Leadership is the technology of human potential. We know that leadership needs new concepts to adapt to a network era. Without the right new leadership concepts, we won’t realise the human potential of the future of work.
Change Agents Worldwide is offering solutions and development opportunities for change leaders looking to make the transition to network era. I am excited to work with an extraordinary team of change agents to bring that about. Leadership can come from any role, so building capabilities matters for all individuals and for all teams. The opportunities are tailored to people’s personal goals, needs and position in the organisation.
Getting Here
Creating the future of leadership in a network era takes a diverse series of influences. The list below is the set of books, articles and blogs that have most influenced my personal learning. Like all such lists it is partial and personal. There are too many great thinkers and leaders whose work I have not had the time to read or the space to include here. I have included a long list under categories to enable people to dip into sources that they may not have seen before.
If you are looking for some great places to start, here my list:
General Leadership Agenda:
- The Leadership Challenge – Kouzes & Posner
- On Becoming a Leader – Warren Bennis
- Leading Out Loud – Terry Pearce
Leadership Stories
- Delivering Happiness – Tony Hsieh
- Maverick & The Seven Day Weekend – Ricardo Semler
- The Contrarian’s Guide to Leadership – Steven B Sample
- Small Giants – Bo Burlingham
The Rationale For Change
- Future of Management – Gary Hamel
- Moonshots for Management or What Matters Now – Gary Hamel
- The Responsive Organization Manifesto
- The Manifesto for a New Way of Work – Stowe Boyd *
Adaptive Leadership Techniques:
- The Work of Leadership – Ron Heifetz & Donald Laurie
- The Practice of Adaptive Leadership – Heifetz, Grashow & Linsky
- The Australian Leadership Paradox – Liz Skelton and Geoff Aigner
- Solving Tough Problems & Power and Love – Adam Kahane
Discovering Purpose & Authenticity:
- Purpose posts from this blog
- Purpose – Nikos Mourkogiannis
- True North – Bill George
Personal and Organisational Learning:
- Seek>Sense>Share – Harold Jarche
- Teaching Smart People to Learn – Chris Argyris
- The Living Company – Arie De Geus
Working Out Loud:
Network Leadership:
- Wirearchy blog – Jon Husband
- The Network Navigator
- 6 Social Media Skills Every Leader Needs – McKinsey
- The Power of Pull – Hagel, Seely-Brown & Davidson
- Multipliers – Liz Wiseman & Greg McKeown
- Leadership that Gets Results – Daniel Goleman
Systems & Design Thinking
- Fifth Discipline – Peter Senge
- The Opposable Mind & The Design of Business – Roger L Martin
- The Laws of Simplicity – John Maeda
- Change by Design – Tim Brown
Communication:
- The Communication Catalyst – Mickey Connolly & Richard Rianoshek
- Fierce Conversations – Susan Scott
Community Building
- Cultivating Communities of Practice – Wenger, McDermott & Snyder
- Rules for Radicals – Saul Alinski
- WISP at Sanofi Pasteur – Celine Schillinger
- The First Follower – Derek Sivers
Any list like this is partial. These are the works on leadership that I go back to again and again as inspirations. This list clearly could be far more diverse and far longer.
Whose leadership inspires you? Who has been left out of this list? What materials should people read or engage with to design the future of leadership in the future of work?
I look forward to seeing your additional ideas and suggestions in the comments.
Notes
Change Agents Worldwide has a free e-book with essays on steps companies can take to be ready for the future of work.
* In an earlier version of this post Stowe Boyd’s Manisfesto was incorrectly referred to as The Manifesto for the New World of Work. The post has now been amended.
