Charles C. Manz

Written by the scholars who first developed the theory of self-leadership, Self-Leadership: The Definitive Guide to Personal Excellence 3e offers powerful yet practical advice for leading yourself to personal excellence.

Share, Don’t Take the Lead is a book that offers an alternative perspective on leadership. The philosophy of shared leadership is straightforward: Leadership does not derive solely from position, authority, or hierarchy. Instead, leadership is something that can be executed by anyone who has the best knowledge or skill to undertake the leadership necessary in any given situation. Shared leadership is especially relevant, for example, in empowered teams where shared leadership can be initiated from any team member at any time, depending on the needs of the moment and the capabilities of the individuals. But the notion of shared leadership is also appropriate in a larger context. For example, an individual lower in the hierarchy can provide leadership if that person is best qualified to exercise it. Shared leadership also shows how hierarchical leaders with formal authority can use empowerment to develop leadership in others. This book tells the tales of how multiple trail blazing organizations used shared leadership to build high performance. The notion of shared leadership seems to contradict many of the bedrock ideas of efficient management and effective organizations. A typical first reaction is, “It’ll never work here!” Yet, the organizations that “get it” and implement this new powerful approach tend to be more innovative and to out-perform their “nay-sayer” competitors. In fact, shared leadership is one of the most important ideas to hit business in recent years—our recent feature article about shared leadership in the Wall Street Journal is testimony to that. Shared leadership can provide a way for companies to increase productivity, quality, and flexibility while meeting the competitiveness challenge. Share the Lead provides new insights and information about how to push the organizational envelope to new frontiers.

Share, Don’t Take the Lead is a book that offers an alternative perspective on leadership. The philosophy of shared leadership is straightforward: Leadership does not derive solely from position, authority, or hierarchy. Instead, leadership is something that can be executed by anyone who has the best knowledge or skill to undertake the leadership necessary in any given situation. Shared leadership is especially relevant, for example, in empowered teams where shared leadership can be initiated from any team member at any time, depending on the needs of the moment and the capabilities of the individuals. But the notion of shared leadership is also appropriate in a larger context. For example, an individual lower in the hierarchy can provide leadership if that person is best qualified to exercise it. Shared leadership also shows how hierarchical leaders with formal authority can use empowerment to develop leadership in others. This book tells the tales of how multiple trail blazing organizations used shared leadership to build high performance. The notion of shared leadership seems to contradict many of the bedrock ideas of efficient management and effective organizations. A typical first reaction is, “It’ll never work here!” Yet, the organizations that “get it” and implement this new powerful approach tend to be more innovative and to out-perform their “nay-sayer” competitors. In fact, shared leadership is one of the most important ideas to hit business in recent years—our recent feature article about shared leadership in the Wall Street Journal is testimony to that. Shared leadership can provide a way for companies to increase productivity, quality, and flexibility while meeting the competitiveness challenge. Share the Lead provides new insights and information about how to push the organizational envelope to new frontiers.

Never Underestimate the Power of an Effective Team As today's businesses increasingly structure work around teams, it's more important than ever for students to understand group processes. Through the research summaries and case studies of this text, students will learn valuable theory and develop a rich picture of teams in action. Blending theory and practice in areas such as team design, team social processes, and team effectiveness provides them with a realistic view of how teams function in actual work organizations. The combination of research and case examples also shows students how to help teams become more effective. Because key concepts are specifically presented in and applied to business settings, students can gain a real-world perspective of ways they can influence teams. They'll not only learn the complex issues associated with teams, but they'll not only learn the complex issues associated with teams, but they'll also develop tools to succeed as designers, leaders, and members. Special Features of the Text: * Numerous examples are included to clearly illustrate important theoretical points. * Theory and research is summarized in a non-technical style that is applied to situations familiar to students. * Each unit includes a short scenario that provides students with the perspective of someone who is actually involved with teams in an organizational setting. * Relationships between group theories and business goals (e.g., increasing profit, providing a motivating work environment) are discussed throughout.

The Truth About Teams "If you're considering self-managing teams for your own business, Business Without Bosses should be on your reading list." -Managing Office Technology "Anyone who wants to become or stay a manager needs to master this book's practical and philosophical lessons." -Allan R. Cohen Vice President, Academic Affairs, Babson College and author, The Portable MBA in Management and Influence without Authority "The 'real-world' case studies will appeal to executives who need answers, not theory, about self-managed teams." -William Band Vice President, Rath & Strong, Inc., management consultants and the author of Creating Value for Customers and Touchstones This insider's tour shows you how organizations including Texas Instruments, IDS Financial Services, and W. L. Gore & Associates have discarded the old concept of "boss" and flourished with a new and effective team management style. Charles C. Manz, Ph. D. and Henry P. Sims, Jr., Ph. D., the authors of SuperLeadership, use real-world examples of success and failure to guide you through the intricacies of teamwork in a variety of service and manufacturing settings and in all stages of development.