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Foundation Course Recommended
Book List
Calarco, A. & Gurvis, J. (2006). Adaptability: Responding effectively to change. Goldsboro, NC: Center for Creative Leadership Press.
Allan Calarco and Joan Gurvis believe the difference between success and failure in this constant environment of change is adaptability. They focus on three elements of adaptability: 1) cognitive flexibility, 2) emotional flexibility, and 3) dispositional flexibility. Additionally, they recommend practices for leaders to work on these elements to improve their skills. In their view, mastering these elements is critical if the leader expects to achieve success in the constant changing work environment.
Katzenbach, J. R. & Smith, D. K. (1994). The wisdom of teams: Creating the High-Performance Organization. Boston, MA: Harvard Business Press.
The authors define teams as “a small number of people with complimentary skills who are committed to a common purpose, performance goals, and approach for which they hold themselves mutually accountable”. They further identify the degree of commitment to each other as the distinguishing factor that sets a high performing team apart from others. To ensure the cycle is complete Katzenbach and Smith offer solutions for dealing with obstacles and advice to top mangers on their responsibility to lead a high performance organization.
Kirkland, K. & Manoogian, S. (1998). Ongoing feedback: How to get it, how to use it. Goldsboro, NC: Center for Creative Leadership Press.
The authors offer advice on the subject of feedback and answer four simple yet important questions regarding feedback: 1) who to ask, 2) when to ask, 3) how to ask, and 4) how to use it. This is a good book for supervisors and employees and team members to learn how to maintain open communications while ensuring mission accomplishment.
Patterson, K., Grenny, J., & Switzler, A. (2002). Crucial conversations: Tools for talking when the stakes are high. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
The authors explore the art of conversation between individuals, explains how people are often misunderstood, and the impact a misunderstanding may have on the quality of an individual’s life. They define a crucial conversation as a discussion between two or more persons where: (1) stakes are high, (2) opinions vary, and (3) emotions run strong. They offer specific actions one can take to maximize the experience and achieve the desired results you want when dealing with a crucial conversation.
Scholtes, P. R., Joiner, B. L., & Streibel, B. J. (1996). The team handbook. Madison, WI: Joiner Associates, Inc.
This is a practical field book with tools and processes to facilitate development of teams. The authors offer a detailed plan of success for team leaders. They begin discussion on the significance of teams and how teams can be used to meet the challenges in organizations. Then they provide tools to assist teams in problem solving and ways to document improvements. Current team leaders will benefit from this book as well because it’s always good to review the fundamentals to ensure continued success.