As organizations become more global and less hierarchical there is a need for leadership to provide direction and cohesion and take companies through the organizational changes necessary for survival. This is a self-improvement course: readers can analyze their strengths and weaknesses with guidance on taking on new leadership roles, communicating change to employees, disturbing the organizational culture to make things happen, and mobilizing staff to pull in the same direction.
Dr. Paul Taffinder is the founder and Managing Partner of Taffinder Consulting, specializing in CEO advice on strategy, leadership and organizational performance. A recognized expert on leadership and organizational behavior, he advises top executives of Global 500 companies on large-scale change and specializes in CEO-led transformation. His 20-year consulting career has spanned a broad range of industries, including aerospace, automotives, electronics, energy, financial services, insurance and media.
Dr. Taffinder has also written extensively about leadership and change, beginning with his first book, The New Leaders (Kogan Page), in 1995. His second book, Big Change (Wiley), won the prestigious Business Management Book of the Year Award in 1999 for what the judges called his inspirational approach to corporate transformation. The first edition of his latest book, The Leadership Crash Course (Kogan Page, 2000), was republished in seven languages, and a new, significantly revised second edition was released in March 2006.
In addition to writing, he speaks regularly at conferences and to the press. His views have been quoted in leading publications such as The New York Times, Fortune, the International Herald Tribune, the Financial Times, The Times, The Times Educational Supplement, The Independent, The Observer, The Guardian and Industry Week. Broadcast interviews have aired on BBC Business News, Bloomberg Television, European Business News (EBN), BBC Radio and Capital Radio, among other stations.
Prior to founding Taffinder Consulting, Dr. Taffinder was a Partner at strategy firm Marakon Associates as well as Mercer Delta. Before that, he was a Partner at Accenture, where he led the Organization and Change Strategy practice in the UK. Previously, he held a number of management roles in the mining and professional services industries. Dr. Taffinder is also a Chartered Psychologist and an Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society as well as a Visiting Professor at Goldsmiths College, University of London and sits on the Advisory Board of the University's Prospect & Innovation Unit.
Education
B.A. (Honors), Masters and Ph.D. degrees in Organizational Psychology, Witswatersrand (Wits) University in Johannesburg.
