The Work of Management: A Leader?s Guide to Applying Systems Leadership

The Work of Management demonstrates how the concepts, models and tools of Systems Leadership can be applied, enabling you to become a more effective manager by improving your own work to create a more positive and effective organisation.

Positive organisations, where people come together to achieve a productive and personally satisfying purpose, and which provide the basis for a good society, do not occur by chance. They are created by the work of leaders and members who are dependent upon the way the organisation is designed and operates – its structure and systems. While the theory is explained, this book primarily presents the practical aspects – the specific values, methods and tools – that can be used to improve work and the work performance of direct reports. Building on the bestselling book Systems Leadership, this book provides leaders with a manual for the application of concepts as well as an introduction to Systems Leadership Theory, a method that has been used successfully by businesses from large multinational firms and banks, to SMEs, public agencies and NGOs. It provides a predictive capability, allowing a leader to predict what will work well and what is likely to fail, according to the context. It gives the benefit of foresight as decisions must be made.

Designed as a leader’s manual for the application of the concepts around Systems Leadership, this book is for people who want to improve their own, and their organisation’s, work practices and performance.

Ian Macdonald is Founder and Director of Macdonald Associates, an international organisational consultancy. He is a Director of BIOSS International Ltd. He is also an honorary fellow at Brunel University and teaches at Surrey Business School and works with NHS Wales and the Welsh government.

Catherine Burke was Associate Professor of Public Administration, University of Southern California. Her research focuses on organisation and systems design, management theory and leadership. She has been a consultant to Southern California Edison, the cities of Los Angeles and Pasadena, the Congressional Office of Technology Assessment, businesses and non-profit organisations. Her publications include Innovation and Public Policy and articles in various academic journals. She was a Director at Commonwealth Aluminum.

Karl Stewart trained as a mining engineer but spent most of his working life in leadership positions. He spent four years as an internal managerial consultant developing the theory and good practices to strengthen the leadership of people in organisations and the systems which underpin them. He demonstrated the effectiveness of these ideas implementing them as Managing Director of Comalco Smelting.