Leading Change from the Middle

Leading Change from the Middle
Author: Jackson Nickerson
Publisher: Brookings Institution Press
Total Pages: 160
Release: 2014-05-09
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0815725221

Bookshelves abound with theoretical analyses, how-to guides, and personal success stories by famous corporate leaders, public officials, even athletic coaches, expounding on how to lead from the top. But what about those in the middle who are increasingly tasked with trying to reshape, reorient, or recreate the capabilities of an organization? Leading Change from the Middle takes you on the journeys traveled by Kurt Mayer, an information technology executive in the Department of Defense trying to build a new IT system in record time with limited resources, and Stephen Wang, a mid-level leader in city government trying to build a capability for supporting commercial agriculture. Kurt and Stephen have to navigate complex organizational and stakeholder landscapes in which they often have few decision rights and few resources—a common scenario for mid-level leaders. One succeeds; one does not. While following Kurt and Stephen, the book introduces a new approach for increasing the likelihood of successfully leading change. This new approach breaks down into three core strategies: First, identify all relevant stakeholders and partition them into four categories: superordinates, subordinates, customers, and complementors/blockers (those who control needed resources but over whom the leaders have no authority). Second, for each stakeholder category, identify Communications, Strategies, and Tactics (referred to as CoSTS). Third, don’t stimulate negative emotions that make people DEAF—Disrespect, Envy, Anger, and Fear—to efforts to produce change. As the book follows the journeys of Kurt and Stephen, it walks through the details of each strategy. In presenting this material in a concise, accessible, and applicable format that translates theory to practice, Nickerson provides an important service for leaders trying to build extraordinary capabilities for their organizations—from the middle.

Leading from the Middle

Leading from the Middle
Author: Scott Mautz
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 226
Release: 2021-05-18
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1119717914

The definitive playbook for driving impact as a middle manager Leading from the Middle: A Playbook for Managers to Influence Up, Down, and Across the Organization delivers an insightful and practical guide for the backbone of an organization: those who have a boss and are a boss and must lead from the messy middle. Accomplished author and former P&G executive Scott Mautz walks readers through the unique challenges facing these managers, and the mindset and skillset necessary for managing up and down and influencing what happens across the organization. You’ll learn the winning mindset of the best middle managers, how to develop the most important skills necessary for managing from the middle, how to create your personal Middle Action Plan (MAP), and effectively influence: Up the chain of command, to your boss and those above them Down, to your direct reports and teams who report to you Laterally, to peers and teams you have no formal authority over Anyone in an organization who reports to someone and has someone reporting to them must lead from the middle. They are the most important group in an organization and have a unique opportunity to drive impact. Leading from the Middle explains how.

Leading Change

Leading Change
Author: John P. Kotter
Publisher: Harvard Business Press
Total Pages: 210
Release: 2012
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1422186431

From the ill-fated dot-com bubble to unprecedented merger and acquisition activity to scandal, greed, and, ultimately, recession -- we've learned that widespread and difficult change is no longer the exception. By outlining the process organizations have used to achieve transformational goals and by identifying where and how even top performers derail during the change process, Kotter provides a practical resource for leaders and managers charged with making change initiatives work.

Leading Change Through the Lens of Cultural Proficiency

Leading Change Through the Lens of Cultural Proficiency
Author: Jaime E. Welborn
Publisher: Corwin Press
Total Pages: 417
Release: 2021-12
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1071823655

"Leading Change through the Lens of Cultural Proficiency is rooted in the proven tools of Cultural Proficiency and a case study of an actual P-12 school district that contended with its own approach to teaching and valuing students of diverse backgrounds. Using vignettes focused on community engagement, leadership, implementation frameworks, and collaborative professional learning communities, the authors demonstrate and recommend organizational changes necessary for uncovering and remedying inequities like those described above. The book is designed to support school leaders in developing policies and fostering practices that respond to the educational and social needs of all students"--

Change the Way You Lead Change

Change the Way You Lead Change
Author:
Publisher: Stanford University Press
Total Pages: 177
Release: 2008-05-16
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 080476316X

A groundbreaking manifesto, this book challenges traditional notions of change, arguing that successful change is the result of careful diagnosis, analysis, and consideration of "what" to change, "who" to change, and the "context" for the change.

Hidden in Plain Sight

Hidden in Plain Sight
Author: Michael Iannini
Publisher: Ips Group Limited
Total Pages: 160
Release: 2019-11-18
Genre: Education
ISBN: 9781734058307

Improve teacher collaboration and improve student learning by capacity building grade level leaders, heads of faculty, coordinators, deputy principals and every other middle leader in your school to build and lead teams that our mission driven.

Leading People from the Middle

Leading People from the Middle
Author: William Robinson
Publisher: iUniverse
Total Pages: 234
Release: 2010
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1440188866

First, you can't lead the way I lead. You wouldn't want to, and the people you lead wouldn't want you to either. The best leaders lead from their strengths. You want to lead in the way that works best for you. Only I can lead my way, and sometimes it's pretty bizarre. According to a fund-raising consultant, I'm not very presidential. I consider this high praise. We have to work within our basic dispositions to be effective. Unfortunately, a lot of parents, coaches, and inspirational speakers try to get us to believe otherwise. Commencements are breeding grounds for these aggrandizing lies, and it's the speakers who are doing the lying. Leading People from the Middle addresses 20th century leadership assumptions, the new dynamics of 21st-century leadership, and how leaders can change to meet the demands of today's organizations. Over the course of this book, the author, William P. Robinson discusses his understanding of leading from the middle as it refers to influencing from among, rather than from above, below, or in front of one's group. Leading from the middle refers to positioning ourselves alongside of those whom we've empowered, working shoulder to shoulder. It refers to living in the center of a mission, rather than simply lifting it up. He believes that leaders will set the standard and then work very hard to help their people achieve the group's goal.

Managing at the Speed of Change

Managing at the Speed of Change
Author: Daryl R. Conner
Publisher: Random House
Total Pages: 322
Release: 2006-02-07
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1588365158

This classic, newly updated, is an indispensable source for anyone–from mid-level managers to CEOs–who must execute key business initiatives quickly and effectively. Once groundbreaking and now time-honored, Managing at the Speed of Change has helped countless business leaders learn how to orchestrate transitions vital to their organizations’ success. Rather than focusing on what to change, this book’s aim is far more valuable: It shows readers how to change. Daryl R. Conner, founder and chairman of the consulting firm Conner Partners, is a leading expert on change management. He has served as “change doctor” for clients that include non-profit enterprises, government agencies and administrations, and Fortune 500 companies in an array of industries such as Abbott Laboratories, PepsiCo, American Express, Catholic Healthcare West, JPMorgan Chase, and the U.S. Navy. Based on Conner’s long-term research and his decades of consulting experience, Managing at the Speed of Change uses simple, easy-to-understand language and elegant visuals to explore the dynamics of change, and in doing so, teaches readers • why major change is difficult to assimilate • what distinguishes resilient individuals from those who suffer future shock • how and why resistance forms • how people become committed to change • why organizational culture is so important to the success of change • the roles most central to change in organizational settings • why powerful teamwork is at the heart of achieving change objectives, and how to foster it In this pioneering book, updated for the twenty-first century, Conner demonstrates how both individuals and organizations can develop the capacity not only to endure change but to thrive on it.

Vital Voices

Vital Voices
Author: Alyse Nelson
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 307
Release: 2012-06-05
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1118184777

How women around the world are leading powerful change Women's progress is global progress. Where there is an increase in women's university enrollment rates, women's earnings, and maternal health, and a reduction in violence against women, we see more prosperous communities, better educated, healthier families, and the preservation of equal human rights. Yet globally, women remain the most consistently under-utilized resource. Vital Voices calls for and makes possible transformative leadership around the world. In Vital Voices, CEO Alyse Nelson shares the stories of remarkable, world-changing women, as well as the story of how Vital Voices was founded, crossing lines that typically divide. For 15 years, Vital Voices has brought together women who want to enable others to become change agents in their governments, advocates for social justice, and supporters of democracy. They equip women with management and business development skills to expand their enterprises and create jobs in their communities. Their voices, stories, and hard-earned lessons—shared here for the first time—are deeply authentic and truly vital. Features interviews and first-person accounts of global leaders, such as Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, president of Liberia, and Aung San Suu Kyi, Nobel Prize-winning Burmese pro-democracy leader, as well as business leaders Draws on the work of the Vital Voices, the organization founded by Hillary Clinton in 1997 as a government initiative that transformed into a leading non-profit, which enables a network of 10,000 emerging women leaders in politics, human rights, and economic development in 127 countries. These women have gone on to mentor and train more than 500,000 Focuses on the key elements of the Vital Voices five-step model of transformational leadership, including how to find a voice, lead with purpose, cross lines that divide, and more Through the firsthand accounts of trail-blazing leaders, Vital Voices introduces unforgettable, inspiring women who are shaping our world.

Rapid Transformation

Rapid Transformation
Author: Behnam N. Tabrizi
Publisher: Harvard Business Press
Total Pages: 337
Release: 2007-10-18
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1422163466

Profound organizational transformation takes years and, in most cases is unsuccessful, right? Not according to change expert Behnam Tabrizi. In Rapid Transformation: A 90-Day Plan for Fast and Effective Change , Tabrizi shows you how to accomplish successful transformational change in your firm in just 90 days. Based on ten years of research into more than 500 leading companies including 3M, IBM, GE, Nissan, Apple, Bay Networks, Verisign, HP and Best Buy--this book demystifies fast, effective change and lays out a clear roadmap for achieving it. Tabrizi's 90-day transformational model comprises three main phases, each lasting 30 days. The model enables you to analyze your company's specific challenge, develop a new course of action, and carry out the plan. Moreover, you apply the model in parallel with the normal workings of your organization--so you don't have to put your company on hold for the sake of the change effort. With its detailed recipe and insightful stories from actual corporate reinventions, this book defies long-held assumptions about change and provides a practical and immediately actionable guide.