Living Leadership
A Practical Guide for Ordinary Heroes
By George Binney, et al.
Financial Times/ Pearson Education Limited
February 2005
ISBN: 0273693743
263 Pages, Illustrated, 6 ¼" x 9 ¼"
$52.50 Paper Original
Built on a unique four-year experiment working alongside real leaders in real
businesses, Living Leadership explodes the myth of the charismatic, transformational
leader, to show that real progress comes from the dramatically ordinary stuff
of leadership. From building relationships - not starting revolutions, by working
with the grain of your organization - not against it, and in knowing your limitations
as much as pushing every boundary.
The authors have followed business leaders (chief executives or business unit
heads) in leading European companies for four years. They discovered the challenges
they really faced, how they really spent their time and how they really made
an impact. Day by day. They saw these leaders holding key discussions with their
teams, formulating strategies, plans and visions, observing their behaviors,
ambitions and frustrations.
What emerged was a powerful set of principles and proven advice for managers
everywhere who want to develop their leadership skills. Living Leadership will
help you to discover within yourself the means to make real connections with
people and make things happen in the real world.
Features
" Quality executive-level treatment of in-demand subject. Leadership development
is what companies are spending money on.
" Both practical and profound, a greta mix of how to and powerful insight.
" Based on unique and robust research - featured in The Economist and The Financial
Times.
" Harvard Business Review are already writing an article on this book.
" Authors' previous book Leaning into the Future was shortlisted for two business
book prizes; FT Booze-Allen Hamilton prize and MCA Management Book of the Year.
" This is the perfect antidote to the masses of heroic leadership biographies
about the cult of charismatic, transformational leaders. They serve only to
raise expectations and offer few lessons for most executives who are learning
to lead.
" Leadership is rarely taught well (or at all) at business school. Yet the challenge
of leadership has never appeared so individually demanding, or so publicly crucial
to the success of an enterprise.
Contents
Part 1 - What it is
1. Living Leadership - Find yourself in leading people
2. The end of superman - Don't be a hero
3. Getting connected - You depend on others
4. Context, context, context - Practise the art of the possible
5. Coming alive as a leader - Use all your senses and experience
6. Surfing, sinking and swimming - Don't panic, you're only human
7. Leading in the moment - Become more versatile as a leader
Part 2 - How it works
8. Bosses - Manage expectations
9. Self - Practise "healthy selfishness"
10. People - See if they will trade with you
11. Groups - Work on and off the table
12. Strategy - Nudge it forward
13. Change - Be part of it
14. Development - Get real
Part 3 What comes next
15. Living with permanent transition
A summary of permanent transition?
The research
Acknowledgements
Index
Author
George Binney is an experienced business academic and consultant. He is an executive
coach to a number of business leaders. Colin Williams is an organisation and
management development consultant. Gerhard Wilke is a group analyst who works
in Germany, Switzerland, Denmark and the UK.
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