The Illusion Of Leadership

People need a degree of free choice for creativity and change to happen. But they must also have boundaries. At one level this is what politics and business are all about. Too much of the wrong sort of control and the system becomes bureaucratic or tyrannical, too little and it becomes arbitrary and chaotic.

This book is about the "leadership illusion"; the habit of writers, researchers and leaders, when considering causes of success or failure, to focus mainly on the individual and often the context but rarely both. This book argues that context and individual are inextricably linked and we first must make sense of the context in which leaders operate.

This book is about the "leadership illusion"; the habit of writers, researchers and leaders, when considering causes of success or failure, to focus mainly on the individual and often the context but rarely both. This book argues that context and individual are inextricably linked and we first must make sense of the context in which leaders operate.

We live in a world of illusion. Our eyes are lying to us every day of our lives. While many of these illusions are fun to witness, in the realm of leadership, a person living in a world of illusion can find themselves quickly out of business. Leadership Illusions will clearly outline twenty-one common illusions and help you see the reality of true leadership in a transformative way. Through stories, quotes, and illustrations, Ken Hartley pulls back the curtain on how real leaders lead with excellence and shows you where the smoke and mirrors are and how to avoid the pitfalls so prevalent in the world today. Ken Hartley is a keynote speaker, best-selling author, and a transformation agent. He lives to help organizations and individuals unlock their potential in the areas of personal growth, communication, and leadership.

Have you noticed a gap between the illusion of work being done in your office, and the actual output of those workers? Then it’s time to re-evaluate your methodologies. Streamline your work processes and become more results-oriented with The Illusion of Work. This book provides a unique perspective on the process of self-discovery, self-evaluation, and planning required to eradicate effort that’s only disguised as work. It’s a reality check for people at all levels of a company, whether you want to improve your own output or help your employees take their game to the next level. Through case studies and real-life stories, you’ll gain an actionable plan to effect change at your company. Business owners, leaders, and staff will gain the framework they need to analyze, create, and maintain a work environment where everyone understands the difference between work that’s meant to help achieve an end goal, and effort that just makes people look busy.

Is leadership a mystery? Do leaders really understand the value, risk, and reality of the leadership brand? Or is leadership an illusion where ignorance is bliss? The purpose of this book is to unveil the mystery of leadership. Leadership is a risky proposition and not as easy as it seems. In naivety, leaders or those aspiring often are misguided by the perception of the pot of gold at the end of the leadership rainbow. With time, they quickly realize that leadership is costly, has consequences for others, and is riddled with challenges. Thus, what leaders don't know them will harm them and others eventually. In The Mystery of Leadership (Unlocking the Code to Value, Risk, and Leadership Illusions), readers will learn: How to find and leverage the leadership voice. The importance of timing and the value of waiting. The cost of being a sage and choosing an authentic leadership brand. The illusion of leadership political capital. How to assemble the right leadership room, set goals, and identify effective leaders for the optimal team. The cost of being a leadership watchman. How to recover from leadership falls and weather leadership storms.

Agile, Lean, and DevOps approaches are radical game changers, providing a fundamentally different way to think about how IT fits into the enterprise, how IT leaders lead, and how IT can harness technology to accomplish the objectives of the enterprise. But honest and open conversations are not taking place between management and Agile delivery teams. In A Seat at the Table, CIO Mark Schwartz explores the role of IT leadership as it is now and opens the door to reveal IT leadership as it should be—an integral part of the value creation engine. With an easy style, Schwartz reveals that the only way to become an Agile IT leader is to be courageous—to throw off the attitude and assumptions that have kept CIOs from taking their rightful seat at the table. CIOs, step on up, your seat at the table is waiting for you.

Want to be an effective, successful and happy academic? This book helps you hone your skills, showcase your strengths, and manage all the professional aspects of academic life. With their focus on life-long learning and positive reflection, Alex and Bailey encourage you to focus on your own behaviours and personal challenges and help you to find real world solutions to your problems or concerns. Weaving inspirational stories, the best of research and theory, along with pragmatic advice from successful academics, this book provides step-by-step guidance and simple tools to help you better meet the demands of modern academia, including: Optimising your effectiveness, priorities & strategy Workflow & managing workload Interpersonal relationships, and how to influence Developing your writing, presenting and teaching skills Getting your work/life balance right. Clear, practical and refreshingly positive this book inspires you to build the career you want in academia.