Work Leadership

"Middle manager." The term evokes a bygone industrial era in which managers functioned like cogs in a vast machine and bureaucracy ruled. In recent decades, midlevel managers became a favorite target for the chopping block—underappreciated, often considered a superfluous layer of the organization. Not only does this outdated perspective need to change, the future demands it. In Power to the Middle, McKinsey thought leaders Bill Schaninger, Bryan Hancock, and Emily Field call for a profound reimagining of what middle managers can and must be able to do.

Author and entrepreneur Mick Spencer offers entrepreneurs an inspiring new road map to success - one that runs against nearly everything you've ever been taught about business. In this book, Spencer presents a solid case that analysis paralysis and endless "preparation" won't get you anywhere - you have to take that leap and do what you really want to do. He challenges you to get outside your comfort zone and, although intimidating, his approach forces you to learn "on the go" and focus on what you can do rather than what you can't.

This book will give you a head start if your goal is to start using work visualization tools such as Kanban for your business. The methods discussed in this book have been proven effective for several businesses and learning about them might just give you an advantage over your competitors who have yet to adopt to this kind of thinking.

Virtual working - also known as remote working, telecommuting, flexible working, or homeworking - is an important and growing trend in the global employment landscape. Its popularity has increased due to globalization and outsourcing. However, unlocking the benefits of virtual work depends largely on the organizational culture, management, and leadership to support it. Virtual Leadership identifies the challenges of virtual work and explains how to develop the facilitative leadership mindset to effectively manage people remotely.

The Enneagram at Work is the first audiobook to harness the insight of the Enneagram to transform leadership in today’s workplace. A veteran of the high-profile hospitality industry with two decades of experience working with the Enneagram, author Jim McPartlin has seen firsthand the way self-awareness can radically transform leadership, strengthen teams, and spark creative solutions. From giving and accepting criticism to fostering strong mentorships and managing conflict, The Enneagram at Work will give you invaluable tools for growing and thriving in your career.

Whether you’re stuck in your current job, starting your first job and wondering how you can use it as a stepping-stone toward your dream career, or mid-career and wanting to finally be recognized for promotion or a leadership role, this book is for you. For the first time, Ann Hiatt shares both the daily habits and long-game strategies she learned working side-by-side for decades with the giants of technology at Amazon and Google.

History often appears to consist of big gestures and dramatic shifts. But for every peace treaty signed, someone set the stage and provided the pen. As social secretary to the Clintons for eight years, and more recently as chief of protocol under President Obama, Capricia Penavic Marshall has not just borne witness to history, she facilitated it. For Marshall, diplomacy runs on the invisible gesture: the micro-moves that affect the macro-shifts. Facilitation is power, and more often than not, it is the key to effective diplomacy.

Building on his national bestseller, Total Leadership, Friedman identifies the critical skills for integrating work and the rest of life. He illustrates them through compelling original stories of these remarkable people: former Bain & Company CEO and Bridgespan cofounder Tom Tierney, Facebook COO and bestselling author Sheryl Sandberg, nonprofit leader and US Navy SEAL Eric Greitens, US First Lady Michelle Obama, soccer champion-turned-broadcaster Julie Foudy, and renowned artist Bruce Springsteen.

Bestselling author Peter Block is a true visionary: author of the classic Flawless Consulting, his work is about empowerment, stewardship, chosen accountability, and reconciliation of community. In The Empowered Manager, he returns his eye toward management to renew our efforts to create a shift in the traditional hierarchy. Twenty years after the original book, Block talks of why it is so difficult to both open the door to empowerment and more importantly, have people walk through it.

Need a role model for effective leadership? Try Santa Claus! Imagine the endless challenges that running his operation poses. There's juggling employees, equipment, facilities, resources, production, letter reading, scheduling, the big delivery, keeping everyone jolly - and the list goes on. It's mind boggling! How does he do it all? What are his secrets to success?

For innovation and leadership guru Hal Gregersen, the power of questions has always been clear - but it took some years for the follow-on question to hit him: If so much depends on fresh questions, shouldn’t we know more about how to arrive at them? That sent him on a research quest ultimately including more than 200 interviews with creative thinkers. Questions Are the Answer delivers the insights Gregersen gained about the conditions that give rise to catalytic questions - and breakthrough insights - and how anyone can create them.

If you're a woman, especially a woman of color, you know this already: You face unique challenges and obstacles as you work to scale the corporate ladder. From not seeing other faces in the room that look like you to dealing with the stereotypes and (often unconscious) biases in the workplace, you may know what to do to succeed, but not how to get it done in this environment. Show Your Worth shows you how. Shelmina Babai Abji speaks directly to professional women about how the power of being intentional and strategic can help transform the headwinds you face into tailwinds.

Sexism. Self-doubt. Invisibility. When you're one of the only women in your workplace, it can be difficult to gain your footing. Organizations need to change, but in the meantime, women can find success in these settings—and even flourish in them. Thriving in a Male-Dominated Workplace provides the advice you need to ensure your professional growth in roles and industries that have traditionally been filled by and controlled by men.

In today’s high stakes game of business, the players on the team are the competitive advantage for any organization. But, only if they are on the field instead of on the bench. Blue-Collar Leadership® & Teamwork provides a simple, yet powerful and unique, resource for individuals who want to increase their influence and make a high impact. It’s also a resource and tool for leaders, teams, and organizations, who are ready to engage the front line to improve the bottom line.

Trust is the foundation of all meaningful relationships, yet 70 percent of professionals don't trust their managers. It's a number that actually surprises few but profoundly concerns most of the awesome thought leaders alive today. From Simon Sinek to Patrick Lencioni, Paul Zak to Brené Brown, all agree that a lack of trust is the root of faltering relationships and mediocrity at work. What galvanised Matthew Davies to write this book was the lack of tools to address this appalling problem.

While many churches talk about discerning calling and engaging in mission, very few are structured to make this their ministry focus. Underground Church is a new vision for the church rooted in its biblical mission to share the love of God and serve the poor. Sanders explores how to make structural changes, how to think about leadership, how to fund ministries, and how to truly engage people in God's mission. Filled with creative insights, he explains what it means to center the mission of the church around the callings of individuals to outward ministry.

Projects require managers, but programs warrant maestros. Tasked with overseeing multiple project teams and thousands of activities, program managers have one of the most challenging jobs in the market. Too many overburdened managers are leaving otherwise great jobs, even the field entirely, because they haven’t equipped themselves with the right tools in hand to take on this complex but fulfilling job. How to Manage Complex Programs explains the ins and outs of program management and provides concrete and effective techniques for structuring deliverables, workflow, and staffing.

This brilliant adaptation of the ancient masterpiece The Art of War shows women how to use Sun Tzu's philosophy to win in every aspect of life. In the West, when we think of war, we imagine battle, casualties, brutality. But Sun Tsu, who wrote The Art of War 2,500 years ago, was Chinese, and their view of war is not about fighting. It is about determining the most efficient way of gaining victory with the least amount of conflict.

Document your leadership vision, then transform your organization into it...and leave the legacy of an organization that performs brilliantly now and long after you've moved on.

Modern employees are tired of command and control management. Employees are looking for personal growth, purpose, and a different lifestyle than prior generations of employees. These employees are in a market where they can have flexibility in how and where they work. They want and can demand choices in the work environment.