The New Leadership Paradigm : Social Learning and Cognition in Organizations

Rating:
Summary: Best combination of theory, practice and philosophy
Review: Managers who want to be leaders need good advice on how to lead. Sims and Lorenzi provide that much needed advice, offering basic descriptions of what a person can (learn to) do to lead effectively: Articulate a vision, set goals, teach subordinates the required skills and build confidence in their ability to perform, provide models of good work, empower teams, reward performance and reprimand and correct errors. Behavior and results are important. Rather than supervise closely, good leaders can offer a "super" vision that allows people to self-manage and self-lead.

And there is more than behavior that needs to be managed. The psychology of leadership also requires attention to the patterns of thoughts employed by leaders and their followers. There are "scripts" and "schemas" that provide a structure to one's thinking. Understanding and managing these basic patterns and expectations helps a leader to facilitate progress towards wok goals and accomplishment. People are comfortable with and empowered by coherent patterns of thought.

Using short stories, models, history and personal examples, Sims and Lorenzi provide a basic education for the aspiring leadership, offering research-tested, easy-to-follow and to use advice for the leader. Applications are global in nature; this is not simply a book for American, corporate leaders. Most important, the leader will learn to teach others to lead themselves.

This is a short, substantive, engaging treatise worth reading.