It's too late to catch up, but it's a great time to leapfrog. Noted futurist Bob Johansen goes beyond skills and competencies to propose five new leadership literacies--combinations of disciplines, practices, and worldviews--that will be needed to thrive in a VUCA world of increasing volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity. This book shows how to (1) forecast likely futures so you can "look back" and make sure you're prepared now for the changes to come, (2) use low-risk gaming spaces to work through your concerns about the future and hone your leadership skills, (3) lead shape-shifting organizations where you can't just tell people what to do, (4) be a dynamic presence even when you're not there in person, and (5) keep your personal energy high and transmit that energy throughout your organization.
This visionary book provides a vivid description of the ideal talent profile for future leaders. It is written for current, rising star, and aspiring leaders; talent scouts searching for leaders; and executive coaches seeking a fresh view of how leaders will need to prepare. To get ready for this future, we will all need new leadership literacies.
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@MarkJacob16 From Bob Johansen’s book, The New Leadership Literacies: Note the power of exceptional audio! -- (throughout my career, audio has always been the medium that is most difficult to get right in almost any setup).
"Bob Johansen is out in front of us again. This book describes a future that is VUCA on steroids--a future for which leaders are ill equipped to lead. Look back from the future; it will reward clarity and punish certainty, voluntarily engage fear, and distribute authority in shape-shifting organizations. These leadership literacies describe a developmental trajectory for a leader that is far beyond the capacity of the 'operating systems' most of us are running. In this book, Bob gives fair warning and great developmental guidance for those of us who aspire to lead into the future."
--Bob Anderson, CEO, and Bill Adams, Chairman and chief Development Officer of The Leadership Circle and authors of Mastering Leadership
"This book will be an important point of reference for what we all need to take into account as we try to find our place in the perpetually changing new world, and it will be especially relevant to those who will try to lead us in that world."
--Edgar H. Schein, Professor Emeritus, MIT Sloan School of Management, and author of Humble Inquiry and Humble Consulting
"My job is to oversee the procurement of baseball talent for the San Francisco Giants. I have white hair, but that does not mean I am old school. Bob Johansen's book provides clear literacies that will be necessary to discover and nurture the next championship talent to be our team leaders."
--John Barr, Vice President and Assistant General Manager, San Francisco Giants
"To understand the gift that is Bob Johansen and The New Leadership Literacies, imagine twenty top CEOs in a workshop sharing their volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous angst. Foresight yields to insight, which portends action. Hope is renewed. It is powerful and humbling. Years after Bob spoke to our roundtable, his concepts are still discussed at every meeting."
--Brenda C. Curiel, Managing Director, CCI, Inc.
"Once again, Bob Johansen introduces leaders to the future--this time by refocusing us on new leadership literacies that inspire innovation at the thinly structured edges of our organizations. I will be using this book in my Give.org work, and I urge others striving to produce social good to do so as well."
--H. Art Taylor, President and CEO, BBB Wise Giving Alliance
"During the time I led leadership development at McDonald's Corporation, Bob's Leaders Make the Future was a mandatory read for our high potential leaders. Now, as executive director of FRED Leadership, I plan to use Bob and The New Leadership Literacies to further the thinking on this critical topic with top leadership/executive development programs."
--David Small, Executive Director, FRED Leadership
"Working with Bob for many years has been shockingly uncomfortable at times. His new book once again pushes me out of my comfort zone--but it helps me imagine what it will take to thrive in a future of extreme disruption."
--Carmen M. Allison, Vice President, Talent, Pottery Barn Brands and Global Talent Development, Williams-Sonoma, Inc.
"In a time of fear and difference, Bob Johansen offers a framework for values-based leadership. This book offers thoughtful and practical literacies for leading rather than reacting. Our graduate students as well as our program partners in faith communities, social innovation, and values-based companies will learn ways to turn fear and uncertainty into vision and opportunity."
--David Vásquez-Levy, President, Pacific School of Religion
"Leaders Make the Future instantly woke me up and became the foundation on which I now lead human resources. Now, The New Leadership Literacies is the perfect deep dive into preparing to thrive in this increasingly uncertain world."
--Kathy Mandato, Vice President, Human Resources, Snap, Inc.
"I am claw-hammered by Bob Johansen's ability to see around the next bend with clarity, wit, candor, and style. Bob is a master in making sense of what leaders will need to survive disruptive blasts from the future. We are aggressively using Bob's new literacies for immersive executive development. Bob was the 2015 recipient of the Boston University EDRT Program Marion Gislason Award for Excellence in Leadership Development."
--Jack McCarthy, Director, Executive Development Roundtable, and Associate Professor of Organizational Behavior, Questrom School of Business, Boston University
"The New Leadership Literacies is another powerful book from Bob Johansen! I will personally use it in my work at CCL to guide decisions about research we will undertake and how our solutions will develop leaders who are "future literate." I can see this book becoming a dog-eared tool for both CCL staff and our clients alike. Bob was the 2016 recipient of the H. Smith Richardson Jr. Visiting Fellow award from CCL."
--Jennifer W. Martineau, Senior Vice President, Research, Evaluation, and Societal Advancement, Center for Creative Leadership
"Bob Johansen has learned from the VUCA world of the present and created powerful new leadership literacies for the future, which will compel individuals to act with a sense of urgency and conviction. Bob's leadership literacies are a natural and welcomed complement to our programs, in which we immerse executives in the leadership lessons from West Point and the US Army."
--Karen Kuhla, Executive Director, Thayer Leader Development Group
"Everything is changing at once. Bob offers a way forward. He has been a reliable thinking partner as we have reimagined the business for an autonomous world. In my role with the Foresight Council, I will be using the ideas in this book to guide corporate foresight leaders as they help shape the future."
--Rick Holman, Director, Foresight Council, and past leader, GM Global Foresight Network
"Bob Johansen invites each generation to live on the edge of their competencies to read the future backward and grasp hold of the signs that beckon us forward. He invites us to transcend what we don't know with honesty. In so doing, he knows we will create curious leaders and curious communities who will resist the urge to freak out and instead leapfrog into our new awaiting future. Though we all face a dilemma-ridden world, Johansen offers The New Leadership Literacies to collaboratively hack the outskirts of a hope that awaits us."
--C. Andrew Doyle, IX Episcopal Bishop, Diocese of Texas
"Bob's work has been critical to developing our leaders to think in new ways and support an innovative culture. We are using The New Leadership Literacies to help develop visionary leadership."
--Leah Toney Podratz, Director, Organization Development, Cox Enterprises