Becoming a Leader (Leadership: Research and Practice)

By blending the real-world insights of business executive Al Bolea with tested research findings provided by leadership scholar Leanne Atwater, Becoming a Leader: Nine Elements of Leadership Mastery effectively bridges theory and practice to outline powerful leadership behaviors and teach readers how to become a leader.

Based on Bolea’s original "J-Curve" model of leadership, this approachable guide identifies and describes nine essential elements for leadership mastery, including skills such as setting direction, creating key processes, and nurturing behaviors. Each chapter pairs concrete narratives with succinct research synopses to show how to expand the potential of people and organizations. This unique, experiential text engages readers with self-reflection and self-assessment exercises to encourage their development as future leaders.

Becoming a Leader: Nine Elements of Leadership Mastery is a must-have resource for practicing managers, consultants, and practitioners, as well as being applicable to graduate and undergraduate courses on leadership.

Al Bolea is the founder and architect of the Applied Leadership Seminars, the former CEO/GM of a large independent oil company in the United Arab Emirates, and a retired executive from a major international oil and gas company, as well as former Distinguished Visiting Professor of Leadership at the University of Alaska and a guest leadership lecturer at the University of Houston.

Leanne Atwater is the C.T. Bauer Professor of Leadership and Management in the Bauer College of Business at the University of Houston. She teaches leadership development and conducts executive education classes. She is also a former editor of The Leadership Quarterly.