Becoming an effective IT manager presents a host of challenges--from anticipating emerging technology to managing relationships with vendors, employees, and other managers. A good IT manager must also be a strong business leader. This book invites you to accompany new CIO Jim Barton to better understand the role of IT in your organization. You'll see Jim struggle through a challenging first year, handling (and fumbling) situations that, although fictional, are based on true events. You can read this book from beginning to end, or treat is as a series of cases. You can also skip around to address your most pressing needs. For example, need to learn about crisis management and security? Read chapters 10-12. You can formulate your own responses to a CIO's obstacles by reading the authors' regular "Reflection" questions. You'll turn to this book many times as you face IT-related issues in your own career.

Have you ever imagined yourself as a teacher leader but weren't quite sure whether you really had—or could develop—the necessary skills? Have you wondered what the first steps toward becoming a teacher leader might be, what kinds of approaches work best, and how you could overcome the inevitable challenges that come with leading your colleagues on a journey toward improvement as professionals? Authors Rebecca Mieliwocki (California and National Teacher of the Year for 2012) and Joseph Fatheree (Illinois Teacher of the Year for 2007) answer these questions and more in this engaging guide to becoming a successful teacher leader. Organized around five key tools—communication, collaboration, professional development, data, and advocacy—the book covers every aspect of what is involved in taking on leadership responsibilities. Firsthand accounts of the authors' experiences and those of more than a dozen other State Teachers of the Year describe the various pathways to leadership, strategies for success, and pitfalls to avoid. These teacher voices add powerful credibility to the research on teacher leadership and show how leaders can not only improve their schools and districts but also influence state and national policies and practices. Both informative and inspiring, Adventures in Teacher Leadership invites others to expand their professional reach, empower the profession of teaching, and, ultimately, make a big difference in the lives of students everywhere. This book is a copublication of ASCD and NNSTOY.

Leadership is strength. Leadership is unfailing. Leadership is the hand that picks you up when you fall, guides you when you are lost, and provides a beacon of light when all is a fog. Leadership is the conductor at the front of the orchestra, raising his baton in defining rhythm. Leadership is the coach on the sidelines cheering on his players regardless of what the scoreboard reads. Leadership is the parent who supports their child in all of their endeavors and provides a net of safety for them to soar over. Leadership is so much more than the mundane tasks of management and not so much about the fancy title and the power over others. Adventures in Leadership is a journey that encompasses all aspects of leadership. The good times and the bad; the mishaps, mistakes and mayhem all rolled into extraordinary days and sleepless nights. Adventures in Leadership will make you laugh through tales of hiring, firing and slapstick antics. It will make you cringe at the actions of leaders gone bad and shrink away from visions of death in the workplace. Four time best-selling author, Peter A. LaPorta, brings over 30 years of leadership excellence to the stories contained within Adventures in Leadership. You will marvel in wonder about tales from his leadership at Walt Disney World, Universal Studios and so many other companies. Come along for the ride and you will see the shining stars in the sky and the best of the best that set the level of excellence far above the rest. Peter A. LaPorta is an award-winning speaker, a motivational author, and a leader heralded all over the globe for his excellence. He is the acclaimed host of The Peter LaPorta Show as his words resonate to audiences everywhere. Traveling the globe, he spreads powerful messages of motivation and service. For more information on Peter and his incredible journey, visit http://laportaenterprises.com.

Today’s CEO must be a global leader who also understands that parts of the business must be managed locally. Someone who sets a strategic vision, though industry and technology disruptions will surely threaten that vision. Someone who must live in the future to go to the future, while continuously creating economic and social value. Not an easy task. Harder Than I Thought is a fictional narrative that puts this increasingly complex job in context—by enabling you to walk alongside Jim Barton, the new CEO of Santa Monica Aerospace, as he steps into the role. Barton’s story, developed in consultation with seasoned, reallife CEOs, contains crucial lessons for all leaders hoping to master the new skills required to move into the Csuite.

Practical and accessible with workbook activities and exercises for readers to do, this book shares the eight essential elements of teamwork, using Benincasa's exciting, challenging, and life-affirming experiences as an extreme world class adventure racer.

The book of Proverbs teaches us to cry out for wisdom. That truth should be no different for our businesses than our daily life. Drew and Dan help drive that point home. --David Green, CEO & Founder, Hobby Lobby, Inc. Timeless Wisdom and Modern Application for a Sharper Edge in Business Business owners and organizational leaders use instinct, crowdsourcing, market factors, compromise, and experience to make decisions. All of these are valid, but can still yield a limited perspective and dull overconfidence. This can result in poor decisions, expensive losses, and deep wounds. Through their own entrepreneurial ventures, and in their work helping thousands of business leaders grow--personally and professionally, Dan and Drew help you: Understand timeless leadership principles of Proverbs with application for today Gain clarity on how to make wise decisions Accelerate business growth and remove needless limitations Become a better leader of yourself, your business, your employees, and your community What's inside: An outline of Proverb's fundamental truths and how they apply to business and leadership A relevant way to digest Proverbs through real-world case studies Actionable insights on business processes, frameworks, mental models, and application exercises An Index of the entire book of Proverbs by topic for easy search and application Get Wisdom. Make Better Decisions. Be a Better Leader. Sharpen your edge. Dan Cooper and Drew Hiss are entrepreneurs and executive coaches. After successful exits, they wanted to give other leaders resources they wished they had along the way. Dan and Drew formed Acumen in 2015 to provide practical wisdom through Council, Coaching, and Community. www.AcumenImpact.com

The Wall Street Journal bestselling author of 18 Minutes unlocks the secrets of highly successful leaders and pinpoints the missing ingredient that makes all the difference You have the opportunity to lead: to show up with confidence, connected to others, and committed to a purpose in a way that inspires others to follow. Maybe it’s in your workplace, or in your relationships, or simply in your own life. But great leadership—leadership that aligns teams, inspires action, and achieves results—is hard. And what makes it hard isn’t theoretical, it’s practical. It’s not about knowing what to say or do. It’s about whether you’re willing to experience the discomfort, risk, and uncertainty of saying or doing it. In other words, the most critical challenge of leadership is emotional courage. If you are willing to feel everything, you can do anything. Leading with Emotional Courage, based on the author’s popular blogs for Harvard Business Review, provides practical, real-world advice for building your emotional courage muscle. Each short, easy to read chapter details a distinct step in this emotional “workout,” giving you grounded advice for handling the difficult situations without sacrificing professional ground. By building the courage to say the necessary but difficult things, you become a stronger leader and leave the “should’ves” behind. Theoretically, leadership is straightforward, but how many people actually lead? The gap between theory and practice is huge. Emotional courage is what bridges that gap. It’s what sets great leaders apart from the rest. It gets results. It cuts through the distractions, the noise, and the politics to solve problems and get things done. This book is packed with actionable steps you can take to start building these skills now. Have the courage to speak up when others remain silent Be stable and grounded in the face of uncertainty Respond productively to opposition without getting distracted Weather others’ anger without shutting down or getting defensive Leading with Emotional Courage coaches you to build your emotional courage, exercise it effectively, and create an environment in which people around you take accountability to get hard things done.

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.