The Myth of Leadership

The Myth of Leadership PDF Author: Jeffrey S. Nielsen
Publisher: Hachette UK
ISBN: 1473644275
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 222

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Book Description
Can we really run organizations without leaders? Yes, says organizational consultant Jeffery Nielson in this provocative book. According to Nielsen, it’s time to stop structuring businesses as “rank-based” organizations run by a privileged elite who are so isolated from the front lines that they are downright counterproductive. Debunking the leadership myth, Nielsen calls for an end to leader-based corporate hierarchies, which foster secrecy, encourage miscommunication, and steal the joy and dignity from work. His new paradigm is the “peer-based” organization. No matter how you feel about Nielsen’s theory of leaderless organizations, you are sure to find this book thought provoking. It will challenge your assumptions about the role of leadership in modern organizations.

Leaders

Leaders PDF Author: General Stanley McChrystal
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 0525534377
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 482

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Book Description
AN INSTANT NATIONAL BESTSELLER! Stanley McChrystal, the retired US Army general and bestselling author of Team of Teams, profiles thirteen of history’s great leaders, including Walt Disney, Coco Chanel, and Robert E. Lee, to show that leadership is not what you think it is—and never was. Stan McChrystal served for thirty-four years in the US Army, rising from a second lieutenant in the 82nd Airborne Division to a four-star general, in command of all American and coalition forces in Afghanistan. During those years he worked with countless leaders and pondered an ancient question: “What makes a leader great?” He came to realize that there is no simple answer. With Plutarch’s Lives as his model, McChrystal looks at paired sets of leaders who followed unconventional paths to success. For instance . . . Walt Disney and Coco Chanel, Maximilien Robespierre and Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, Boss Tweed and Margaret Thatcher, Martin Luther and Martin Luther King Jr., and finally explores his former hero, Robert E. Lee, from his exceptional military career to leading an army to defeat in service of an immoral cause. He uses their stories to explore how leadership works in practice and to challenge the myths that complicate our thinking about this critical topic. Leaders will help you take stock of your own leadership, whether you’re part of a small team or responsible for an entire nation.

The Myth of the Strong Leader

The Myth of the Strong Leader PDF Author: Archie Brown
Publisher: Basic Books
ISBN: 0465080979
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 482

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Book Description
From one of the world's preeminent political historians, a magisterial study of political leadership around the world from the advent of parliamentary democracy to the age of Obama. All too frequently, leadership is reduced to a simple dichotomy: the strong versus the weak. Yet, there are myriad ways to exercise effective political leadership -- as well as different ways to fail. We blame our leaders for economic downfalls and praise them for vital social reforms, but rarely do we question what makes some leaders successful while others falter. In this magisterial and wide-ranging survey of political leadership over the past hundred years, renowned Oxford politics professor Archie Brown challenges the widespread belief that strong leaders -- meaning those who dominate their colleagues and the policy-making process -- are the most successful and admirable. In reality, only a minority of political leaders will truly make a lasting difference. Though we tend to dismiss more collegial styles of leadership as weak, it is often the most cooperative leaders who have the greatest impact. Drawing on extensive research and decades of political analysis and experience, Brown illuminates the achievements, failures and foibles of a broad array of twentieth century politicians. Whether speaking of redefining leaders like Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Lyndon Johnson, and Margaret Thatcher, who expanded the limits of what was politically possible during their time in power, or the even rarer transformational leaders who played a decisive role in bringing about systemic change -- Charles de Gaulle, Mikhail Gorbachev and Nelson Mandela, among them -- Brown challenges our commonly held beliefs about political efficacy and strength. Overturning many of our assumptions about the twentieth century's most important figures, Brown's conclusions are both original and enlightening. The Myth of the Strong Leader compels us to reassess the leaders who have shaped our world - and to reconsider how we should choose and evaluate those who will lead us into the future.

The Terms of Order

The Terms of Order PDF Author: Cedric J. Robinson
Publisher: UNC Press Books
ISBN: 1469628228
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 311

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Book Description
Do we live in basically orderly societies that occasionally erupt into violent conflict, or do we fail to perceive the constancy of violence and disorder in our societies? In this classic book, originally published in 1980, Cedric J. Robinson contends that our perception of political order is an illusion, maintained in part by Western political and social theorists who depend on the idea of leadership as a basis for describing and prescribing social order. Using a variety of critical approaches in his analysis, Robinson synthesizes elements of psychoanalysis, structuralism, Marxism, classical and neoclassical political philosophy, and cultural anthropology in order to argue that Western thought on leadership is mythological rather than rational. He then presents examples of historically developed "stateless" societies with social organizations that suggest conceptual alternatives to the ways political order has been conceived in the West. Examining Western thought from the vantage point of a people only marginally integrated into Western institutions and intellectual traditions, Robinson's perspective radically critiques fundamental ideas of leadership and order.

The Law of Influence

The Law of Influence PDF Author: John C. Maxwell
Publisher: Thomas Nelson Inc
ISBN: 140027561X
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 19

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Book Description
Her husband had everything: wealth, privilege, position, and a royal title. Yet instead of him, Princess Diana won over the whole world. Why? She understood the Law of Influence.

Spaceflight and the Myth of Presidential Leadership

Spaceflight and the Myth of Presidential Leadership PDF Author: Roger D. Launius
Publisher: University of Illinois Press
ISBN: 9780252066320
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 276

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Book Description
Setting the tone for the collection, NASA chief historian Roger D. Launius and Howard McCurdy maintain that the nation's presidency had become imperial by the mid-1970s and that supporters of the space program had grown to find relief in such a presidency, which they believed could help them obtain greater political support and funding. Subsequent chapters explore the roles and political leadership, vis-à-vis government policy, of presidents Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, and Reagan.

The Mythical Leader

The Mythical Leader PDF Author: Ron Edmondson
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
ISBN: 0718089243
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 221

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Book Description
Pastor and popular blogger, Ron Edmondson exposes some of the common misunderstandings of leadership through stories from his own experiences, helping leaders develop healthier patterns of individual leadership. Being a leader involves much more than holding a title. And simply having a leader doesn't ensure success. This reality has never been more prevalent in the church than now, when so many churches are considered to be plateaued or dying. Pastor and popular blogger, Ron Edmondson believes this is due to a misunderstanding of what leadership is and what it isn't. In his work with hundreds of pastors and churches, the most common need he encounters is the need for more effective leadership in the local church. Seminaries may prepare pastors to preach, just as colleges may prepare teachers to teach, but who prepares pastors to lead? Simply stated: The church needs better leadership. In The Mythical Leader, Edmondson exposes some of the most common misunderstandings of leadership, shares stories from his own experiences, and will help church leaders develop healthier patterns to improve their individual leadership. While most people may have a preliminary understanding of many of these myths, they often are not lived out with a great degree of depth in the life of the church leader. Don't fall prey to these myths! If gone untreated they can be the very thing that prevents a good leader from leading well.

Myths of Management

Myths of Management PDF Author: Stefan Stern
Publisher: Kogan Page Publishers
ISBN: 0749480246
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 249

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Book Description
Is it really true that working longer hours makes you more successful? Do you really need to hide your emotions in order to gain respect as a manager? Does higher pay really always lead to higher performance? The world of management is blighted by fads, fiction and falsehoods. In Myths of Management, Cary Cooper and Stefan Stern take you on an entertaining journey through the most famous myths surrounding the much-written about topic of management. They debunk false assumptions, inject truth into over-simplifications and tackle damaging habits head-on. Fascinating insights from psychology, leadership theory and organizational behaviour provide you with a compelling and practical guide to avoid falling into the trap of cliché, misinformation and prejudice. This engaging read offers you authentic insights into the reality of work, drawn from extensive research and real-world business examples, to give you the essential knowledge you need to become a better manager. Whether cheesy, naïve or even destructive, management myths could be holding you back and stifling your team's potential. Myths of Management is the guide you need to become an enlightened manager.

The Transformation Myth

The Transformation Myth PDF Author: Gerald C. Kane
Publisher: MIT Press
ISBN: 0262366576
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 247

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Book Description
In this business bestseller, how companies can adapt in an era of continuous disruption: a guide to responding to such acute crises as COVID-19. Gold Medalist in Business Disruption/Reinvention. When COVID-19 hit, businesses had to respond almost instantaneously--shifting employees to remote work, repairing broken supply chains, keeping pace with dramatically fluctuating customer demand. They were forced to adapt to a confluence of multiple disruptions inextricably linked to a longer-term, ongoing digital disruption. This book shows that companies that use disruption as an opportunity for innovation emerge from it stronger. Companies that merely attempt to "weather the storm" until things go back to normal (or the next normal), on the other hand, miss an opportunity to thrive. The authors, all experts on business and technology strategy, show that transformation is not a one-and-done event, but a continuous process of adapting to a volatile and uncertain environment. Drawing on five years of research into digital disruption--including a series of interviews with business leaders conducted during the COVID-19 crisis--they offer a framework for understanding disruption and tools for navigating it. They outline the leadership traits, business principles, technological infrastructure, and organizational building blocks essential for adapting to disruption, with examples from real-world organizations. Technology, they remind readers, is not an end in itself, but enables the capabilities essential for surviving an uncertain future: nimbleness, scalability, stability, and optionality.

The Myth of Experience

The Myth of Experience PDF Author: Emre Soyer
Publisher: PublicAffairs
ISBN: 1541742060
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 228

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Book Description
Experience is a great teacher . . . except when it isn't. In this groundbreaking guide, learn how the past can deceive and limit us -- and how healthy skepticism can build a better world. Our personal experience is key to who we are and what we do. We judge others by their experience and are judged by ours. Society venerates experience. From doctors to teachers to managers to presidents, the more experience the better. It's not surprising then, that we often fall back on experience when making decisions, an easy way to make judgements about the future, a constant teacher that provides clear lessons. Yet, this intuitive reliance on experience is misplaced. In The Myth of Experience, behavioral scientists Emre Soyer and Robin Hogarth take a transformative look at experience and the many ways it deceives and misleads us. From distorting the past to limiting creativity to reducing happiness, experience can cause misperceptions and then reinforce them without our awareness. Instead, the authors argue for a nuanced approach, where a healthy skepticism toward the lessons of experience results in more reliable decisions and sustainable growth. Soyer and Hogarth illustrate the flaws of experience -- with real-life examples from bloodletting to personal computers to pandemics -- and distill cutting-edge research as a guide to decision-making, as well as provide the remedies needed to improve our judgments and choices in the workplace and beyond.