Walking the Talk: Pathways to Leadership
Author: Michael Termini
Format: Book
Published: July 2007
Situational drivers within the workplace and external drivers that influence the business environment often combine to create unique challenges for leaders. The tools and techniques discussed in Waking the Talk: Pathways to Leadership provides aspiring and experienced manager with the basics needed to successfully traverse the corporate minefields of today's fast-paced organizations. An excerpt from the foreword, by James F. Jordan, Executive in Residence, Pittsburgh Lifesciences, says: "Michael Termini has dived into the uncharted waters and was thoughtful enough to document his journey for our benefit ...In the tradition of all great masters, he brings it all together through the tradition of story telling and discussion, as true mastery is the ability to apply the individual details holistically. My recommendation is for you to read this book and keep it by your desk. Let it process in your unconscious mind. Refer to it frequently so that your practice becomes instinctual."
While there is no recipe for instant success as a manager, the closed-loop leadership principles outlined in this book certainly provide the structure, as do the decision and communication tools discussed. Case studies from real-world companies are utilized to illustrate how to apply the principles. Differing viewpoints on management techniques are explored. Nothing is held back. Armed with the foreknowledge of what to expect and how to deal with it, students, technical professionals, and even experienced managers will learn how to avoid many of the traps that can sidetrack a management career. The book explores:
- making the career choice and career transition
- employment and labor laws
- management skill-building
- managing disciplinary problems
- employee selection, direction, motivation, and empowerment
- building organizational alignment
- base-lining organizational capabilities and competencies
- effective problem-soving and decision-making
- turning a vision for change into action
- organizational politics
- and more