-moving, and socially conscious. In this comprehensive handbook, strategy and change experts Ron Ashkenas and Brook Manville distill proven ideas and frameworks about leadership from Harvard Business Review, interviews with senior executives, and their own experience in the field--all to help rising leaders stand out and have a big impact. In the HBR Leader's Handbook you'll find: Concise explanations of proven leadership frameworks from Harvard Business Review contributors such as Clayton M. Christensen and Michael E. Porter In-depth case studies of senior leaders such as Jim Wolfensohn at the World Bank, Paula Kerger at PBS, Darren Walker at the Ford Foundation, and Jim Smith at Thomson Reuters Step-by-step guidance to help you understand and start implementing six core leadership practices: building a unifying vision, developing a strategy, getting great people on board, focusing on results, innovating for the future, and leading yourself

“The business environment is so uncertain that no can afford to miss a step. Some forces are out of out control–recessions, cutbacks, layoffs. But being the best we can be at our job is not. We have total control over that.” --From the Introduction of The Six Fundamentals of Success Everyone has his or her own style at work. But if you look at the people who are successful, you’ll see similarities. They always do the most important things first--they know how to prioritize. They can sum up how their company stands out from the pack in only a few minutes. They work with a sense of urgency, every day. These are the kinds of qualities and habits that never go out of style. Moreover, they are crucial to any successful career and life. By pursuing them regularly, you and your company are more likely to get ahead. In The Six Fundamentals of Success, CEO and business consultant Stuart Levine spells out exactly how to practice the constants of business success--whether it’s satisfying customers, developing strong relationships, or communicating clearly--through six fundamental principles, gained from decades of experience working with top executives. But it’s the way Levine zeroes in on these fundamentals--add value, communicate well, deliver results, act with integrity, invest in relationships, and gain perspective--and brings them to life through dozens of pithy, to-the-point rules that makes the book so practical and useful. With no-nonsense lessons like “Face time counts,” “Do breakfast,” and “Share the good news--and the bad,” Levine offers concrete examples of how to behave, respond, and motivate others. Aimed at business people and entrepreneurs at all levels, whether they work in companies large or small, The Six Fundamentals of Success provides the smart, action-oriented guidance people need in today’s challenging climate.

Ancient Chinese philosopher Lao-Tzu is often credited with the phrase, “The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.” Unfortunately, he had nothing to say about which step was the right one. Your journey to be the leader you want to be begins here. Lead 4 Success sets your development as a leader on the right track, focusing on the four fundamental skills that fuel the thoughts and drive the actions of leaders who make a difference: SELF-AWARENESS, LEARNING AGILITY, COMMUNICATION and INFLUENCE. Each of those essential skills is comprised of other skills. You will learn about all of them in Lead 4 Success. To ensure the success of your leadership journey, use this book as a guide. Its tools and ideas will help you develop and put into practice the skills that you need to demonstrate true leadership.