Developing Leaders

by DON O'NEAL
1st edition, 174 pages, $19.95
ISBN 978-0-89641-471-6

book cover

Developing Leaders is written to bridge the gap between the academic world, with its theories of how to lead more effectively, and the world of working managers, professionals, and individuals who can apply those theories in ways that will utilize their time, effort, and resources more efficiently. Unlike most textbooks on leadership, this book discusses ideas and information in contexts that are likely to be more useful to practitioners, and downplays those aspects that tend to be primarily of interest to academics and their graduate students. It is intended to be useful not only as a classroom text but also as an ongoing reference manual for organizational managers and professionals.

purchase button
Review button

Developing Leaders has a dual meaning. On one hand, it refers to what I believe should be the primary purpose of a leader: developing those for whom the leader is responsible, to help them realize their full potential. But before you can hope to be effective leading others, you have to make that sure you, yourself, have developed to the point where you are the kind of example that others will want to follow. Applying the concepts of this book to organizing and directing your own development efforts will help you become that type of leader.

The book has been developed in four parts: Part I Leadership Overview, Part II Self-Leadership, Part III Leading Others, and Part IV Leading into the Future.

Part I—Leadership Overview is a broad overview of leadership, intended to set the context of the chapters and discussions that follow.

The chapters in Part II—Self-Leadership discuss the personal characteristics/traits that are essential to effective leadership.

Part III—Leading Others: Beyond the personal characteristics that are necessary to earn the respect of followers, there are two additional characteristics that are essential for those who intend to lead others: an understanding of people, and the ability to persuade them.

Chapters in Part IV—Leading into the Future, describe elements of leadership that are essential to our ability to lead organizations forward in today’s increasingly-turbulent global environment.


CONTENTS

PART I—LEADERSHIP OVERVIEW

  • Chapter 1—Introduction to Leadership
    Overview, Leadership Theories, The Trail Era, The Behavior Era, The Contingency Era, Leadership and Management, Strategic Thinking, Summary

  • Chapter 2—Leadership Traits
    Leadership Characteristics/Traits, Self-Leadership, Leading Others, Charisma, Summary

PART II—SELF-LEADERSHIP

  • Chapter 3 —Vision
    Direction, Meaning, Expectations, Summary

  • Chapter 4—Integrity
    Character, Values, Ethics, Credibility, Summary

  • Chapter 5—Self-Development
    Self-Awareness, Goals/Expectations, Capabilities, Strengths, Resources, Attitude, Personal Responsibility, Discipline, Development, Evaluation, Summary

  • Chapter 6—Action
    Planning, Actions/Activities, Resources, Scheduling, Implementing, Responsibility, Resources, Control, Commitment, Time-Management, Time-Wasters, Time-Savers, Summary

  • Chapter 7—Decisiveness
    Decision-Making, Information, Timing, Risk, Intuition, Decision-Makers, Individuals, Organizations, Summary

  • Chapter 8—Courage
    Commitment, Sacrifice, Unselfishness, Summary

PART III—LEADING OTHERS

Understanding

  • Chapter 9—Developing People
    Selection, Qualifications, Attitude, Development, Orientation, Training, Career Development, Evaluation, Summary

  • Chapter 10—Delegation/Empowerment
    Empowerment, Leadership Factors, Organizational Factors, Delegation, Summary

  • Chapter 11—Communication
    Sending, Receiving, Understanding, Questions, Summary

Persuading

  • Chapter 12—Inspiration
    Vision, Persuasion, Example, Summary

  • Chapter 13—Motivation
    Needs, Satisfaction, Summary

PART IV—LEADING INTO THE FUTURE

  • Chapter 14—Cross-Cultural Leadership
    Geographic Differences, Administrative Differences, Economic Differences, Cultural Differences, Summary

  • Chapter 15—Leading Change
    Resisting Change, Leading Change , Summary

REFERENCES