This book explores an exciting new critical leadership model arising from critical theory and critical pedagogy traditions, and provides examples of applied critical leadership, ultimately expanding ways to think about current leadership models.

Intended for courses on leadership, practicing managers, consultants, and practitioners, this approachable guide teaches readers about how to become a leader. By blending the real-world insights of business executive Al Bolea with tested research findings provided by leadership scholar Leanne Atwater, it effectively bridges theory and practice to outline powerful leadership behaviors. Based on Bolea’s original "J-Curve" model of leadership, the authors identify and describe nine essential elements for leadership mastery, including skills such as setting direction, creating key proceses, and nurturing behaviors. Each chapter pairs concrete narratives with succinct research synopses to show how to expand the potential of people and organizations. A unique, experiential text, Applied Leadership Development engages students with self-reflection and self-assessment exercises, and encourages them in their own development as future leaders.

Applied Leadership: Developing Stages for Creating Exceptional Leaders, is a comprehensive, self-development practical leadership book. Designed to be a complete self-training guide for individuals in all stages of leadership, from entry level to advance stages. For years, organizations and individuals have struggled with ineffective leadership training. It neither served to strengthen the current leaders in the organization, nor created future leaders for that organization, until NOW. Because great leadership is an evolutionary process, this publication will offer the reader a journey to become an exceptional leader. Individuals will be able to develop the practical skills necessary to be excellent leaders for any organization. No longer will organizations outsource costly training sessions that last for weeks or months for their staff, rather, this book will provide those necessary steps, skills, and knowledge needed at their own pace.

Michael Ventura, entrepreneur and CEO of award-winning strategy and design firm Sub Rosa, shares “how to unlock our ability to design solutions, spark innovation, and solve tough challenges with empathy at the center” (Arianna Huffington). Having built his career working with iconic brands and institutions such as General Electric, Google, Nike, Warby Parker, and also The United Nations and the Obama Administration, Michael Ventura offers entrepreneurs and executives a radical new business book and way forward. Empathy is not about being nice. It’s not about pity or sympathy either. It’s about understanding—your consumers, your colleagues, and yourself—and it’s a direct path to powerful leadership. As such, Applied Empathy presents real strategies, based on Sub Rosa’s design work and the popular class Ventura and his team have taught at Princeton University, on how to make lasting connections and evolve your business internally (your employees, culture, and product/services) as well as externally (your brand, consumers, and value). “The most neglected fact in business is we’re all human. Michael Ventura makes a powerful argument that empathy is the secret sauce of 21st century business. The more digital we get, the more empathy we need” (Chip Conley, New York Times bestselling author of Emotional Equation). For leaders of all levels, this groundbreaking guide lays the foundation to establish a diverse, inventive, and driven team that can meet the challenges of today’s ever-evolving marketplace. If you want to connect to the people you work with, you have to understand them first.

‘Applied Leadership: A Synthesis of Theory & Practice’ is a holistic view of leadership. It highlights myths and misperceptions existing about leadership and their negative impact on the practical application. The book discusses existing theories of leadership, analyzes strengths of individual theories, and their weaknesses in providing a holistic view of leadership, leading to a need for a holistic approach to leadership. The book builds up a holistic model and plugs in the existing theories to develop a bigger picture. The cardinals of the holistic model are then discussed as individual chapters from theoretical as well as practical aspects of leadership. The discussion of individual cardinals is finally translated into an applied leadership model that presents a comprehensive view of leadership, bridges the theory-practice gap and can be used as a framework for researchers and practitioners of leadership.

This book illustrates how the ideal of servant leadership can be applied in your school today. With real-life scenarios, discussions, and self assessments, this book gives practical suggestions to help you develop into a caring and effective servant leader.