Leadership Agility : Five Levels of Mastery for Anticipating and Initiating Change

"Leadership Agility is the master competency needed for sustained success in today's complex, fast-paced business environment. Richly illustrated with stories based on original research and decades of work with clients, this groundbreaking book identifies five levels that leaders move through in developing their agility. Significantly, only 10% have mastered the level of agility needed for consistent effectiveness in our turbulent era of global competition. Written in an engaging, down-to-earth style, this book not only provides a map that guides readers in identifying their current level of agility. It also provides practical advice and concrete examples that show managers and leadership development professionals how they can bring greater agility to the initiatives they take every day"--Resource description page Leadership Agility: Five Levels of Mastery for Anticipating and Initiating Change 3 Contents 5 Introduction: The Master Competency 7 AN INTEGRAL APPROACH 7 STAGES OF PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT 8 HOW TO USE THIS BOOK 12 A FEW WORDS ABOUT WORDING 14 Part I: What Is Leadership Agility? 17 Chapter 1: Agility in a World of Change and Complexity 19 THE AGILITY IMPERATIVE 21 FIVE LEVELS OF LEADERSHIP AGILITY 22 AGILITY LEVELS AND PERSONALITY TYPES 27 Chapter 2: The Five Eds 29 A LEADERSHIP CHALLENGE 29 ED1: THE EXPERT 31 ED2: THE ACHIEVER 33 ED3: THE CATALYST 36 ED4: THE CO-CREATOR 39 ED5: THE SYNERGIST 42 INITIAL SELF-ASSESSMENT 45 Chapter 3: Four Competencies for Agile Leadership 47 THE LEADERSHIP AGILITY COMPASS 48 PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER 54 LEVELS OF AWARENESS AND INTENT 54 Part II: Five Levels of Leadership Agility 57 Chapter 4: Expert Level 59 WHAT LEADERSHIP MEANS TO AN EXPERT 59 PIVOTAL CONVERSATIONS AT THE EXPERT LEVEL 61 TEAM LEADERSHIP AT THE EXPERT LEVEL 66 ORGANIZATIONAL LEADERSHIP AT THE EXPERT LEVEL 68 EXPERT-LEVEL LEADERSHIP AGILITY COMPETENCIES 71 Chapter 5: Achiever Level 80 WHAT LEADERSHIP MEANS TO AN ACHIEVER 81 PIVOTAL CONVERSATIONS AT THE ACHIEVER LEVEL 83 TEAM LEADERSHIP AT THE ACHIEVER LEVEL 88 LEADING ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE AT THE ACHIEVER LEVEL 92 ACHIEVER-LEVEL LEADERSHIP AGILITY COMPETENCIES 96 Chapter 6: Catalyst Level 107 WHAT LEADERSHIP MEANS AT THE CATALYST LEVEL 109 PIVOTAL CONVERSATIONS AT THE CATALYST LEVEL 111 TEAM LEADERSHIP AT THE CATALYST LEVEL 118 LEADING ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE AT THE CATALYST LEVEL 123 CATALYST-LEVEL LEADERSHIP AGILITY COMPETENCIES 126 Chapter 7: Co-Creator Level 139 WHAT LEADERSHIP MEANS TO A CO-CREATOR 140 PIVOTAL CONVERSATIONS AT THE CO-CREATOR LEVEL 144 TEAM LEADERSHIP AT THE CO-CREATOR LEVEL 149 LEADING ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE AT THE CO-CREATOR LEVEL 154 THE CAPACITIES OF CO-CREATOR LEADERS 159 Chapter 8: Synergist Level 171 WHAT LEADERSHIP MEANS AT THE SYNERGIST LEVEL 175 PIVOTAL CONVERSATIONS AT THE SYNERGIST LEVEL 176 TEAM LEADERSHIP AT THE SYNERGIST LEVEL 182 LEADING ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE AT THE SYNERGIST LEVEL 188 THE CAPACITIES OF SYNERGIST LEADERS 194 Part III: Becoming a More Agile Leader 207 Chapter 9: Assessing Leadership Agility 209 FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS 209 FINE-TUNING YOUR SELF-ASSESSMENT 212 ASSESSING AGILITY WITHIN YOUR CURRENT LEVEL 216 Chapter 10: Developing Leadership Agility 219 SETTING LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT GOALS 219 SELF-LEADERSHIP IN ACTION 221 THE POWER OF REFLECTIVE ACTION 225 LEVELS OF AWARENESS AND INTENT 228 GROWING INTO A NEW AGILITY LEVEL 230 ATTENTIONAL PRACTICE 236 ATTENTION AND LEADERSHIP AGILITY 239 THE CHALLENGE AHEAD 241 Appendix A: Research Behind This Book 243 THREE PHASES OF RESEARCH 244 RESEARCH METHODS 247 Appendix B: Stages of Personal Development 251 THE THREE PRE-CONVENTIONAL STAGES 251 THE THREE CONVENTIONAL STAGES 254 THREE POST-CONVENTIONAL STAGES 257 FAQS ABOUT DEVELOPMENTAL STAGES 260 STAGES BEYOND SYNERGIST 263 Notes for Inquiring Readers 265 References 311 Resources 323 Acknowledgments 325 The Authors 327 Index 328

Praise for Leadership Agility

"Leadership Agility is a unique and extraordinarily important contribution to our understanding of what it takes to lead in a world of rapid change and increasing complexity. The authors show us with vivid real-life examples how leaders grow, that this growth is essential to achieving higher levels of success, and that agility is the new master skill of leadership. I highly recommend this book."
—Jim Kouzes, coauthor of the best-selling book, The Leadership Challenge

"Great coaching on how to develop leadership agility! Probably the most important competency for leaders to have in today's rapidly changing world."
—Marshall Goldsmith, author, Coaching for Leadership, Global Leadership, and The Leader of the Future

"In an era of turmoil and complexity, Leadership Agility is a breakthrough in thinking about leadership competencies.?Joiner and Josephs have achieved a creative synthesis of best practices in strategic thinking, emotional intelligence, problem-solving, and action learning. Profusely illustrated with clear examples from real-life leaders, this groundbreaking book will be welcomed by both the line leader and the leadership development professional."
—David Giber, senior vice president, consulting and leadership development, Linkage, Inc.

"As executives operating in an often chaotic business environment, we know instinctively that our company's ability to zig and zag is critical. Leadership Agility takes that instinctive understanding and defines it, measures it, and shows us how to develop it in ourselves and others. This is a timely, thought-provoking, and very important book on leadership."
—Betsy Bernard, former president, AT&T

Provides practical advice and guidance to show managers and leadership development professionals how they can bring greater agility to their everyday initiatives through five levels of leadership agility development