This book has plenty of hard-earned wisdom to offer aspiring senior leaders. Practical and useful, it also has helpful directions as to avenues for further reading.' – Paul Merrell, Head of School, @pjmerrell This is the ultimate guide for any new or aspiring senior leader in a primary or secondary school. Whether you're looking to move into senior leadership or you've just been appointed to your first post, you'll find expert guidance, tips and advice in this practical pocket handbook. From writing the winning application and acing the interview, to settling into the post and developing a vision for your school, leadership expert Jon Tait reveals what it takes to be the very best senior leader. Giving you space to reflect on your skills and techniques, as well as invaluable tips for leading staff, pupils and parents, Stepping into Senior Leadership will help you to hit the ground running. Perfect for all senior leaders, including assistant heads, deputy heads, SENCOs, curriculum leaders and pastoral leaders, this is the go-to guide for the next phase of your career in education.

Becoming the Very Best First-Time Leader Congratulations! You’re now in charge. Perhaps it’s your first time as a leader, or maybe you want to fine-tune your skills. Either way, you’ve begun one of the most rewarding chapters of your career. But, like many beginnings, the first few years can be challenging. Fortunately, you don’t have to tackle this challenge on your own. Your First Leadership Job gives you practical advice straight from others who have walked in your shoes. Not only does it include dozens of tools to ensure your success, but it’s also based on the authors’ and DDI’s extensive experience and research, which ultimately has led to the development of millions of leaders around the world. In fact, a quarter-million leaders will be developed this year alone via DDI training. Your First Leadership Job is divided into two sections. Part 1 introduces the concept of catalyst leader—one who sparks energy, passion, and commitment in others. Your transition to catalyst leader is a major step in your leadership journey. This book provides essential tips to put you on the catalyst path. Ultimately, leadership is about the many conversations—frequent, clear, authentic, and occasionally difficult—that you will have daily. Your First Leadership Job builds awareness of the fundamental skills you’ll come to rely on to make every one of these interactions successful. Part 2 devotes 13 chapters to critical core leadership competencies, including coaching for success, hiring the best employees, turning dreaded appraisals into discussions that propel performance, and handling difficult employees. It also includes a chapter for first-time female leaders. Look at Your First Leadership Job as an indispensable companion to becoming an awesome leader—one who will make a positive, lasting impact on your team, family, and career. Visit www.yourfirstleadershipjob.com to learn more.

What makes a truly exceptional leader? Discover the practical, fail-proof tools that will help you to fine-tune your leadership skills, solidify respect among your workforce, and ensure your company’s lasting success. When Martin G. Moore was asked to rescue a leading energy corporation from ever-increasing debt and a lack of executive accountability, he faced an uphill battle. Not only had he never before stepped into the role of CEO; he also had no experience in the rapidly evolving energy sector. Relying on the practical leadership principles he had honed throughout his thirty-three-year career, he overhauled the company’s culture, redefined its leadership capability, and increased earnings by a compound annual growth rate of 125 percent. In No Bullsh!t Leadership, Moore outlines these proven leadership principles in a clear, direct way. He sweeps away the mystical fog surrounding leadership today and lays out the essential steps for success. Moore combines this tangible advice with honest, real-world examples from his own career to provide a no-nonsense look at the skills a true leader possesses. Moore’s principles for no bullshit leadership focus on: Creating value by focusing only on the things that matter most Facing conflict, adversity, and ambiguity with decisiveness and confidence Setting uncompromising standards for behavior and performance Selecting and developing great people Making those people accountable, and empowering them to do their best Setting simple, value-driven goals and communicating them relentlessly Though the steps aren’t easy, they are guaranteed, if implemented, to lift your leadership–and your organization–to a higher level. Wherever you are in your career, No Bullsh!t Leadership will help you develop the skills and form the habits needed to become a no bullshit leader.

Don’t be content with simply learning what makes a great leader. Take the time to put in the work building those character traits inside you. Why is it that most of the principles and ideas we are inspired with when we read leadership books rarely end up leaving the page? Because we’ve learned what successful leaders are doing, as well as why we should be implementing it ourselves, but we have no idea how we can specifically do all this in our unique circumstances. Leadership Step by Step walks you through what to do and how to do it by taking you through an integrated and comprehensive progression of exercises designed to cultivate key abilities, behaviors, and beliefs through experience. By the end of the 22 exercises in this hands-on book, you will learn to: Build self-awareness Manage emotions Speak in an authentic voice Create meaningful connections Inspire others Each chapter opens with a story demonstrating a vital leadership skill. Then, it guides you through the process of developing that skill for yourself. Leadership Step by Step teaches you how to be that leader you’ve read so much about!

A comprehensive blueprint for the enlightened leader The Leadership Contract is the modern leader's handbook for organizational renewal. Leaders are no longer "rulers," nor are they accidental—in today's business climate, leadership is both a trait and a specific set of skills. It's about trust, commitment, communication, and drive. This book shows you how to become the leader your organization needs. You'll go beyond adopting the habits and practices of an effective leader and actually put it in writing to establish a leadership contract that ensures the success of your company. This revised and updated edition includes new coverage of accountability, personal and organizational levels of the leadership contract, new Gut Check summary questions after each chapter, and additional opening and closing remarks to provide key insight into what the leadership role entails. Recent studies show that only 7 percent of employees have trust and confidence in their senior leaders. How can organizations succeed without the support of their employees? This book aims to build better leaders and establish a true leadership culture that inspires the entire organization. Learn why a leadership contract is needed and what it entails Discover the real impact of your decisions and work ethic Motivate and inspire by making the right connections Facilitate a vibrant, positive culture that innovates and thrives Exceptional leadership is the heart of a successful organization. Employees need to be able to trust in the skills, strategy, judgment, and motivation of those steering the ship. The Leadership Contract provides a blueprint for today's leaders, and guides you toward becoming the leader your employees deserve.

This groundbreaking book offers leaders a way to determine what theories, models, and tools best meet the needs of their organizations. Authors and organizational consultants John P. Forman and Laurel A. Ross know leaders are awash in business theory, often coming from well-thumbed bestsellers. But how do you match promising theories to real people and circumstances? Using the insights of Integral Theory, particularly Ken Wilber's AQAL framework, the authors provide a simple yet elegant outline that appreciates and engages a wide range of leadership theories and techniques. Four major leadership styles emerge: the Impulsive, Diplomatic, Achiever, and Pluralistic approaches. The authors describe the presuppositions, characteristics, advantages, and disadvantages of each using a variety of real-life examples of individual leaders and organizations. Forman and Ross propose an emerging Integral perspective and suggest integral modes of performance management, change management, and teamwork. Ultimately, the Integral perspective gives leaders the insight and flexibility to use a range of resources to meet organizational needs in a rapidly changing world.