Leadership Without Easy Answers, Ronald Heifetz

In this very interesting and relevant book (click here to order) Heifetz focuses on the delicate "modern ballet" of leading change in complex world, in particular focusing on 'messy' problems were authority is limited, goals are unclear and values may be in conflict.

He defines leadership not as a position in a social structure, nor as a series of traits or attributes, but as an activity.  Arguing that "this allows for leadership at all levels in a social system to emerge".  He explores the issues of leadership and authority, not simply deconstructing leadership.  He also explores the area of leadership in complex social settings where authority is unclear. 

He defines the main task of leadership as adaptive work clarifying the difference with "technical" problems.  Core to this adaptive work is working with values and value conflicts - helping and enabling people to adapt values that are more helpful to achieving organisational or community goals.

some short reviews below:
Ronald Heifetz brings knowledge of an astonishingly wide range of disciplines to this study of leadership...As a musician, a cellist, he understands that the quality of a performance depends on the audience as well as on the instrumentalist...As a psychiatrist, Heifetz understands that communities cannot be pushed beyond their capacity to adapt...These insights give to Heifetz's book an originality and vivacity one rarely associates with studies on leadership. He illustrates his theses with an extraordinary range of cases and examples...Leadership Without Easy Answers reminds us of democracy's rich potential. It is a bold book and an encouraging one. I hope some of our leaders are out there learning.
   --Shirley Williams, Times Higher Education Supplement

A superb book for any age, but particularly for our current one, where society is so desperately in need of its wisdom and expertise. Leadership without Easy Answers should be required reading for top managers in all sectors--private, public, and nonprofit. I hope it will also be widely read by the citizenry that is so much in need of an attitude shift on the nature of authority. This book is also very much about citizenship.
   --M. Scott Peck, Author of The Road Less Traveled

Leadership without Easy Answers should go a long way toward clearing up many confusions about leadership. Long a master teacher of leaders, Heifetz's courses and Harvard's Kennedy School of Government have been standing-room only for years. Read this book and see why.
   --Peter Senge, author of The Fifth Discipline

see link http://www.hup.harvard.edu/reviews/HEILEA_R.html for more reviews

Leadership without easy answers

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