Leadership Trapeze

The four authors that compiled research for this book did a fantastic job. They had four different minds that created a synergy that is very helpful for those organizations that are ready to take the next step from empowerment to virtual teams or high performance teams. For those organizations that have not started empowerment, this book is not one to read. Here is a synopsis of the most important issues in the book: 1) Knowledge is power (p.18); 2)the job of the manager is different and difficult - to find the best people you can, motivate them to do the job, and allow to do it their own way; 3)for companies to succeed in the future, the employees need to be challenged; 4) if we conduct business as usual, we soon won't have business to conduct (p24); chapter 4 discusses the changing role of the leader - from autocratic to participateive to high-involvement leadership. There is one part that appears as if the writers were never in a very strong union environment. They discuss unions as if they will willingly accept this change. I do not agree with their concepts on this issue. I believe that unions will fight against this concept due to the reason for unions being alive and well today. A great note from the authors is on page 216 - "Many team leaders are so conditioned to think only about what the team needs that they neglect their own development". This is a great comment from those of us who lead managers. We need to ensure that our managers continue to learn... In the summary on p. 264, the comment, 'Virtual teams, and the people who lead them, are the wave of the future', is a statement that should be repeated over and over. We all need to continue to reach for that continual "virtual" team. The powerful comment on p. 269 is to answer the question, "If you can't say why you actually make your company a better place, you are out." We need to continually ask ourselves how we can improve our company or get out of the way of those who can. This is an excellent boo! k for those who need to take the next step in managment.