We have moved past the Information Age and are now living in the Imagination Age. Intuitive and creative thinking skills are as valuable as “hard skills” and are unique to each one of you. You have these innate skills—all you have to do is unleash them. Join up. What does imagination have to do with leadership? Ever since he was in college, Brian Paradis has been intrigued by the question, “What does imagination have to do with leadership?” For thirty years, he studied this puzzle as he honed his business and leadership skills, and one thing became crystal clear: imagination has a powerful influence on leadership. The compelling combination of leader + imagination = an opportunity to unleash all kinds of potential. The world is increasingly complex, knowledge is advancing at an unfathomable rate, and the problems in our world seem unsolvable. Organizations are in near constant and disruptive transition, and the cultures that define them are disconnected, disaffected, and divisive. Too many leaders show up to work wondering if any of it matters. We are “smarter” than any generation in history, but that isn’t the problem. The problem is imagination is not advancing at the same pace. But where there’s a closed door, there’s an open window of opportunity for those willing to walk through, to take a risk, and see what others don’t. Lead with Imagination promises three returns on your investment of time from reading it: You will be inspired by the possibilities and strengthened against the challenges. You will gain power and confidence to imagine, create, and innovate. We are all born with innate imagination and curiosity—learn how to use it. You will release your fullest potential and help release the potential of those you lead. We all learned as kindergarteners to assimilate quickly by giving the teacher (society) the desired answer, and to “fit in.” That colored our thinking from that moment forward and restricted our thinking and use of imagination. But now, it’s time to color outside the lines.

• Combines scholarship and innovation in a novel way. • Offers a well-grounded approach that fulfils a need among leadership scholarship for more emphasis on human methodologies. • Takes an interdisciplinary approach that incorporates humanities and the arts to the study of leadership, which is seeing increased interest among Business/Management scholars.

This comprehensive book provides a theoretical understanding of how imagination contributes to effective leadership, as well as practical tools all educational leaders can employ to cultivate their imaginations and the imaginations of others in their communities. To support these goals, book chapters offer multiple perspectives on what imagination is, why it is essential for educational leaders, and how it can be developed. Contributions by leadership scholars and school-based leaders are organized around three themes: exploring possibilities, poetics of memory, and imagination’s role in social justice and equity. Each section opens with a leadership story that shows how a school leader developed and used imagination to create solutions to real problems. Contributors to this volume were invited to read each otherÕs work and share their questions and thoughts. This work can now be used by individuals or within formal or informal learning communities to expand, deepen and, apply concepts. Expanding on Kieran EganÕs theory of Imaginative Education, this book will help current and future leaders employ imagination to make sense of and address the day-to-day challenges they encounter. Book Features: Brings together empirical and conceptual research on imagination’s varied roles in educational leadership.Provides practical strategies and implementable techniques for cultivating leadership imagination. Demonstrates what cognitive tools all leaders can use to deepen their understanding of issues, to emotionally and imaginatively engage their school communities, and to support equity, diversity, and inclusion.Offers easy-to-use activities and guidelines for applying imagination to key leadership processes and practices. Includes “Cultivating Curiosity, Conversation, and Imagination” sections at the end of chapters to stimulate individual reflection and collaborative discussion. Contributors: Laurie Anderson, Sean Blenkinsop, Lori Driussi, Lynn Fels, Mark Fettes, James W. Koschoreck, Dan Laitsch, Craig Mah, Jessica Masterson, Moraimo Machado, Sarah Pazur, Rose Pillay, Tara Preston, Courtney Robertson, Jonathan Sclater, Karen Steffensen, Katie Strom, Zachary D. Thomas, and Kara Mitchell Viesca.

Today's leadership challenges are not technical but transformational. Leaders fail, not from a lack of knowledge or resources, but from a failure of the imagination.

Complete the following sentences:“I am most energized when . . .”“I have always dreamed of . . .”“I derive joy from . . .”If there is a disconnect between how you completed these statements and the reality of your present situation, then something is getting in the way of you and the future you desire.Most of us actually spend a great deal of time thinking about our future, yet it is something we rarely address in a formal way. Why is it that the very thing we think about so often is something for which we rarely receive guidance? Leader of One: Shaping Your Future through Imagination and Design changes that reality, helping us to envision our future and to take action to make it happen.We have all experienced the widening gap between where we are and where we wish to be. Life, we find, gets in the way. It becomes too easy in this hyper-dynamic world to confuse means with ends, busyness with importance, and activity with progress. We have a living to make after all, or, if we're students, we must prepare to do so. For those of us in mid-career, there appear to be even more obstacles. In time, we discover we have drifted away from whatever it was we were passionate about, unaware that we were forfeiting a future that was ours to claim if only we had known how to unleash the “leader” within.Leader of One tells us how. Through Gerald Suarez's engaging voice, we learn about a process called idealized design, a method first applied in corporations by the renowned Wharton Emeritus Professor Russell Ackoff and his team. Ackoff and Suarez worked together to apply the same methodology in the White House where Suarez served two presidents for over a decade. As an internationally recognized authority on leadership and organizational redesign, Professor Suarez found the process worked as easily in the classroom as it did in the boardroom. What works for large organizations works for individuals as well.The methodology is simple, but the implications are profound. Suarez describes a cycle of activities that begins with the mental creation of an idealized future and ends with its realization. He teaches us how to begin in the future and work backwards to the present, from B to A, so to speak. He has us examine assumptions about who we are and asks us to explore what we value, to “dig deep” for answers. He does not allow us to be passive observers. He requires we learn by doing. It is not enough to dream, we must have the courage to take action. Leader of One is a book to guide us as we move through our days. In one sense it is timeless. Readers will find it invaluable now, but worth revisiting in the years ahead as circumstances change and as new passions take hold.

Everything You Need to Lead Your Team... in An Instant. John Adair’s Greatest Ideas for Effective Leadership is full of accessible advice and practical exercises from one of the world’s best –known and most sought-after authorities on leadership and management. Inside you will find: 9 Greatest Ideas for Leadership Skills 3 Greatest Ideas for Setting and Achieving You Objectives 6 Greatest Ideas for Teambuilding 4 Greatest Ideas for Leadership Qualities 8 Greatest Ideas for Managing Your Time ...and 70 other fantastic ideas, tips, and tricks that will give you the confidence, answers, and inspiration you need to succeed.