Rethinking Leadership: Building capacity for positive change - Softcover

Kaldor, Peter; Nash, Naomi; Paterson, Sophie

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0648131106 ISBN 13: 9780648131106

Publisher: Thousand Lakes Publishing, 2017

Synopsis

The models of leadership we have inherited are broken. Though deeply embedded in our psyches, superhero models of leadership are destructive: both for leaders who try to live up to them, and for followers seeking cost free change. - Rethinking Leadership, 2017

Rethinking Leadership has been written for people work in the midst of complexity and are seeking to make a positive difference. It is written for teams that are unsatisfied with simplistic solutions and leaving it up to superhero leaders. For organisations committed to growing a working culture that is agile and collaborative.

The transition away from classical notions of leadership isn’t an easy one to make, especially within structures that were designed for maintaining the status quo. Offering leadership that is authentic, sustainable and has a lasting impact requires tackling many challenges. This book is intended to be a companion on the journey, providing a robust theoretical foundation for how we got here, and why we need to change. As well as practical insights that can be implemented by individuals and teams as they make the shift.

No matter who you are, an individual or a team, beginning the work of Rethinking Leadership, is an essential task which will unlock latent capacity, focus your energy and increase the resources we all have to face the challenges ahead.

Regardless of where you sit in your organisation: frontline delivery, middle management or executive responsibility, your creativity and perspective is essential in this process. The task is two-fold, to discover a fresh vision for effective leadership and to build the capacity of everyone to live it out.

Rethinking Leadership provides a sound platform for doing this work, by taking readers through four key questions:

1. What are the challenges we face?
2. How can we build effective leadership for complex times?
3. How can we develop agility with ongoing change?
4. How can we each contribute authentically and sustainably?

For teams and organisations committed to growing more agile and effective practices that can unlock innovation and real change, doing the work of Rethinking Leadership can be a game-changing choice.

About this title

About the Author

With a background in community development and social policy, Peter is a researcher, partnership-builder, innovator and experience-based educator. He has been involved in research into personal and community wellbeing, values, spirituality, social capital, as wellas patterns of effective and sustainable leadership, drawing on large-scale survey research and insights from the social sciences. As founding director of research agency NCLS Research and an honorary research fellow with Australian universities he has written many publications including Building Stronger Communities and Lead with your Strengths. He is a Director of New River Leadership, loves team sports and wilderness exploration.

Review

"Rethinking Leadership is an insightful and practical guide to the kind of leadership that is required for real change and engagement."
  – Michael Traill, Chair, Social Ventures Australia and Author of Jumping Ship

"A beautifully thought out and well-designed read, a rare example of 'simplicity on the other side of complexity'. This is a must read for anyone seeking to step into the unknown and play a role in bringing about change in the complex and ever moving world we live in."
- Bessi Graham Co-Founder/CEO of The Difference Incubator

"This is a well-researched, readable and practical guide to moving from individualistic leadership to harnessing the array of gifts and skills of the group." 
– Harvey Collins, Non-executive Director Navitas Limited and Save the Children

"Rethinking Leadership provides a range of frameworks and practices to navigate change and complexity. For anyone interested in making change in the world this is a valuable, comprehensive resource to guide you through."
– Liz Skelton, Director Collaboration for Impact and co-author The Australian Leadership Paradox

"The core concepts here have helped me considerably working with companies facing disruptive change, both as a chairman and coach to CEOs."
– Ian Pollard, company chairman, executive coach & writer

"The democratising of leadership will create the change we want to see in our institutions and communities. Rethinking Leadership is an outstanding overview of the contemporary leadership which will enable organisations to take positive steps into this future."
-Doug Taylor, Director Uniting NSW/ACT, Board Member of The Australian Centre for Social Innovation

"Rethinking Leadership is a comprehensive primer for all the important change and leadership theories as well as a tool for connecting oneself to the challenges we face. Most importantly, it is grounded in the idea that leadership is always about a real contribution to the world."
– Geoff Aigner, Executive Director, Social Innovation, Life Without Barriers

"Not here a shopping-list template. Not here the alpha-leader who rallies a tribe by force of will. Not here the myth of rescue, or the secret sauce for success. Rethinking Leadership starts at a different place altogether: the authenticity, vulnerability and receptivity to growth that brings people together on a journey to real change. Here, above all, a call to participate."
- Steve Collis, workplace & learning environment strategist

"Our school used Rethinking Leadership to transform a top down hierarchical model into something that could meet the challenges of contemporary education.
Peter, Naomi and Sophie helped us hold our nerve in the face of uncertainty, discover our strengths and reshape our culture. Everyone wants to work in an organisation where positive culture is embedded at every level and there is immense value in these pages for achieving it."
– Janelle Ford, Deputy Principal Claremont College

Edition details

• Publisher: Thousand Lakes Publishing
• Publication date: 2017
• ISBN 10: 0648131106
• ISBN 13: 9780648131106
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 260