Care of Leadership (PDF)

The business world today is fast-paced, placing high demands on leaders to be effective and flexible, and to change to meet the varied pressures required to survive and thrive. Increasingly, metrics are becoming the new mantras with leaders at all levels in organisations being required to consistently deliver performance to meet the organisations' goals.More than ever leaders must not only take responsibility for the technical content of their role but must also lead their teams to peak performance to meet and excel in goal achievement. Leaders need to strike a balance between creating a stimulating and motivating environment for individuals and teams alike to develop and grow, and also fulfilling their organisations' goals. When organisations face challenging times and fail to achieve expected targets it is the systems which come under focus and oftentimes little or inadequate attention is given to the leadership dimension. While training and development of leaders remains a putative high priority for organisations it may still remain a human resource management challenge.It was with this backdrop that the valuable insights gained in my own career and my consultancy practice led me to write Care of Leadership. I must also admit my passion for personal development and my unceasing interest in observing people and leaders in action was also a factor. Yet another motivation stems from my desire to move from the more traditional approaches still seen in the content of many training courses offered in the market place. I wanted to create a programme that deals with the heart of the issue: the social context of leadership. My desire is to ensure that this book and its supporting programmes have practical application, not confined to the narrower focus of skill development but rather the focus is directed at the slower development of core leadership qualities.Care of Leadership presents the reassuring message that leadership can be taught. Through these pages I hope that you will view the approach taken as refreshing. The book invites you, the leaders, to take charge of your own development.Care of Leadership places a particular emphasis on the social context of leadership. This is the exchange between leader and follower which underscores the importance of having a good match between both parties and the images that they hold on what constitutes a good leader.Care of Leadership has been written as a practice, using a coaching approach. The combined skills of conscious awareness and reflective practice are invoked at the end of each of the ten chapters which discuss the identified core qualities for leadership development. A call for a commitment to take action follows. This approach provides the necessary stimulus for the reader to actively engage with the material presented and not just be a passive reader. In doing so it supports practical leadership development and thereby moves beyond more traditional approaches adopted on this subject.Care of Leadership is a slim book with high impact, providing a provocative treatment of the essential qualities in the development of leadership effectiveness embracing the whole leader. It cuts to the chase, supporting leaders to bring forth the best they can be.For me, Care of Leadership has been a labour of love, tapping into my overarching goal in life to grow and evolve and in so doing to support others in their awakening to fully realising their potential.I hope that you enjoy the next steps on your leadership journey.Ann McGarryGalway24 February 2017