Rethinking Leadership: Building capacity for positive change

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.

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.

Naomi is Managing Director of New River Leadership, she enables executives and senior leaders to navigate complexity with both clarity and heart. Naomi partners with executive teams to strengthen their leadership capability at moments that matter. Her background spans business (First Class Honours), IT, secondary education, and psychology, giving her a grounded, interdisciplinary perspective.

A teacher, coach, team-builder and New River Leadership team member, Sophie has a passion for systems thinking and educational leadership that can equip students, staff and schools to effectively engage change. She has worked in NSW public schools as a teacher, leader, mentor and curriculum coordinator and is an AITSL accredited lead teacher.