Four-cornered leadership : a framework for making decisions

 Content: Leadership Defined Leadership and Profound Knowledge Leadership Competencies Leadership, Power, and Followers Leadership and Management Leadership Approaches Leadership Implications  Understand the Importance of System Interdependencies Introduction The Organization as an Open System Processes are the Culprit not the People Coordinating and Controlling Processes   Coordination   Control The Leaders Role  Understand Why People Behave as They Do Introduction Complexity of Human Nature Group and Organizational Dynamics   Organization Setting and Structure   Task Complexity and Character Interpersonal Skills and Attributes Group Norms and Cohesiveness   Group Development   Group Interaction Patterns   Group Communication   Group Decision Making   Group Task Accomplishment   Group Support Conflict, Competition, and Cooperation Lessons Learned  Understand How People Learn, Develop, and Improve Introduction Learning is about Theory Organizational Learning Learners Are Not All Alike Growth Comes From Lessons Learned Reinforcing and Sustaining Learning  Understand the Variability of Work Introduction Data Provide the Basis for Decision-Making System Ups and Downs are a Matter of Routine Visualizing Process Variability Process Behavior Chart Interpreting Process Behavior Tampering Can Be Costly So What?  Give Meaning, Purpose, and Direction to the Job at Hand Introduction Purpose and Why It Is Important Creating the Purpose   The Process and How to Make it Happen   Listen   Synthesize   Create Communicating the Purpose Anchoring the Purpose through Constancy of Action Interpreting the Organization's Purpose through Planning Appreciating that the Job At Hand Has Just Begun  Manage the Dynamics, Interdependencies, and Interaction Introduction Plan for the Future Create Less Structure and Share Tasks Delegate and Coordinate Problem Solve and Make Decisions Monitor Results Drive Out Fear Build Trust Final Thoughts Appendix Assess Your Ability as a Profound Leader Affinity Technique Force Field Analysis References  References Index
 Abstract:             "W. Edwards Deming once stated that the job of management is not supervision but leadership. He also concluded that capable leaders were those who understood and applied the System of Profound Knowledge. This book examines this system and describes competencies that set the stage for its application. Illustrating the power relationship between leaders and followers, the book analyzes each of the four elements of the system of profound knowledge in relation to prevailing management and organizational theory. Filled with examples and tables to reinforce key concepts, this book is the perfect guide for anyone trying to achieve sustainable change"--
"Preface Is leadership a role or a mind- set? Are there differences that separate leaders from managers? These are questions that frequently arise when people attempt to define leadership. It is a topic that arouses emotions and brings out many competing viewpoints. The opinions offered usually diverge over a continuum, with one end grounded in research and the other in perception. This book is about leadership. It describes a set of competencies that are based on four core principles that convey very different assumptions about people and organizations. Leadership in this case is about action and the knowledge that is gained when ideas are tested through practice. It is knowing how interdependencies affect the system people work in, knowing how variation--the normal difference between process contingencies--affects system stability and instability, knowing how people learn and develop so organizational capability can be increased, and knowing how individual behaviors can be structured and aligned toward the organization's common good. A distinctive way for viewing leadership is presented, one that is based on learning and continual modification in response to prevailing conditions. Goals are accomplished without force. People are brought onboard in a common effort toward shared sacrifice, struggle, and rewards. Effective leadership is the result of practical application. It is recognized and honored after the fact because events have demonstrated an ability to bring about meaningful change"