Although Peter Drucker, “The Father of Modern Management,” died in 2005, his timeless teachings are studied and practiced by forward-thinking managers worldwide. His lessons and wisdom on the topic of leadership—the central element of management—are in constant demand, yet he wrote little under that actual subject heading. In Drucker on Leadership, William A. Cohen explores Drucker’s lost leadership lessons—why they are missing, what they are, why they are important, and how to apply them. As Cohen explains, Drucker was ambivalent about leadership for much of his career, making it clear that leadership was not by itself “good or desirable.” While Drucker struggled with the concept of leadership, he was well aware that it had a critical impact on the accomplishment of all projects and human endeavors. There is no book from Drucker specifically dedicated to leadership, but a wealth of information about leadership can be found scattered throughout his 40 books and hundreds of articles. Drucker’s teachings about leadership have saved many corporations from failure and helped guide others to outstanding success. Many of the leadership concepts revealed in this book will surprise and perhaps shock Drucker’s followers. For example, who would have thought that Peter Drucker taught that “leadership is a marketing job” or that “the best leadership lessons for business or any nonprofit organization come from the military”? Written for anyone who values the insights of the man whose name is synonymous with excellence in management, Drucker on Leadership offers a deeper understanding of what makes an extraordinary leader.

Why is it that leaders - in social, political, and (most importantly) organisational contexts - are seemingly unable to address meaningfully the wicked problems and complex challenges that we currently face? There's enormous busyness around reconfiguring departments and adopting 'transformational' operating models, but in general plus ca change, plus la meme chose. Eyewatering amounts of treasure and time are spent in corporate life on leadership development, with people working hard to try and demonstrate that something useful has happened as a result. An entire pseudo-science has emerged to try and prove its worth, in part to justify the economic dividend that goes to those who make it to the upper levels of positional power. The fetishisation of leadership, especially strong leadership, fills our news outlets holding up carefully distorted images of great men (leadership is still deeply gendered) from across the worlds of politics, business, and sports. This book explores the persistently disappeared and unacknowledged constraints that inhibit leaders in every context. It argues that these constraints - defined in this volume in terms of five organisational paradoxes and six management myths - are found at large in society and are especially impactful in organisational life. By calling attention to, and exploring in rigorous detail, these paradoxes and myths, this book helps leaders, and the leadership systems they are part of, to wriggle free of the tacit assumptions that lock them into a cul-de-sac of simplistic prescription and heroic individualism. Once these mind-forged manacles are removed, new forms of leadership practice become possible, ones that are fit for purpose in engaging with a world facing systemic crisis and existential risk. This book is essential reading for leaders and managers at all levels looking for solutions to traditionally simplistic leadership practice and who want to affect systemic change. It will be beneficial to all those in the world of leadership development including business schools and HR departments.

Enduring Management Wisdom for Today's Leaders From Peter F. Drucker. Peter Drucker's Five Most Important Questions provides insightful guidance and stirring inspiration for today's leaders and entrepreneurs. By applying Drucker's leadership framework in the present context of today's leaders and those who lead with them, this book is an essential resource for people leading, managing and working in all three sectors—public, private and social. Readers will gain new perspectives and develop a solid foundation upon which to build a successful and bright future. They will learn how to focus on why they are doing what they're doing, how to do it better, and how to develop a realistic, motivational plan for achieving their goals. This brief, clear, and accessible guide — peppered with commentary from distinguished management gurus, contemporary entrepreneurs and dynamic millennial leaders —will challenge readers and stimulate spirited discussion and action within any organization, inspiring positive change and new levels of excellence. In addition to contributions from Jim Collins, Marshall Goldsmith, and Judith Rodin, the book features new insights from some of today's most influential leaders in business (GE and Salesforce.com), academia (Harvard Business School and Northwestern University), social enterprise (Levo League, Pencils of Promise and Why Millennials Matter) and the military (United States Military Academy), who have been directly influenced by Drucker's theory of management.

You don?t need a big title or a business degree in order to lead with impact. What you need is practical wisdom: the insight, judgment, and strength of character that all great leaders have, but that most business schools and corporate workshops don?t teach. The Greats on Leadership gets you there. Jocelyn Davis takes you on an in-depth tour of the best leadership ideas of the past 25 centuries, featuring classic authors from Plato to Winston Churchill, Shakespeare to Jane Austen, C.G. Jung to Peter Drucker, and many more. In a style both thought provoking and entertaining, she shows how -history?s great writers have always been, and still are, the real leadership gurus. Davis spells out the behaviors that distinguish true leaders from misleaders and covers 20 specific leadership topics, including: Leadership Traps (Shakespeare) Change (Machiavelli) Power (Sophocles) Dilemmas (Madison, Hamilton) Communication (Lincoln, Pericles) Personality Types (Jung) Motivation (Frankl) Judgment (Maupassant, Melville, Austen, Shaw) Character (Churchill, Plutarch, Shelley, Joyce) Each chapter begins with a synopsis of a great work by the author and then draws out the key leadership insights, weaving them together with business examples, the best contemporary research, and tools to help put it all into practice. In the last two chapters Davis presents a new way to think about leadership levels, framing them in terms of the impact you have rather than the title on your business card. Whether you?re a recent graduate or MBA searching for something more inspiring than the standard textbook, a new manager looking for something deeper than the typical how-to book, or an experienced executive seeking ideas to lift you to the next level, this remarkably readable and practical guide will set you on the road to becoming a great leader.

This book supports a turn in the leadership paradigm: from environment to system, from manager to employee. It offers an introduction to essential managerial instruments for the improvement of Performance, like Staff Dialogue, Upward Feedback, Executive Coaching, or Business Ethics. Different leadership styles and techniques are explained as well as international and intercultural dimensions of Human Resources Management. Furthermore an innovative approach is developed to utilize System Theory and its interdisciplinary results in evolutionism, biology, physics, philosophy, cognition science and therapy for the design of Systemic Leadership. By this approach, readers will achieve a higher level of comprehension of how leadership actions may affect - or why they do not affect - the behavior of individuals or groups in enterprises and organizations. The book is intended - as a source of new ideas and creative proposals for Executives and Personnel Managers who, in their enterprises, want to put into practice an Extended Catalogue of Management Tools, and - for Students to accompany lectures in Business Administration with focus on Personnel Management. "In today's complex business environment, we urgently need a systemic approach to management and leadership. Cyrus Achouri's book is an important contribution to this new field. I am sure that readers seeking a deeper understanding of leadership will find it helpful and inspiring." Fritjof Capra, author of "The Web of Life" and "The Hidden Connections"

Why with hundreds and hundreds of books on leadership to choose from, why another one?” The answer is simple. Given the importance of leadership and leaders in organizations there will always be efforts to try to improve our understanding on how we can improve the leadership process. Leadership, Leaders and Leading focuses on the age old reality that successful organizations will continue to need effective leaders at all levels. The book is based on the premise that effective leaders need to be able to establish a shared vision and accompanying strategy that other members of the organization strongly believe in and are willing to help execute. The book argues that we can continue to learn from traditional and contemporary theories and myths about effective leadership & leaders and how they can successfully lead an increasingly diverse and demanding workforce, consumers and the broader society. The book discusses foundational leadership skills like motivation, communication, building leader-follower relationships, groups and teams, developing others, conflict, negotiation and organizational politics along with highlighting the important role leaders should play in the areas of human resource management, ethics, crisis and reputation management, sustainability/sustainable development, and cybersecurity. Each chapter offers the opportunity for the reader to increase their understanding of leadership, leaders and leading in an increasingly dynamic world of work. This book is written for those who are interested in the continued effort and dialogue on what effective leadership, leaders and leading should entail in the coming years.

You can become an excellent manager when you manage yourself first. If you’re like most managers, you’ve never seen management excellence. You are not alone. Modern management requires we first manage ourselves—and that might be the most challenging part of management. Based on research and backed up by personal stories, you'll see how you can manage yourself. Through questions, stories, and proven options, learn how you can: Move from expert to coach. Recognize and avoid micromanagement. Support the people doing the work to solve more of their problems. Make time to think so you can be your best self. Trust the people you lead and serve. And, much more. With its question and myth, each chapter offers you options to rethink how you manage yourself. Become a modern manager. Learn to manage yourself so you and the people you lead and serve can deliver the results everyone needs.