By examining leadership examples, Leadership in Middle-Earth explores evidence-based leadership and management practices from the unique perspective of J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-Earth, making actionable recommendations you can implement in your organization.

The Lord of the Rings trilogy sheds light on issues of real-world international relations

Leadership Insights for Wizards and Witches outlines various leadership styles, theories, and concepts through the fictional lens of J.K. Rowling’s magical world – from ethical, servant, and authentic leadership, to power, influence, and persuasion.

Brigitte Biehl uses examples from the popular TV series “The Kardashians” and “Keeping up with the Kardashians” to explore leadership concepts that focus on women in business, and the obstacles they face in a male dominated world.

Educational Leadership for a More Sustainable World argues that current crises in educational policies and practice, including the recruitment and retention of educational leaders, ultimately derive from the interactions between four key challenges which also underpin current global and societal issues of sustainability: A culture of consumption Global energy demands Climate change Emerging population patterns Mike Bottery argues that problems in dealing with these four global challenges, as well as many crises in education, are in large part due to a failure to appreciate their complex interactions and effects, and of the need for sufficiently complex responses. The result is that many policies in many areas hinder rather than facilitate appropriate solutions. However, by showing that the dynamics of crises in educational sustainability have many similarities to those of global systems, this book argues that the adoption of a number of core practices and values can help educational leaders develop greater sustainability, not only in their own area of activity but can also help them make a valuable contribution to greater sustainability at the global level as well.

The COVID-19 pandemic has placed extraordinary demands on leaders compelled to navigate a complex, far-reaching event that threatened human life, business continuity and survival. What can leaders learn from the crisis response to equip them for a post-pandemic world and beyond? Leadership in a Post-Pandemic World brings together cutting-edge research by authors Prof. David McGuire and Dr. Marie-Line Germain with thought-provoking evidence-based contributions from leading international researchers offering fresh insights into how leadership approaches and practices have evolved in the light of the COVID-19 pandemic. Divided into four sections, it discusses the leadership challenges and subsequent skills required to deal with the pandemic in politics, education, healthcare and business industries; emergency planning; organizational and personal resilience; the effect of dysfunctional and narcissistic leaders; lessons learned and how such lessons will shape the leadership of the future. This book is a vital resource for leaders, students of leadership, strategy and management, and anyone interested in the long-term consequences of crisis leadership on our society as a whole.

Good and smart decisions should be distinguished from wise decision-making — especially in the age of artificial intelligence (AI) where algorithms are increasingly used to automate business processes or to augment the accuracy and speed of decisions. This book argues why specific forms of intelligence as well as consciousness and enhanced conscience are crucial to make wise decisions — with consciousness to be clearly distinguished from intelligence. It also addresses why machine learning and smart computers (AI) are plausibly able to make 'smart' (and thus to a certain extent 'intelligent') decisions but definitely unable to help us to become wiser. In essence, optimizing a desired output in a business context will require a balanced approach with cognitive awareness and ethical reflection — synthesizing intuitive and algorithmic thinking — encompassing short-term profit and longer-term envisioning, and aiming to optimize created and captured value for shareholders while taking the concerns of those who have a real stake in the organization seriously. If business is about creating and sharing value in a future that is both 'digital' and 'relational', then innovative technologies like AI will play an increasingly important role. Consequently, mindful executives and their responsible boards therefore need to acknowledge the limitations of AI in business — especially when the uncertain future is estimated to be rather volatile or ambiguous than stable.

Popular Author Helps Readers Discover the Christian Dimension in Tolkien's The Hobbit The huge success of the first of The Hobbit movies has added to Tolkien's already enormous popularity. As fans eagerly await part two of the trilogy, they will be excited to find out all they can about the spiritual themes in the story's mythological world. This book explores good versus evil in Tolkien's writings, the spiritual quest of Bilbo Baggins, the guiding hand of God's providence, and much more. The author specializes in taking complex topics in religion and literature and making them accessible to every reader. A great gift for Tolkien book and movie fans.

Can The Lord of the Rings help us understand the Christian faith more deeply? From the inaugural Hansen Lectureship series, Wheaton College president Philip Ryken mines the riches of Tolkien’s theological imagination. In the characters of Gandalf, Frodo, and Aragorn, Ryken hears echoes of the one who is the true prophet, priest, and king, considering what that threefold office means for the calling of all Christians.

Why do some leaders succeed and others fail? Is there a magic ingredient that the leaders must consider in their career journey to ensure the joy ride does not turn into a nightmare? What is the key to maximizing leaders' success in ways that are sustainable long term? The purpose of this book is to provide a simple road map for leaders, aspiring leaders, students, and anyone interested in the art of leadership to succeed in high-risk environments. Often, leaders don’t know what they don’t know. One main culprit is the lack of assessing, measuring, analyzing, and addressing risk. Simply put, we don’t know what we don’t measure. What is not known can and will eventually harm leaders, organizations, and their customers. Change is the new normal and only constant. As change grows, so does risk. Risk can be a friend or foe to thought leaders. It all depends on perspective, insight, and knowledge. Ignorance is never bliss, and leaders must leverage knowledge to mitigate risks at every turn. In The 10 Cardinal Sins of Leadership: What Thought Leaders Must Never Do to Succeed in High-Risk Environments, readers will learn: How to identify, measure, analyze, and address various types of risk How to determine if risk is a friend or a foe Strategic planning concepts that will allow leaders to magnify, plan for, leverage, and marginalize risks long term Methods to ensure that inclusion efforts do not become overly exclusive, thus excluding key stakeholders and creating new levels of organizational risk Techniques for looking back at organizational yesteryears to create a high-performing journey map for the road ahead The value of perspective – how we view things determines how we respond or wait to be disrupted unknowingly