During the past decade, leaders have increasingly relied on self-managing work groups, multifunctional teams, and cross-national executive groups to create the organization of the future. Yet groups are not a panacea for organizational problems; conflicts between individuals or factions within a group often create seemingly contradictory situations?paradoxes?that can prevent the group from reaching its goals. In this groundbreaking classic, Kenwyn Smith and David Berg offer a revolutionary approach to understanding groups and overcoming the problems that often paralyze group members, the group as a whole, and relations among groups. They explore the hidden dynamics that can prevent a group from functioning effectively. And they show how an apparently paradoxical suggestion?for example, inviting a success oriented group to risk failure, or affirming the benefits of going nowhere to a group focused on moving ahead?can break action barriers, overcome conflicts, and improve group performance. Smith and Berg offer a different way of thinking about groups that will open new avenues of inquiry for professors and students of group behavior, and they propose many innovative ideas that will prove valuable to consultants, trainers, therapists, and others who work with groups on a regular basis.

An insightful and inspiring book on using "both/and" thinking to make more creative, flexible, and impactful decisions in a world of competing demands. Life is full of paradoxes. How can we each express our individuality while also being a team player? How do we balance work and life? How can we improve diversity while promoting opportunities for all? How can we manage the core business while innovating for the future? For many of us, these competing and interwoven demands are a source of conflict. Since our brains love to make either-or choices, we choose one option over the other. We deal with the uncertainty by asserting certainty. There's a better way. In Both/And Thinking, Wendy Smith and Marianne Lewis help readers cope with multiple, knotted tensions at the same time. Drawing from more than twenty years of pioneering research, they provide tools and lessons for transforming these tensions into opportunities for innovation and personal growth. Filled with practical advice and fascinating stories—including firsthand tales from IBM, LEGO, and Unilever, as well as from startups, nonprofits, and even an inn at one of the four corners of the world—Both/And Thinking will change the way you approach your most vexing problems.

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. ... As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others." - Nelson Mandela, 1994 inaugural address Yearning for Home in Troubled Times addresses the issues that prevent us from feeling "at home" in our world. It examines this "homelessness" and shows us how to develop and build a sense of home.

Become a next generation leader—rich in emotional and social intelligence and orchestrating outstanding collaborative results—by mastering these eight status quo-shattering paradoxes. The Eight Paradoxes of Great Leadership unpacks the fresh strategies and new mindset required today from a next generation leader. Author Dr. Tim Elmore helps leaders of all kinds navigate increasingly complex, rapidly changing environments, as well as manage teams who bring a range of new demands and expectations to the workplace that haven’t been seen even one generation prior. After working alongside John C. Maxwell for twenty years, Tim offers counter-intuitive paradoxes that, when practiced, enable today’s leader to differentiate themselves and better connect with their team and customers. The book furnishes ideas that equip leaders to inspire team members in a way a paycheck never could. Having trained hundreds of thousands of young professionals to develop into leaders—Dr. Elmore shares the secrets of next generation leaders who have practiced the unique paradoxes outlined in this book and inspired their team members in a way that a paycheck never could. In The Eight Paradoxes of Great Leadership, readers will: Learn how today’s team members require a combination of different qualities from their leaders than they did in even the recent past; Grasp the importance of eight key paradoxes that are critical for next generation leaders to put into practice right now; Be inspired by historic and modern-day leaders who lived the eight paradoxes; and Understand how they too can lead with the eight paradoxes, guiding them to emotional and social intelligence that resonates with their teams and leads to outstanding collaborative results.

Taking advantage of contradictory elements in oneself and one's situation can lead to better performance all around. In this guide, the authors present a five-step process for using paradoxes to find solutions to a wide range of problems. Includes case studies showing how real people have used paradoxical thinking to solve real problems.

Considers why U.S. society is believed to be less healthy in spite of disproportionate spending on health care, identifying a lack of social services, outdated care allocations, and a resistance to government programs as the problem.

“Patricia Spadaro is a marvelous guide through the inner realms of the heart. I always feel uplifted by her words." —Marianne Williamson, #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Return to Love Honor Yourself: The Inner Art of Giving and Receiving (winner of two national book awards) skillfully guides us through one of the key stressors and paradoxes of our time—how to balance what others need with what we need, how to give and to receive. Should I sacrifice for others or take time to care for myself? Be generous or draw boundaries? Stay in a relationship or say goodbye? When I give to others, do I really need to give up myself? Tensions like these are not only a natural part of life, they are life. But rather than focusing on how to pamper ourselves, Honor Yourself goes to the heart of the problem so you can find real solutions. While modern society is ill-equipped to bring us back into balance, the sages of East and West are experts, and Honor Yourself explores their practical, and surprising, advice. Combining wisdom from around the world with real-life stories and a treasury of tools, it exposes the most potent myths about giving that can sabotage your relationships, career, finances, even your health, without you knowing it. With candor and compassion, it shows how to move beyond the myths to the magic of honoring yourself so you can live a life filled with possibility and passion and give your greatest gifts to your loved ones, your community, and the world. We are called to master the delicate dance of giving and receiving in virtually every area of our lives, and this beautiful work offers empowering and heartfelt ways to do it. It will free you to celebrate your own gifts and greatness as you explore the dynamics behind setting boundaries, being honest about unhealthy people in your life, honoring endings, using feelings to stay true to yourself, finding your own voice, giving with the heart rather than the head, and much more. Just as importantly, Honor Yourself will teach you the steps for staying in balance. For when you learn the steps, you can perform the dance—and that's when the magic begins.

"The field has been waiting for a masterpiece like Racial and Cultural Dynamics in Group and Organizational Life for a long time. It provides a thoughtful account of the subtle, barely visible, and sometimes unspeakable influences of racial and cultural dynamics that occur in groups." —Leo Wilton, Binghamton University, State University of New York "I believe that by focusing on group diversity, this book aligns with a major trend that has not received enough attention." — Christopher J. McCarthy, University of Texas at Austin This book presents a theoretical framework for understanding leadership and authority in group and organizational life. Using relational psychoanalytic and systems theory, the authors examine conscious and unconscious processes as they relate to racial and cultural issues in the formation and maintenance of groups. Unique among group dynamics texts, the book explores aspects of racial and cultural influences in every chapter. Readers will enhance their analytic and practice skills in addressing factors that impact diverse groups and organizations, including ethical considerations, social roles, strategies for leadership, dynamics of entering and joining, and termination. Key Features Case examples help readers integrate theory and practice, as illustrated in transcripts of interactions from group sessions. A group work competencies list ensures that readers master concepts as they progress through the book. An assessment form allows the student or practitioner to evaluate concrete dynamics of groups, such as size, and gendered and racial composition. This text is appropriate for graduate-level courses incorporating group dynamics and multicultural topics in departments of psychology, education, counseling, and social work. It is also a valuable resource for counselors, psychologists, and other mental health professionals in preparation for group work.

What can a fingernail tell us about the mysteries of creation? In one sense, a nail is merely a hunk of mute matter, yet in another, it's an information superhighway quite literally at our fingertips. Every moment, streams of molecular signals direct our cells to move, flatten, swell, shrink, divide, or die. Andreas Wagner's ambitious new book explores this hidden web of unimaginably complex interactions in every living being. In the process, he unveils a host of paradoxes underpinning our understanding of modern biology, contradictions he considers gatekeepers at the frontiers of knowledge. Though we tend to think of concepts in such mutually exclusive pairs as mind-matter, self-other, and nature-nurture, Wagner argues that these opposing ideas are not actually separate. Indeed, they are as inextricably connected as the two sides of a coin. Through a tour of modern biological marvels, Wagner illustrates how this paradoxical tension has a profound effect on the way we define the world around us. Paradoxical Life is thus not only a unique account of modern biology. It ultimately serves a radical--and optimistic--outlook for humans and the world we help create.

"To be strong, we have to be weak." "To become mature, we have to become children." "To live, we have to die." N. Graham Standish challenges readers to explore these and other biblical examples of paradox. With questions for reflection, discussion after each chapter, and helpful appendixes, this book is ideal for either personal or group study.