The Shadow Side of Power: Lessons for Leaders

In this thought-provoking and imaginative allegory, join a fictional hero for an all-too-real journey through the shadow side of leadership and its many challenges. Our hero faces the distortions and personal dilemmas that accompany his leadership role, seeing five ways that leaders fail and two ways they abuse their power. In the process, he learns seven lessons that will make him a great and principled leader for these very challenging times. The world is evolving and the values and capabilities of leaders must keep pace with and even help shape that evolution. While the virtues of good leaders may be similar through the ages, the consequences of abuse and misuse are amplified in our highly networked, complex, and uncertain times. What does it mean to be a leader with formal power today? The age of command-and-control authoritarianism is fast slipping away, but our need for competent, courageous, and principled leadership is, if anything, even more critical. Jim Kouzes, coauthor of the bestselling The Leadership Challenge and Executive Fellow of Leadership at the Leavey School of Leadership, Santa Clara University, asserts, “The Shadow Side of Power is just plain great storytelling—the kind that draws you in, stirs your passions, sustains your interest, teaches meaningful lessons, and leaves you both gratified and wanting more.… Before you embark on your next leadership adventure, take a guided tour through the allegorical world of the Leadership Inferno. You’ll be better prepared for your other challenges once you have.” This book is for you if you: * Are or want to be in a formal leadership role - whether of a small team or a large organization or nation. * Want to be a good - even a great -- leader who is respected by those you lead: leveraging for impact, learning, and leaving a legacy. * Are willing to face into the shadow side of power - the temptations and misperceptions that inevitably attach to authority roles and that may expose both your strengths and your least desirable qualities. * Are a coach or educator who develops people for formal leadership roles As a reader, you will be energized to meet the challenges of leadership as a choice and a responsibility—more than simply a title or an opportunity to make more money. For four decades, Pat McLagan has worked with business and government sectors to develop leaders and to transform leadership systems. In The Shadow Side of Power, Pat draws on in-depth experience as well as ongoing research into institutional, leadership, and personal transformation and effectiveness. She knows firsthand the immense energy and promise that come along with formal power, for she has seen leaders face, struggle with, succumb to, be corrupted by, and grow from the dilemmas and opportunities of their roles.