Developing Leaders

Developing Leaders is written to bridge the gap between the academic world, with its theories of how to lead more effectively, and the world of working managers, professionals, and individuals who can apply those theories in ways that will utilize their time, effort, and resources more efficiently. This book discusses ideas and information in contexts that are likely to be more useful to practitioners, and downplays those aspects that tend to be primarily of interest to academics and their graduate students. It is intended to be useful not only as a classroom text but also as an ongoing reference manual for organizational managers and professionals.

Developing Leaders has a dual meaning. On one hand, it refers to what I believe should be the primary purpose of a leader: developing those for whom the leader is responsible, to help them realize their full potential. But before you can hope to be effective leading others, you have to make that sure you, yourself, have developed to the point where you are the kind of example that others will want to follow. Applying the concepts of this book to organizing and directing your own development efforts will help you become that type of leader.

The book has been developed in four parts: Part I, Leadership Overview, includes Chapters 1and 2, covering an introduction to leadership. Part II, Self-Leadership, includes Chapters 3-8, which discuss individual leadership traits. Part III, Leading Others, includes Chapters 9-13, describing what a leader has to know and do to understand people, and to persuade them. Part IV, Leading into the Future, includes Chapters 14 and 15, discussing cross-cultural leadership, and leading change.