Tom Wren s book is a masterpiece of intellectual history. It explores the philosophical and historical foundations of democracy in a compelling way. Wren is a sparkling and graceful writer. He makes a potentially dry subject come alive with wit and insight. The issues Wren addresses are extremely timely, as the United States endeavors to advance democracy in the Middle East. George Goethals, University of Richmond, US In this important analysis of democratic thought and treatise on leadership, historian Tom Wren drills down to the essential intellectual paradox: that leadership and democracy are inherently hostile concepts. Wren brilliantly strips down our fictions concerning these domains in his extensive deconstruction of both classical and modern thought. What emerges is a dialectical awakening and a practical new vision of citizen participation and enlightened leadership. Georgia Sorenson, James MacGregor Burns Academy of Leadership, University of Maryland, College Park and US Army An excellent scholarly work that is well written and highly relevant within the context of contemporary politics. Although essential reading for teachers and students of political theory, it will also interest the general reader and armchair politician. First Trust Bank Economic Outlook and Business Review Wren is to be commended for attempting to lay bare the underlying assumptions and premises that inform any approach to politics. . . an important contribution to an ongoing conversation about what contemporary leadership should look like. Undergraduates will benefit from his review of important theorists, and practitioners should be challenged by Wren s own theses about leadership. Highly recommended. All readership levels. M.J. Watson, Choice The tension between ruler and ruled in democratic societies has never been satisfactorily resolved, and the competing interpretations of this relationship lie at the bottom of much modern political discourse. In this fascinating book, Thomas Wren clarifies and elevates the debates over leadership by identifying the fundamental premises and assumptions that underlie past and present understandings. The author traces the intellectual history of the central constructs: the leader, the people, and, ultimately, the relationship between them as they seek to accomplish societal objectives. He begins with a discussion of the invented notion of the classical paragon of a ruler. Next he pursues the invention of the countervailing concept of a sovereign people, and finally, the need for the invention of a new construct leadership which embodies a new relation between ruler and ruled in regimes dedicated to power in the people. In doing so, he draws upon the giants of the Western intellectual tradition as well as the insights of modern historians, political scientists, sociologists and leadership scholars. The book concludes with a proposed model of leadership for a modern democratic world. Elegantly written and masterfully argued, this comprehensive study will be essential reading for students and scholars of leadership and democracy.

How the early presidents shaped America's highest office From George Washington's decision to buy time for the new nation by signing the less-than-ideal Jay Treaty with Great Britain in 1795 to George W. Bush's order of a military intervention in Iraq in 2003, the matter of who is president of the United States is of the utmost importance. In this book, Fred Greenstein examines the leadership styles of the earliest presidents, men who served at a time when it was by no means certain that the American experiment in free government would succeed. In his groundbreaking book The Presidential Difference, Greenstein evaluated the personal strengths and weaknesses of the modern presidents since Franklin D. Roosevelt. Here, he takes us back to the very founding of the republic to apply the same yardsticks to the first seven presidents from Washington to Andrew Jackson, giving his no-nonsense assessment of the qualities that did and did not serve them well in office. For each president, Greenstein provides a concise history of his life and presidency, and evaluates him in the areas of public communication, organizational capacity, political skill, policy vision, cognitive style, and emotional intelligence. Washington, for example, used his organizational prowess—honed as a military commander and plantation owner—to lead an orderly administration. In contrast, John Adams was erudite but emotionally volatile, and his presidency was an organizational disaster. Inventing the Job of President explains how these early presidents and their successors shaped the American presidency we know today and helped the new republic prosper despite profound challenges at home and abroad.

“It’s not the magic that makes it work; it’s the way we work that makes it magic.” The secret for creating “magic” in our careers, our organizations, and our lives is simple: outstanding leadership—the kind that inspires employees, delights customers, and achieves extraordinary business results. No one knows more about this kind of leadership than Lee Cockerell, the man who ran Walt Disney World® Resort operations for over a decade. And in Creating Magic, he shares the leadership principles that not only guided his own journey from a poor farm boy in Oklahoma to the head of operations for a multibillion dollar enterprise, but that also soon came to form the cultural bedrock of the world’s number one vacation destination. But as Lee demonstrates, great leadership isn’t about mastering impossibly complex management theories. We can all become outstanding leaders by following the ten practical, common sense strategies outlined in this remarkable book. As straightforward as they are profound, these leadership lessons include: Everyone is important. Make your people your brand. Burn the free fuel: appreciation, recognition, and encouragement. Give people a purpose, not just a job. Combining surprising business wisdom with insightful and entertaining stories from Lee’s four decades on the front lines of some of the world’s best-run companies, Creating Magic shows all of us – from small business owners to managers at every level – how to become better leaders by infusing quality, character, courage, enthusiasm, and integrity into our workplace and into our lives.

My Top Cop Years were overwhelmingly creative because every time I saw a problem, the focus was on solutions. I am illustrating a select few for you, drawn from my carefully documented archives. If the department did not have the resources I sought them from outside. I was never shy of asking for anything that would benefit the people to be served. Because they needed answers, not excuses. For all these solutions, I had the support of some of my seniors, team members and juniors. They were excited about the novelty and ease of doing their duty. They, equally, got the credits and due recognition. Many of them saw growth in their new learning. This sowed the seeds for empowered and creative leadership.

Leadership pervades every aspect of organizational and social life, and its study has never been more diverse, nor more fertile. With contributions from those who have defined that territory, this volume is not only a key point of reference for researchers, students and practitioners, but also an agenda-setting prospective and retrospective look at the state of leadership in the twenty-first century. It evaluates the domain and stretches it further by considering leadership scholarship from every angle, concluding with an optimistic look at the future of leaders, followers and their place in organizations and society at large. Each section represents a distinctive slant on leadership: - Macro perspectives - including strategic leadership, organization theory, charismatic leadership, complexity leadership, and networks. - Political and philosophical perspectives - including distributed leadership, critical leadership, ethics, the military and cults. - Psychological perspectives - including personality, leadership style and contingency theories, transformational leadership, exchange relationships, shared leadership, cognition, leadership development, gender, trust, identity and the ′dark side′ of leadership. - Cultural perspectives - including spirituality, aesthetics, and creativity. - Contemporary and emergent perspectives - followership, historical methods, virtual leadership, emotions, image, celebrity, and the quest for a general theory of leadership

There's a disconnect in many organizations today. Management is often viewed as being synonymous with leadership, and while every manager would want to be seen as a leader, not everyone in management acts like they understand what leadership entails. But in Lead, Don't Manage, Mark Williams dives into the keys to cultivating successful and effective leadership at every level of an organization.From individual contributors to the C-Suite, Williams understands and explains the value of true leadership and how to establish it among a workforce. There are no mind tricks here, no newly revealed secrets. Grounded and accessible, Lead, Don't Manage provides a straightforward application of proven techniques that will help employees of all levels grasp the impact they can have on their organization and stretch to reach their potential.When you learn to lead from the top down, you'll build organizational success from the bottom up.

Laozi, Marx, the Buddha, Ibsen, Machiavelli – these are just a few of the world’s great thinkers who have weighed in on the subject of leadership over the centuries. Yet the contemporary student of leadership often overlooks many of these names in favor of more recent theorists hailing from the social sciences. Understanding Leadership: An Arts and Humanities Perspective takes a different angle, employing the works of the great philosophers, authors, and artists found in world civilization and presenting an arts and humanities perspective on the study of leadership. The authors build their conceptual framework using their Five Components of Leadership Model, which recognizes the leader, the followers, the goal, the context, and the cultural values and norms that make up the leadership process. Supporting the text are a wealth of case studies that reflect on works such as Ayn Rand’s novella Anthem, Eugène Delacroix’s painting Liberty Leading the People, Charlie Chaplin’s film Modern Times, Athol Fugard’s play "Master Harold" . . . and the boys, Laozi’s poetic work Dao De Jing, and Antonín Dvořák’s New World Symphony. The authors also introduce studies from various world cultures to emphasize the role that cultural values and norms play in leadership. This illuminating framework promotes the multidimensional thinking that is necessary for understanding and problem-solving in a complex world. Understanding Leadership: An Arts and Humanities Perspective will be a valuable resource for both undergraduate and postgraduate leadership students, while leadership professionals will also appreciate the book’s unique liberal arts and cultural approach.