In a challenging business climate, enterprises look to their leaders. Some situations call for drastic change, while others require the fortitude to stay the course. Who better to help today's leaders than a who's who of the greatest leadership thinkers of our time? "The AMA Handbook of Leadership" features insights from best-of-the-best thought leaders and executive leadership coaches around the world. Packed with exclusive, never-before-published articles and full case studies, the book covers a wide range of leadership challenges such as sustainability, competitive advantage through leadership, leading across cultures, succession and countless other issues critical to current and future business leaders.
The AMA Handbook of Leadership
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"Ordinarily, having more than one leader is a recipe for disaster, but when it comes to learning about leadership, the more the merrier." --Accounting Today
“The value of the AMA Handbook is profound and far-reaching. For readers seeking new and exciting reading on leadership as well as for corporate executives charged with leading corporations to a positive and productive future, this volume is a must. It is seminal in content and a valuable addition to libraries everywhere. Summing Up: Essential. Business and leadership collections, all levels.” —Choice
Selected for inclusion in Choice Magazine's annual Outstanding Academic Title List, January 2011.
Book Description
The AMA Handbook of Leadership features insights from best-of-the-best thought leaders and executive leadership coaches on topics from talent development, the arts and leadership, and competitive advantage through leadership, to leading across cultures, sustainability, executive transition, and many more timeless (and timely) issues. Filled with powerful examples and full case studies, the book includes previously unpublished articles from:
Frances Hesselbein • R. Roosevelt Thomas, Jr. • Dave Ulrich • John (Jack) Zenger • Nancy J. Adler • John Baldoni • Judith M. Bardwick • Marshall Goldsmith • James F. Bolt • Marc Effron • Joe Folkman • Colin Gautrey • Paul Hersey • Maya Hu-Chan • Beverly Kaye • Paula Kruger • Laurence S. Lyons • D. Quinn Mills • Howard Morgan • Luke Novelli, Jr. • Miriam Ort • Gary Ranker • Robert H. Rosen • Norm Smallwood • Andrew Sobel • Fons Trompenaars • Albert A. Vicere • Peter Woolliams • and Patricia Wheeler
In a challenging business climate, enterprises look to their leaders. Some situations call for drastic change, while others require the fortitude to stay the course. Who better to help today’s business leaders than the greatest leadership thinkers of our time?
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
The AMA Handbook of Leadership stands as the most recent in a long line of comprehensive volumes designed to put a lot of knowledge between a single pair of covers. This book is the latest in an evolutionary line of books for businesspeople designed to tell you about a lot of different things.
First, there were management encyclopedias. The first edition of Carl Heyel's Encyclopedia of Management came out in 1963. Heyel was described as "management counsel."
There were over 300 articles. The 1973 update added about fifty more. Each article was written by an individual contributor.
The articles added in 1973 had titles like "Automation," "Management by Objectives," and "Managerial Grid." The article on "Women in Industry" was updated.
In 1985, McGraw-Hill published the Handbook for Professional Managers, edited by Lester Bittel and Jackson Ramsey, both of whom were on the faculty at James Madison University. This book had 239 articles which it clustered into fifty "Vital Areas of Concern."
There was a cluster of articles devoted to "computers." And there was another whose subject was "data processing." Some articles seem quaintly dated. There's an article on "Management of Older Workers." Older workers are defined as those 45 years of age and older.
The AMA Handbook of Leadership is right on the trend line. We've gone from comprehensive, cover-it-all encyclopedias of management, to shorter handbooks of "professional management" to an even shorter handbook of leadership.
The new book has fewer articles. There's about 6 percent of the number in Heyel's encyclopedia and 10 percent of Bittel and Ramsey's handbook. The articles themselves are generally longer than the articles in either of the earlier books.
In fact, they're about the right length for a quick read. Only seven articles are longer than ten pages. The longest is only seventeen.
Those are statistics. They can tell us something, but they can't answer the question of whether this is a good book for you. Here goes. For this book to get the best possible review from me it needs to answer three questions with a resounding "Yes!"
Did the editors zero in on good topics? Yes!
The topic selection is broad enough that there is almost sure to be one or more topics where you don't have much expertise. There are essays on new and hot topics of the day. They include leading in a global environment, the future, engaging people, facilitating change, and what the editors call "the X Factors."
Did the editors select experts to write the essays? Yes!
This could be the strongest feature of the book. The list of authors is simply awesome. They aren't just good. You've got essays here by true legends such as Paul Hersey and Dave Ulrich and Frances Hesselbein and James Bolt and Fons Trompenaars and Jack Zenger. It doesn't get better than this.
Did the writers do a good job? Yes!
It seems clear that no one took this as a quick-and-dirty assignment. Note that I used the word "essays." That's what these are. They're not short articles, dashed off in the course of daily events. They're thoughtful, like a rich soup that has reduced until the flavor is powerful.
These are well-written pieces, some of which may turn out to be classics in themselves. My pick: the essay by Laurence Lyons titled "Situational Intelligence."
The fact is that the essays that aren't by legends or "All-Stars" are at least as good. I recommend "Talent Pool or Talent Puddle" by Marc Effron and Miriam Ort as an example.
If you're serious about leadership in today's and tomorrow's challenging world, this book will be a great addition to your library. Keep it nearby.
When something comes up that's just a bit outside your comfort zone, check here to see if there's an essay that will help. If there is make The AMA Handbook of Leadership the starting point for your learning.
When you need a refresher on an important issue, check this book. Odds are there's an essay here to help.
The AMA Handbook of Leadership is a worthy successor to the encyclopedias and handbooks that have gone before, stripped down and streamlined for a new century.
First, there were management encyclopedias. The first edition of Carl Heyel's Encyclopedia of Management came out in 1963. Heyel was described as "management counsel."
There were over 300 articles. The 1973 update added about fifty more. Each article was written by an individual contributor.
The articles added in 1973 had titles like "Automation," "Management by Objectives," and "Managerial Grid." The article on "Women in Industry" was updated.
In 1985, McGraw-Hill published the Handbook for Professional Managers, edited by Lester Bittel and Jackson Ramsey, both of whom were on the faculty at James Madison University. This book had 239 articles which it clustered into fifty "Vital Areas of Concern."
There was a cluster of articles devoted to "computers." And there was another whose subject was "data processing." Some articles seem quaintly dated. There's an article on "Management of Older Workers." Older workers are defined as those 45 years of age and older.
The AMA Handbook of Leadership is right on the trend line. We've gone from comprehensive, cover-it-all encyclopedias of management, to shorter handbooks of "professional management" to an even shorter handbook of leadership.
The new book has fewer articles. There's about 6 percent of the number in Heyel's encyclopedia and 10 percent of Bittel and Ramsey's handbook. The articles themselves are generally longer than the articles in either of the earlier books.
In fact, they're about the right length for a quick read. Only seven articles are longer than ten pages. The longest is only seventeen.
Those are statistics. They can tell us something, but they can't answer the question of whether this is a good book for you. Here goes. For this book to get the best possible review from me it needs to answer three questions with a resounding "Yes!"
Did the editors zero in on good topics? Yes!
The topic selection is broad enough that there is almost sure to be one or more topics where you don't have much expertise. There are essays on new and hot topics of the day. They include leading in a global environment, the future, engaging people, facilitating change, and what the editors call "the X Factors."
Did the editors select experts to write the essays? Yes!
This could be the strongest feature of the book. The list of authors is simply awesome. They aren't just good. You've got essays here by true legends such as Paul Hersey and Dave Ulrich and Frances Hesselbein and James Bolt and Fons Trompenaars and Jack Zenger. It doesn't get better than this.
Did the writers do a good job? Yes!
It seems clear that no one took this as a quick-and-dirty assignment. Note that I used the word "essays." That's what these are. They're not short articles, dashed off in the course of daily events. They're thoughtful, like a rich soup that has reduced until the flavor is powerful.
These are well-written pieces, some of which may turn out to be classics in themselves. My pick: the essay by Laurence Lyons titled "Situational Intelligence."
The fact is that the essays that aren't by legends or "All-Stars" are at least as good. I recommend "Talent Pool or Talent Puddle" by Marc Effron and Miriam Ort as an example.
If you're serious about leadership in today's and tomorrow's challenging world, this book will be a great addition to your library. Keep it nearby.
When something comes up that's just a bit outside your comfort zone, check here to see if there's an essay that will help. If there is make The AMA Handbook of Leadership the starting point for your learning.
When you need a refresher on an important issue, check this book. Odds are there's an essay here to help.
The AMA Handbook of Leadership is a worthy successor to the encyclopedias and handbooks that have gone before, stripped down and streamlined for a new century.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
A thoughtful, well-chosen and well edited collection of articles
February 3, 2010
By Jim Estill
Format:Hardcover
I recently read the The AMA Handbook of Leadership by Marshall Goldmsith which is a collection of articles, similar to one I recently reviewed by Malcolm Gladwell (although these are each by different authors).
The book has five parts.
1 - Forging ahead - The Global Picture
2 - Developing People - The Key to the Future.
3 - Engaging People - Force of Change.
4 - Facilitating Change - The Leaders Role.
5 - Taking the Lead.
The articles are thoughtful, well chosen, well edited and for the most part interesting and thoughtful.
There was an article by R. Roosevelt Thomas Jr. on Leadership and Diversity which tied into the book review I recently did on The Loudest Duck. The gist of the article is similar to the book, diversity is good business and its the role of leadership to make sure that diversity is embraced.
There was an article on Asian and Western Executive lifestyles. This was of high interest to me since I have done a lot of business in Asia and since I am in the computer industry. This has been something that I have studied and any leader of a global business should understand different executive styles in different cultures.
There's an article by Marshall Goldsmith - Passing the Baton : Developing Your Successor. One of the toughest things for a leader to do is prepare to move on from an organization. I've done a lot of thinking about that lately since some people have talked to me about how SYNNEX has changed since I've left. I've come to the conclusion that when leadership leaves an organization, some of the leader remains on in the culture and some of it changes.
The article is a good reminder that succession plans do need to be done. I know for many leaders, this goes against their sense of immortality.
There are other articles on leadership, change, how to be an effective leader and situational intelligence.
I liked the short article format because I could read one article in its entirety in a few minutes and then come back and read another one. One Time Management Success Habit I use is keeping reading readily accessible for any spare minutes I might have. This book is perfect for that - sort of like a magazine.
The book has five parts.
1 - Forging ahead - The Global Picture
2 - Developing People - The Key to the Future.
3 - Engaging People - Force of Change.
4 - Facilitating Change - The Leaders Role.
5 - Taking the Lead.
The articles are thoughtful, well chosen, well edited and for the most part interesting and thoughtful.
There was an article by R. Roosevelt Thomas Jr. on Leadership and Diversity which tied into the book review I recently did on The Loudest Duck. The gist of the article is similar to the book, diversity is good business and its the role of leadership to make sure that diversity is embraced.
There was an article on Asian and Western Executive lifestyles. This was of high interest to me since I have done a lot of business in Asia and since I am in the computer industry. This has been something that I have studied and any leader of a global business should understand different executive styles in different cultures.
There's an article by Marshall Goldsmith - Passing the Baton : Developing Your Successor. One of the toughest things for a leader to do is prepare to move on from an organization. I've done a lot of thinking about that lately since some people have talked to me about how SYNNEX has changed since I've left. I've come to the conclusion that when leadership leaves an organization, some of the leader remains on in the culture and some of it changes.
The article is a good reminder that succession plans do need to be done. I know for many leaders, this goes against their sense of immortality.
There are other articles on leadership, change, how to be an effective leader and situational intelligence.
I liked the short article format because I could read one article in its entirety in a few minutes and then come back and read another one. One Time Management Success Habit I use is keeping reading readily accessible for any spare minutes I might have. This book is perfect for that - sort of like a magazine.
Format:Hardcover
What we have in a single volume are 23 essays from 29 contributors, including the three co-editors (Marshall Goldsmith, John Baldoni, and Sarah McArthur), that - together - provide 360ş perspectives on leadership. The book's objective is to enable each reader, in James Kouzes' words, "to more effectively forge ahead, develop people, engage people, facilitate change, and take the lead." Continuing to address the reader directly, Kouzes adds, "Your challenge I moving from the page to practice is to make the lessons genuinely yours. It's essential that you do that, because making them yours is the only route to authentic leadership. Making them yours is the only route to becoming the kind of leader others will want to follow."
There are at least three different ways to read this book:
1. From start to finish, from the first chapter through the last of 23.
2. One or more of the Parts of greatest interest (i.e. "Forging Ahead: The Global Picture," "Developing People: The Key to the Future," "Engaging People: The Force of Change," ""Facilitating Change: The Leader's Role," and "Taking the Lead: The X Factors"
3. Cherry-picking individual essays of greatest interest
I suggest reading and then re-reading the Contents (Pages v-vii) and then the Introduction written by Sarah McArthur (Pages 1-5) before deciding which approach to take. Hopefully, any one of the three will help each reader to absorb and digest the material that is of greatest interest and value.
Here in Dallas at the Farmers Market near the downtown area, several merchants offer complimentary slices of fresh fruit as samples. In that same spirit, I now offer brief excerpts (albeit out of context) from five of the essays.
"Today, if we are not developing a richly diverse organization, led by a wonderfully diverse team of leaders, then we are already an organization of the past, led by leaders of the past...The initiative, the imperative for a bright future. Is grounded by values that are palpable. With values that we live by, as mission-focused, values-based, and demographics-driven, we lead into the future. This is the organizational life we are building, the leadership life we are leading. We are the future." Frances Hesselbein (Pages 9 and 12)
"As in a relay race, there are two important steps. The first is that you will have to slow down so that you and your successor do not drop the baton during the pass; the second is that you will have to coach your successor up to speed so as to carry the baton to the finish line." Marshall Goldsmith (Page 51)
"In my many years of watching leaders successfully grow new leaders, I have observed that three characteristics separate the winners from the also-rans. First, successful leaders have an attitude that supports learning and growth...Second, successful leaders provide feedback and tell the truth...Finally, successful leaders create cultures that value inclusion, not exclusion, and they know that every person can make valuable contributions to the team when encouraged and given the opportunity." Beverly Kaye (Page 80)
"The first task for change makers is to create real awareness at every level of an organization that (1) these practices [based on fear and depression] create serious problems with powerful negative effects that impede success, and (2) there are policies that make success much more likely. In order to have an impact, the message must resonate with people - it must be an honest, simple, brief, and focused message. It must begin with a sense of alarm that when the core issues are faced, the right changes can be made and then success and a better future become likely. Experience teaches us that this message will need to be repeated often." Judith M. Bardwick (Page 114)
Note: In Mastering the Rockefeller Habits, Verne Harnish suggests that supervisors keep repeating the "message" they are trying to deliver to their direct-reports until they begin to mock and mimic them.
"Those who `lead up' are those who think about how they can help their boss think and act strategically. It is providing answers as well as options: it is doing whatever needs doing and asking for forgiveness [if appropriate] later. Leading up begins with strategic thinking - that is, considering how you can help your team and your department add value to the enterprise. Being viewed as a strategic thinker is now considered a gateway to the top floor of management, so up-and-comers should do whatever is possible to develop those skills." John Baldoni (Page 205)
I urge those who share my high regard for this book to check out Extraordinary Leadership: Addressing the Gaps in Senior Executive Development co-edited by Kerry A. Bunker, Douglas T. Hall, and Kathy E. Kram as well as Handbook of Leadership Theory and Practice co-edited by Nitin Nohria and Rakesh Khurana. I also recommend Charles S. Jacobs' Management Rewired: Why Feedback Doesn't Work and Other Surprising Lessons from the Latest Brain Science.
There are at least three different ways to read this book:
1. From start to finish, from the first chapter through the last of 23.
2. One or more of the Parts of greatest interest (i.e. "Forging Ahead: The Global Picture," "Developing People: The Key to the Future," "Engaging People: The Force of Change," ""Facilitating Change: The Leader's Role," and "Taking the Lead: The X Factors"
3. Cherry-picking individual essays of greatest interest
I suggest reading and then re-reading the Contents (Pages v-vii) and then the Introduction written by Sarah McArthur (Pages 1-5) before deciding which approach to take. Hopefully, any one of the three will help each reader to absorb and digest the material that is of greatest interest and value.
Here in Dallas at the Farmers Market near the downtown area, several merchants offer complimentary slices of fresh fruit as samples. In that same spirit, I now offer brief excerpts (albeit out of context) from five of the essays.
"Today, if we are not developing a richly diverse organization, led by a wonderfully diverse team of leaders, then we are already an organization of the past, led by leaders of the past...The initiative, the imperative for a bright future. Is grounded by values that are palpable. With values that we live by, as mission-focused, values-based, and demographics-driven, we lead into the future. This is the organizational life we are building, the leadership life we are leading. We are the future." Frances Hesselbein (Pages 9 and 12)
"As in a relay race, there are two important steps. The first is that you will have to slow down so that you and your successor do not drop the baton during the pass; the second is that you will have to coach your successor up to speed so as to carry the baton to the finish line." Marshall Goldsmith (Page 51)
"In my many years of watching leaders successfully grow new leaders, I have observed that three characteristics separate the winners from the also-rans. First, successful leaders have an attitude that supports learning and growth...Second, successful leaders provide feedback and tell the truth...Finally, successful leaders create cultures that value inclusion, not exclusion, and they know that every person can make valuable contributions to the team when encouraged and given the opportunity." Beverly Kaye (Page 80)
"The first task for change makers is to create real awareness at every level of an organization that (1) these practices [based on fear and depression] create serious problems with powerful negative effects that impede success, and (2) there are policies that make success much more likely. In order to have an impact, the message must resonate with people - it must be an honest, simple, brief, and focused message. It must begin with a sense of alarm that when the core issues are faced, the right changes can be made and then success and a better future become likely. Experience teaches us that this message will need to be repeated often." Judith M. Bardwick (Page 114)
Note: In Mastering the Rockefeller Habits, Verne Harnish suggests that supervisors keep repeating the "message" they are trying to deliver to their direct-reports until they begin to mock and mimic them.
"Those who `lead up' are those who think about how they can help their boss think and act strategically. It is providing answers as well as options: it is doing whatever needs doing and asking for forgiveness [if appropriate] later. Leading up begins with strategic thinking - that is, considering how you can help your team and your department add value to the enterprise. Being viewed as a strategic thinker is now considered a gateway to the top floor of management, so up-and-comers should do whatever is possible to develop those skills." John Baldoni (Page 205)
I urge those who share my high regard for this book to check out Extraordinary Leadership: Addressing the Gaps in Senior Executive Development co-edited by Kerry A. Bunker, Douglas T. Hall, and Kathy E. Kram as well as Handbook of Leadership Theory and Practice co-edited by Nitin Nohria and Rakesh Khurana. I also recommend Charles S. Jacobs' Management Rewired: Why Feedback Doesn't Work and Other Surprising Lessons from the Latest Brain Science.
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