Self‐Management and Leadership Development

Citation

Yergler, J.D. (2012), "Self‐Management and Leadership Development", Leadership & Organization Development Journal, Vol. 33 No. 6, pp. 607-608. https://doi.org/10.1108/01437731211253055

Although my primary role is as a professor of management and chair of the undergraduate management department at my university, I spend a good deal of time working as a leadership and management development consultant. With a doctoral degree in leadership, I have the opportunity to work with large‐ to medium‐sized organizations regarding their leadership training and development processes. A good deal of the curriculum I have designed and used in these consults primarily addresses leadership development processes for departments and larger organizational leadership development systems. I have often found myself wanting in the area of individual leadership development resources when asked by training participants about the resources available to him or her that would support individual leadership development. In light of this ongoing struggle to provide anything more than my top five books, I was delighted, even thrilled, to have the opportunity review the work of Rothstein and Burke (Eds) who have compiled an excellent and highly practical collection of research papers that address different components of the self‐managed approach to leadership development.

For starters, this book is ideally suited to the scholar‐practitioner who seeks to take specific research that can be applied or leveraged in the context of the organizational environment. Academics, who are also involved in the “field” as knowledge experts who seek to bring practical and operational value to those who manage and lead in organizations, will find this book incredibly helpful. With the growing appetite we see for resources that address “all things leadership,” this book brings sound research practice to bear on many of the burning questions about properly managing individual leadership development.

Rothstein and Burke have done a masterful job of arranging the research pieces in a logical order that aligns well with the actual process an individual might go through as they seek to build a strategy for self‐managed leadership development. The book is divided into three parts. Part 1 speaks to the importance of self‐awareness in leadership development. Beginning with an exceptionally brilliant study by Church and Rotolo (pp. 25‐61) that addresses the many assessment vehicles available to the individual, this section speaks to the importance of cultivating multiple leadership intelligences (emotional, social, cognitive, and psychological). Emery's paper closes Part 1 with a thoughtfully written piece on gaining clarity on personal meaning and significance (pp. 183‐93). I believe it is true that effective leadership praxis finds its beginning not with technique but rather with a clear sense of one's meaning, worth, and purpose.

Part 2 speaks to many of the typical leadership issues that challenge and vex leaders and teams. To begin this section, the paper written Blekinsopp, Baruch, and Widen's (pp. 197‐225) unmasks the issues confronted by leaders during economic hardship. Blekinsopp et al. identify some of the ways that careers are nuanced by stringent economic cycles and how those cycles are reflected within organizations personnel development strategies. The authors explore the options available to leaders who are confronted with limited intra‐organization development possibilities resulting from recessionary influences. Also included in Part 2 is a tremendously valuable paper written by King and Rothstein (pp. 361‐94) that details the experience of leadership failure and the cultivation of resilience.

Part 3 speaks to self‐management and those rare and unique challenges that confront leaders. This section begins with a conversation about the self‐development and self‐assessment of global leaders (pp. 429‐46). Caligiur and Sinha offer insight into the necessary KSAOs (knowledge, skills, abilities, and personality characteristics) for global leaders and methods to help assess those KSAOs. The paper on the importance of preparing the next generation of business leaders by Mirvis, Thompson, and Marquis (pp. 464‐86) will be valuable to those who are building strategies for preparing new leaders to manage in a globalized business environment. They mention four “meta‐skills” (p. 468) that will be required for emerging leaders if they are to compete successfully in these new business environments: cognitive sophistication and emotional maturity (called self‐leadership); learning to lead in contexts were power must be fluid (called leading others); cross‐functional communication abilities across cultures and countries (called leading systems); and navigating throughout the extended enterprise (called leading the enterprise).

The gap filled by Rothstein and Burke's work is important. Though the interest in leadership theory and application across organizational systems has resulted in an explosion of publications, interest in the self‐management of leadership development is gaining a strong beachhead into the leadership conversation. It is particular important in today's economic environment where men and women must seize the initiative to design a strategy for self‐development that strengthens leadership competencies and expands leadership capacity.

For this reviewer, Self‐Management and Leadership Development, has provided excellent ideas for ongoing personal and professional development as well as valuable tools to use with my students as well as my clients. The text, by virtue of its appearance as a published book, underscores an important component in the ongoing leader and leadership conversation. At the end of the day, it is the leader's responsibility to refuse to abdicate his or her personal and professional development to the organizations for which they work. Organizations change and so do the people who lead those organizations. Stringent economic cycles can obliterate organizational budgets set aside for training and development. Yet, for the leader who thoroughly grasps the significance of ongoing professional stewardship, leadership development is a 24/7 obligation that, more often than not, will be expressed in the countless decisions made and many actions taken to develop oneself.