Leadership Agility

by Bill Joiner and Stephen Josephs (forthcoming, Jossey-Bass)

Leadership agility is the capacity to anticipate emerging trends, engage diverse stakeholders, develop uniquely appropriate strategies, take timely action, and learn from experience. Based on in-depth research and decades of personal experience, this book identifies five distinct levels in the mastery of leadership agility. About 45% of today’s managers have mastered the first level of leadership agility, which is suited to slowly changing organizational environments. Another 45% also have mastery of the agility level suited to environments changing at a moderate pace. However, only 10% have mastered the levels of leadership agility needed for sustained success in today’s highly uncertain, rapidly changing world.

Using dozens of stories from the lives of people they’ve worked with, this ground-breaking book shows what the five levels agility look and feel like in three key leadership arenas: pivotal conversations, leading teams, and leading organizational change. The book not only identifies “best practices” in each of these arenas, it also provides a lucid picture of the “inner side” of each agility level. Written in clear, down-to-earth language, it will help you identify your current ability level and will provide practical advice for moving to new levels of leadership effectiveness. (See brief story from the book).