Developing Leadership Abilities » (2nd Edition)

Arthur H. Bell holds his Ph.D. from Harvard University and is Executive Director of MBA Programs and Professor of Management Communication at the University of San Francisco. He is the author of 47 books on management, communication, language, and literature. He held previous teaching positions at Georgetown University and the University of Southern California.

Dayle M. Smith holds her Ph.D. from the Annenberg School, University of South California. She is Director of the Business Honors Program and Professor of Management at the University of San Francisco. She is the author of 12 books on management theory and practice. She held previous teaching positions at Georgetown University and the University of Southern California.

We encourage you to visit this Blog at www.developingleadershipabilities2e.blogspot.com. The authors will be answering student and faculty questions here as well as adding interesting articles and other pieces on leadership.

“What kind of leader am I? What kind of leader will I become?”

Developing Leadership Abilities, Second Edition was written to help college students get on the fast track to becoming a leader. Providing dozens of practical examples, the book moves quickly while giving an organized, readable, and logical analysis of leadership.

The book offers the following pedagogical tools to help students reach their own leadership potential:

v Insights Boxes–throughout the chapters ensure that key points stand out.

v Your Turn features–give frequent opportunities to record personal experiences, insights, impressions, and questions.

v Meet a Leader— Introduces the reader successful leaders college and career environments.

v Personal Leadership Plan—Helps students hone their skills in the leadership realm.

v Assess Your Approach to Leadership –This brief exercise gives students an opportunity for self-reflection and a mirror on how their own background will affect their leadership qualities.

v Summary–Located at the end of each chapter, reinforces the key points.

The book is brief enough to keep student interest and is based on solid empirical data. The book’s conversational and interactive format answers the q uestions: what makes a leader, what do leaders do, and how do leaders overcome problems?

Preface v

Chapter 1 Surprising Facts About Leaders 1

A Short Book on a Large Topic 2

What Is a Leader? 2

Room for Us All 4

Leadership and Diversity 5

Leadership as Service to Others 7

Leadership Plural 8

Where Do Leaders Come from? 9

Transitioning from Leader to Follower and Back Again 9

A Menu of Choices for Leadership Development 10

Chapter 2 Assessing Your Leadership Tendencies and Personality Factors 14

The Assessment 14

Your Score 19

Chapter 3 Expressing Leadership Vision 23

Where Does Vision Come from? 24

Being a Leader of Oneself 26

Generating Ideas 26

The Personal Risks of Expressing a Vision 30

Leadership and Gender 31

Visionary Actions 33

Leading on the Small Stage 34

Chapter 4 Leadership by Listening 37

The Art of Leadership Listening 38

Why Leaders Often Fail to Listen 43

Emotional Intelligence and Leadership 45

Keys to Improved Listening 46

What Leaders Gain by Improved Listening 47

Chapter 5 Leadership by Building Relationships and Teams 50

Set Aside the Easy Answers 51

Why Do Certain Types of People Bug You? 51

Making Leadership Sense Out of Personality Differences 55

Using Nonverbal Signals to Revolutionize Your Leadership Relationships 56

The Importance of Truthfulness for Leaders and Team Members 62

Chapter 6 Leadership by Defining Problems and Reaching Solutions 68

Are You a Theory X Or a Theory Y Leader? 69

Do You Practice Leadership by Getting Mad? 71

Do You Walk the Talk? 72

Do You Play Fair with Your People? 73

Are You an Ego-Leader Or a Servant-Leader? 74

Chapter 7 Leadership by Motivating 76

The Shrinking Power of Money as a Motivator 76

The Involvement Factor 77

Committing tothe Involvement Factor 86

Chapter 8 Leadership by Delegating Tasks and Responsibilities 88

"Lone Wolf" Leaders 88

Shared Leadership 89

Leadership for Smaller Groups 94

Delegation to the Apathetic or Unwilling 95

Chapter 9 Leadership by Managing Conflict 97

The S.O.P. 97

Leadership and Conflict Resolution: A Three-Step Model 101

Language That Encourages Conflict Resolution 103

Learning to Fight the Feeling 104

When Leadership Falters 105

Leading in the Face of Personal Crisis 106

Preventing Burnout for Team Members 109

Chapter 10 Leadership by Supporting and Empowering Participation 117

Participation in Meetings 117

Distributed Leadership 123

Leading Team Members to Think Well 123

Leading by Supporting Team Knowledge 127

Helping Team Members Respect and See Beyond the Box 129

Recommended Resources 134

Endnotes 135

Index 136