Reflections on Character and Leadership is the first of the three books in the Manfred kets de Vries on the Couch series. Here, Kets de Vries looks at entrepreneurship, the pathology of leadership, and the personality of the leader. The reader will visit the disturbed inner worlds of leaders like Alexander the Great, Shaka Zulu and Robert Maxwell, discover how to distinguish between a cold fish and a live volcano, and identify impostors, despots, organizational fools and global leaders. The book highlights the basic principles of the clinical paradigm—the process of putting organizations and the individuals who lead them on the psychoanalyst’s couch. It includes studies of personality archetypes and the effects they have on organizational life and culture—and the effects that organizations have on them. Referring frequently to key management concepts, Kets de Vries looks not only at what happens when things go wrong, but also at how to create the psychological and organizational space to make sure that things go right. About the series: The series offers an overview of Kets de Vries’s work spanning four decades, a period in which he has established himself as the leading figure in the clinical study of organizational leadership. The books in this series contain a representative selection of Kets de Vries’ writings about leadership from a wide variety of published sources and cover character and leadership in a global context, career development and leadership in organizations. The original essays were all written or published between 1976 and 2008. Updated where appropriate and revised by the author, they present a digest of the work of one of the most influential management thinkers of the present day.

THE 10TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION Champions do extra. They sweep the sheds. They follow the spearhead. They keep a blue head. They are good ancestors. In Legacy, best-selling author James Kerr goes deep into the heart of the world's most successful sporting team, the legendary All Blacks of New Zealand, to reveal 15 powerful and practical lessons for leadership and business. Legacy is a unique, inspiring handbook for leaders in all fields, and asks: What are the secrets of success - sustained success? How do you achieve world-class standards, day after day, week after week, year after year? How do you handle pressure? How do you train to win at the highest level? What do you leave behind you after you're gone? What will be your legacy?

This book focuses on the element of leadership that has largely been neglected in the literature: character. Often thought to be a subjective construct, the book demonstrates the concrete behaviors associated with different character dimensions in order to illustrate how these behaviors can be developed, and character strengthened. Based on research involving over 300 senior leaders from different industries, sectors and countries, Crossan, Seijts, and Gandz developed a model for leadership character that focuses on eleven dimensions. The book begins by setting the context for the focus on character in business, asking what character is and whether it can be learned, developed, molded or changed. Next, the book focuses on each dimension of leadership character in turn, exploring its elements and the ways in which it can be applied in a business setting. The book concludes with a summary of the key insights, an exploration of the interactions between the character dimensions, and a call to the reader to reflect on how to develop one’s own and others’ leadership character. Bridging theory and management practice, Developing Leadership Character will interest students and practitioners alike. Readers will benefit not only from a new, robust theoretical framework for leadership character, but will also learn how character can be developed further.

Christian Reflections on The Leadership Challenge is a faith-based companion to the best-selling leadership book of all time--The Leadership Challenge. Grounded in Jim and Barry’s time-tested research, Christian Reflections on The Leadership Challenge describes their Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership ® --Model the Way, Inspire a Shared Vision, Challenge the Process, Enable Others to Act, and Encourage the Heart—and offers practical guidance and inspiring examples about how Christian leaders can have a powerful impact in their workplaces, communities, and congregations by bringing their faith into their leadership. In addition to Jim and Barry’s foundational wisdom, the book brings together five leaders who reflect on the Five Practices from a Christian perspective. John C. Maxwell, David McAllister-Wilson, Patrick Lencioni, Nancy Ortberg, and Ken Blanchard share insights and stories culled from personal experience and the lives of other Christian leaders who have accomplished extraordinary things in churches, communities, classrooms, and corporations. Their thoughtful reflections on the role of faith in leadership will propel leaders and aspiring leaders

With wit and wisdom, this book shares insights of a man who rose from being a reluctant draftee sent to fight in Vietnam to later becoming a colonel and an architect of the Department of Behavioral Sciences at West Point, and who currently works to develop IBM’s senior leaders. This book does not describe the view from the heights of leadership; rather, it identifies the attributes and behaviors needed to make the climb and explains how to develop them in ourselves and in others. It emphasizes creation of organizational climates with 360 degrees of trust and deep engagement; explains the importance of intrinsic motivation; explores principle-based leadership; introduces The 5 Trust Vital Signs; promotes collective leadership; and concludes with a statement of concise tenets of the author's leadership philosophy.

Through real-life stories and by sharing insightful research, this book equips school leaders with the practical knowledge and emotional tools necessary to survive discrimination, bad politics, revenge, and ego-driven coworkers.

An on-demand resource that you can read based on need, this book spotlights the four most important components of character and competence and offers a series of eloquent, inspiring, and actionable reflections on what's needed to build each one.

How do leaders learn to lead? How do leaders set themselves up for success? This book explores the real-life experiences of a wide variety of leaders from different industries, sectors, and countries to bring to light new lessons on the importance of life-long learning. Consisting primarily of a series of probing interviews, Good Leaders Learn presents the challenges, triumphs, and reflections of 31 senior and high-profile leaders, offering insight into how they learned to lead during their careers. The book pulls important and useful perspectives into a robust theoretical framework that includes the importance of innate curiosity, challenging oneself, risk-taking, and other key elements of good leadership. With practical insights complemented by the latest leadership research and theory, this book will help current and potential leaders to build a solid foundation of the leadership qualities vital to their continuing success.

Running with the Big Dogs! In The Wizard of Oz, Dorothy's Toto was clearly a dog of character. He knew when to sit still, when to bark, and when to make a fuss. He was simply a real dog with real observations about real situations. And the Oz experience reinforced what his parents taught him as a small pup: Care deeply. Bark only when necessary but then, forcefully. Be curious. Express yourself. Embrace the world and have no fears. The story of Dorothy's journey to Oz has captivated generations of children and adults alike since it was first published by L. Frank Baum in 1900. Dorothy's adventures have been analyzed from virtually every perspective-psychological, historical, economic, and the like-except from the perspective of the only other character that was with her every step of the way: Toto! Dorothy's little dog wrote this book and buried his manuscript in a can with an old bone on the original Gale farmstead. Dr. Fickenscher came upon it quite accidently and was given the opportunity to edit Toto's original thoughts on the Leadership Lessons from The Wizard of Oz, which he now shares with you. Of course, there are the usual thoughts on brainpower, heart, and courage, but in this book, there is much, much more. The many lessons of Oz will captivate your imagination and, no doubt, serve as a guide in your quest to become a better leader! Toto's Reflections will help you contribute to making a difference in the world, and challenge you to consider what you can do, starting right now, to make the world a better place!

Change the Way You Think about Leadership At the age of thirty-three, Dr. Albert Mohler became the youngest president in the 164-year history of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He was the driving force behind the school's transformation into a thriving institution with an international reputation characterized by a passionate conviction for truth. In the process he became one of the most important and prominent Christian voices in contemporary culture. What will it take to transform your leadership? Effective leaders need more than administrative skills and vision. They need to be able to change the hearts and minds of those they lead. Leadership like this requires passionate beliefs that can stand up to pressure from without and within. In this updated edition Dr. Mohler has added a new introduction and conclusion based on an additional 10 years of leadership. He has also completely rewritten the chapter "The Digital Leader." The Conviction to Lead will crystallize your convictions while revolutionizing your thinking, your decision-making, your communication, and ultimately, those you lead. "Dr. Al Mohler has written a book that shakes us up and challenges our thinking. The Conviction to Lead is poised to become one of the all-time classic works on Christian leadership."--JIM DALY, President - Focus on the Family "Having rarely thought about leadership, I was hooked from the first chapter--to my complete surprise. This is a powerful book and gracefully written."--FRED BARNES, Executive Editor--The Weekly Standard