Mastering Leadership

Overview

This book reveals the key skills needed by any leader and shows how they can be used in practice, focusing on techniques for improving individual and organisational performance and enabling mid to senior level managers to understand their own leadership style. It provides guidance on how to develop a learning organisation and how to be a successful mentor.

Content

Introduction

CHAPTER ONE: The need for new leadership mindsets

• The ‘new leader’ mindset
• ‘Management’, or ‘Leadership’?

CHAPTER TWO: The transformational leader mindset

• Beware fads, fashions and fetishes
• Leadership in transforming organizations
• Transformation and change: there to be managed and led

CHAPTER THREE: The baby and the bath water

• Keeping the ‘baby’…
• John Adair’s ‘Functions of Leadership’ model
• Hersey-Blanchard – the situational approach model
• Sun-Tzu – The Art of War (for Executives)
• Sensitive leadership: ‘eyes – and ears – on: hands-off’
• Exemplary leadership
• Leader power and inspirational leadership
• Getting rid of the bath water…

CHAPTER FOUR: What is meant by ‘mastery’, in leadership?

• Mastery – a learning progression

CHAPTER FIVE: ‘Learning for life’

• Key leadership activities
• Political awareness and acumen

CHAPTER SIX: Mastering the organization’s boundaries – and connections

• What are the organizational ‘boundaries’?
• Domain and cross-functional management
• ‘Organic’ management of boundaries and new connections
• The business process re-engineering approach to boundaries and new connections
• The ‘team’ approach to boundaries and new connections
• A leadership process for effective boundary management

CHAPTER SEVEN: Who can, who will, who does?

• ‘Young guard’ vs ‘old guard’ – the classic paradigm conflict
• Boundary ‘busting’ – a civilized approach

CHAPTER EIGHT: Managing today, in order to shape the organization’s tomorrow

• Transforming organizations – changing career patterns
• The leader as a coach
• Coaching – some key behaviours
• Coaching for performance – a coaching structure
• Coaching in action
• Coaching – the conditions for learning
• The coach’s style

CHAPTER NINE: Decisions – that’s what leaders are paid for…

• Decision-making – personal horizons
• The realities of problem analysis and decision-making
• Different personalities – different leadership – different decisions…
• Some tools and techniques

CHAPTER TEN: Taking the business forward – leading the innovative team

• The value of team working
• Versatile and adaptive leadership
• What distinguishes successful, high achieving teams?
• ‘Driver’ behaviour – its significance in teamwork
• Drivers – and the use of the profile
• The Driver’s profile

CHAPTER ELEVEN: Leading in a brave new world

• Transformation – the pathways to tomorrow
• Some learning initiatives for leaders…

Bibliography

Reviews

‘A must-read for anyone who wants to become a better leader. Easy to read and packed full of practical advice about how to make things happen. A complete course on business leadership and personal development. Mike Williams has brilliantly summarised 30 years experience in training business leaders into just 270 pages.’

Dr Patrick Dixon, Chairman Global Challenge Ltd and Fellow, London Business School

‘Insightful and thought provoking – an excellent guide for calibrating your leadership style.’

Harry McCracken, Group Managing Director, Viridian Power & Energy

‘This book is a useful and effective addition to one of the most important current topics for business: leadership.’

‘Michael Williams has been a successful consultant on leadership for 30 years, working with global businesses such as IBM, ICI, ABN AMRO, and British Alcan. Before that, he did extensive military service in the Royal Navy, Marines and the Special Boat Service – no doubt where he got his grounding in leadership.’

‘Williams communicates the subject well. His writing style is acceptable to most readers and is well-illustrated with diagrams, with review points at regular intervals. Never before have we had truly global business, with instant communication around the planet, as we do now. Never before has change been a constant rather than an evolutionary occasional incident. Never before has the need for leadership been so great.’

‘Writers such as Williams, John Adair and Charles Handy are shining searchlights on our current weaknesses, and provide ideas and solutions for business survival. But even more than business survival, this book helps the individual to consider themselves as a leader and to actively seek the skills and experience to become effective leaders.’

‘The new context is no longer ‘jobs for life’ but employability for life. While reading is not enough to develop leadership skills, it helps to study texts for advice to underpin your experience? This book is value for money and I recommend it.’

‘Useful? Five out of five stars.’ ‘Well-written? Four out of five stars.’ ‘Practical? Four out of five stars.’ ‘Inspirational? Four out of five stars.’ ‘Value for money? Five out of five stars.’ ‘Overall? Four out of five stars.’

Keith Lawson, lecturer to business and management students in the UK and Romania, as well as consultant to the voluntary sector

Author

Mike Williams

Mike Williams has been a successful consultant for more than 25 years, specialising in leadership, team and organisational development. He has worked extensively with major corporations in the USA and both western and eastern Europe, including IBM, ICI, British Alcan, AT&T/ISTEL, GUS, McCain’s and Shroders.