Real Leadership

Research has shown that only eight percent of the population actually achieves their goals. Why is that? The answer is surprisingly simple: They’re not persistent enough. There might be many good reasons for this, and the chances are, you’ve given up on a dream or two here and there. Almost everybody has.

In this hysterical, astute book, HR industry expert Jim Dunn explores how humor can improve our professional environments and personal development by exploring questions like: How is humor a superpower for fostering collaborative environments? Are funny employees more effective? How can laughter turn crisis into connection and opportunity? How can instituting a culture of levity shape team dynamics and improve job satisfaction?

DEI work is getting a bad reputation. But that’s because it’s not being done right, say veteran diversity consultants James O. Rodgers and Laura Kangas. Too many organizations are treating diversity training as a quick-hit, low-cost, check-the-box activity. Effective diversity training involves behavioral change based on adult learning theory. It is rigorous, deeply personal, experience based, and, if done well, life changing. Rodgers and Kangas offer a complete guide, from design to implementation to results.

Email is an incredibly powerful and essential tool for doing our daily work, but it has become a near-constant source of frustration, anxiety, and distraction from our work. We have reached a tipping point where "email overload" is no longer a unique problem - it is everyone's problem. So how can we solve it? With Unsubscribe, Jocelyn K. Glei shows listeners how to repair their relationship with email, transforming it from a constant source of distraction into a productive tool again.

It's not news that globalization and ever-faster technological innovation have increased the pace of change exponentially. Existing change models were devised to deal with individual changes, one by one, but that's not a luxury leaders have any more. Bill Pasmore, senior vice president at the Center for Creative Leadership and a professor at Columbia University, offers a four-part model that will allow leaders to deal with multiple changes simultaneously without drowning in the churn.

Digital technologies are disrupting organizations of every size and shape, leaving managers scrambling to find a technology fix that will help their organizations compete. This book offers managers and business leaders a guide for surviving digital disruptions - but it is not a book about technology. It is about the organizational changes required to harness the power of technology. The authors argue that digital disruption is primarily about people and that effective digital transformation involves changes to organizational dynamics and how work gets done.

"Green Horizons: From Lawn to Legacy" is a compelling step-by-step guide wrapped in an inspiring narrative about Ben, a laid-off corporate worker who transforms his life by building a successful landscaping business. This book is more than just a story—it’s a practical roadmap for aspiring entrepreneurs, especially those looking to start and grow a business in the landscaping industry. Each chapter focuses on key milestones in Ben’s journey, offering actionable insights and detailed strategies that listeners can apply to their own ventures.

In today’s online culture, it’s easy to confuse influencers with leaders and chase the followers, the likes, and the superficial success. But, while influencers paint a pretty picture, real leaders pave a path. Leadership isn’t about what you do, nor is it about what you’ve accomplished. It’s about who you be. What people really yearn for is someone who cuts through the bullshit and lives and operates authentically.

Recent best-selling books have completely altered the way we understand how humans work and play together. Zina Sutch and Patrick Malone hope to flip a light switch and illuminate, above all else, that leadership begins with heart and soul. In five succinct chapters, they show that we lead best when we tap into our genetically driven human nature to love and nurture, connect and trust. This book seeks to reintroduce the warmth of human interaction and emotion into the leadership tool kit.

Overcoming Fake Talk explains why we often fail at our most important communications and offers proven advice for turning challenging confrontations into rewarding exchanges that foster collaboration, improve performance, and achieve results. You'll develop an understanding of the skills for holding a REAL conversation, including both the "said" and the "unsaid" elements present in any conversation; discover the framework for preparing and holding difficult yet meaningful conversations; and learn to no longer avoid the tough conversations they need to have.

Customer service goals have been articulated, messages drilled, and incentive programs created. But many employees still deliver lackluster service. What does it take to get them functioning as stellar frontline representatives of the company? Rather than offering another set of tactics for improving customer service, this audiobook takes a novel approach by rooting out the real reasons employees aren’t delivering the service they should.

With her trademark humor and engaging frankness, artist Veronica Dearly guides us on a journey into the parts of life that often leave us floundering. Taking inspiration from the popular Wheel of Life coaching tool, How To Do Hard Things explores key areas in turn, from mental health, mindset and the dangers of overthinking, through fitness and body image, career, love, spirituality, family, money, fun and friends, to finding your direction, setting your own goals and preparing for change.

Deep and meaningful interpersonal connections at work are critical to your career—and to your well-being. Bonds built on trust allow women to help one another, exchange information, and be more productive. But high-quality professional relationships are only possible with emotional openness—and not all women feel they can be vulnerable enough in the office to develop these kinds of ties. Making Real Connections explores the many ways that our working relationships with other women are usually amazing—and sometimes messy.

In Real Women, Real Leadership, 24 women leaders describe their personal journeys to the top, providing deep insight and a fascinating perspective on "making it" as a woman in the male-dominated business environment. They discuss their experiences and offer guidance on topics such as balancing family and career, building alliances, mentoring and being mentored, and overcoming obstacles in the business world, which is still dominated by men in the senior levels of management.

Today’s workplace has evolved. Yet the strategies to empower employees and teams are still maturing. Getting the Job Done fills this gap by providing a practical framework to inspire teams and keep them accountable for ultimate success. Rather than impose a single method to make you a better project manager, Getting the Job Done gives a flexible strategy that will help you lead confidently, take advantage of all the perspectives on your team, and get the job done on time without having to sacrifice quality.

Based on extensive research and workplace experience, The Female Vision demonstrates that what women perceive in organizations and beyond that goes unnoticed and unrewarded is exactly what so many companies need to succeed. Helgeson and Johnson delve deeply into the stories of a number of women whose vision improved their companies - although often they had to struggle not only against unresponsive organizations, peers, or others, but also against their own personal fears.

"What does a workplace utopia look like to you?" This is the question Dr. Ella F. Washington asks company leaders, and often she hears about an ideal vision of an organization that values diversity and inclusion and wants employees to bring their whole selves to work. But how can you get there? Organizations have largely missed the mark when it comes to creating environments where all employees thrive in an equal and equitable way, because they treat diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) as a program that gets done rather than the necessary and difficult journey it is.

Organizations are forever pouring creative energy into their branding strategies, tweaking their logos and websites, and building identities that range from warm and fuzzy to ultracool and edgy. But many forget that a brand, at its heart, is a promise to deliver results. If your brand experience fails to live up to that promise, customers will take their business elsewhere. Brand Real is a unique business strategy guide for making a brand’s promise stand up at every customer touchpoint.

As a result of their broad experience on the world stage in politics, economics and global not-for-profits, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and Julia Gillard have some strong ideas about the impact of gender on the treatment of leaders. Women and Leadership takes a consistent and comprehensive approach to teasing out what is different for women who lead. Almost every year, new findings are published about the way people see women leaders compared with their male counterparts. The authors have taken that academic work and tested it in the real world.

Armed with empirical evidence from the provocative studies he leads around the globe, Wagner guides you through the new realities of what it takes to get the highest levels of intensity from people in a more mercenary, skeptical, and wired work world. He explains how elements such as individualization, fearlessness, transparency, recognition, and coolness are reciprocated with loyalty, productivity, innovation, and - inescapably - corporate reputation.