Leadership in Complexity and Change (eBook)

For a World in Constant Motion

Sharon Varney (Autor)

eBook Download: PDF

2021
258 Seiten
De Gruyter (Verlag)
978-3-11-071334-3 (ISBN)

Infos

If we needed a reminder that the world is complex and in constant motion, then 2020 certainly delivered. Suddenly, the inherent uncertainties and ambiguities of leadership were starkly revealed for all to see as the dynamics of complexity and change played out intensively, and very publicly, on the global stage.

Leadership in Complexity and Change draws on complexity science to paint a picture of a world in constant motion, where leadership is enacted in the midst of complexity and continuous change. We must learn to engage with complexity. If not now, when?

Part I of this insightful book brings complexity science to life by considering the practical challenges of complexity and its implications for leadership. Part II considers how leaders can reinvigorate existing tools and approaches with a new mindset, before offering some new tools and practices for learning informed leadership. Part III concludes by considering the person in the practice of leadership in complexity and change. Key ideas are presented through mini-cases and practical examples embedded throughout the book.

This book will help executives, managers, and professionals

• recognise where some of the challenges come from
• understand why those challenges persist
• engage with the dynamic patterning of organisational life
• appreciate the scope for leadership
• recognise the choices that can be made
• choose how to manage themselves

Sharon Varney is a scholar-practitioner who specialises in developing people and organisations. Sharon developed her deep expertise in leadership and change working in large, complex organisations.

She was Vice President for international learning and development at a US bank, before joining a global engineering and construction company in the offshore oil and gas industry as their group head of learning and communications.

In the early 2000s, Sharon was bitten by the complexity bug. This changed the trajectory of her career and she left the offshore business to take a deep dive into academia. Her award-winning doctoral research, which has a very practical edge, explored the complex dynamics of organisational change and the role of change leaders within it.

Sharon now effectively bridges academia and practice. Working across a wide variety of business settings, she applies complexity science insights in her leadership and organisational development (OD) work. This includes bringing thought and practice leadership to The Henley Forum, an applied research centre at Henley Business School, and to Masters' programmes at Henley and beyond.

Rezensionen

“This is the best book I have read on complexity and leadership. It is very accessible and yet does not shirk from providing a clear account of the theory. The implications for change and leadership are nuanced and rich and practical at the same time. And I like the focus on the individual and what it means for personal practice. Highly recommended. This is a difficult topic to tackle as every author takes different meanings from complexity and weaves in different strands; there are some assertions I might argue with, but this is also a strength and an inevitability in tackling the complex topic of complexity. There is much to inspire, to engender debate and further study as well as to offer new perspectives, new insights and practical actions”. Dr Jean Boulton, lead author of Embracing Complexity

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 25.10.2021
• Reihe/Serie: De Gruyter Transformative Thinking and Practice of Leadership and Its Development
• Reihe/Serie: De Gruyter Transformative Thinking and Practice of Leadership and Its Development
• Reihe/Serie: ISSN
• Reihe/Serie: ISSN
• Zusatzinfo: 20 b/w and 13 col. ill., 20 b/w tbl.
• Verlagsort: Berlin/Boston
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Wirtschaft ► Betriebswirtschaft / Management ► Unternehmensführung / Management
• Schlagworte: Bernd Vogel • Business School • Business studies • Change • Change Management • Complexity • complexity and change science • de Gruyter • Dr Bernd Vogel • Dr Sharon Varney • Henley Business School • Henley Forum • Henley Leadership • Leadership and management • MBA • Organisational Change • Organisational Development • Organisation Dynamics • Pandemic • postgraduate • science of complexity and change • Sharon Varney • The Henley Forum
• ISBN-10: 3-11-071334-9 / 3110713349
• ISBN-13: 978-3-11-071334-3 / 9783110713343