Jeffery Harvey
Added to listOwnedwith 1 book.
As is becoming a late-2024/early-2025 theme for me, this book was a tough one to rate. Its title specifically references the nonprofit sector, yet there is very little in the text that is specific to nonprofits (beyond vague references to the importance of nonprofit work). I understand the authors have extensive nonprofit experience, and in that sense, I appreciate that they did not overreach.
In full disclosure, I used this book as one of several resources for a course I taught on nonprofit management. I meant it as the accessible resource, the one that students could keep at arms reach and open for direct, succinct, X-Y-Z advice. In that sense, this book functions wonderfully.
There is nothing in this book that is not covered ad nauseam in other management texts, and I would not even say there is anything here presented in a total unique way. I feel bad saying it, but there is nothing memorable about the book. It is a strange fit for Jossey-Bass. Their texts, in my experience, have been "practically theoretical," and by that, I mean that they have been theory heavy but have attempted to give readers ideas on how to implement said theory. This text, though, feels more like a split between practice and self-help. Green and Hauser disclose some theoretical underpinnings, but I found there to be minimal discussion of why these topics were of importance to the nonprofit (or any) manager.
I recognize that I have been hard on this book. When I used it in the aforementioned class, my students indicated overall satisfaction with it. They found it accessible and helpful to their development. That placement suggests to me a contextual consideration for selecting this title - it is a solid text for the aspiring, inexperienced manager (nonprofit or otherwise).
As is becoming a late-2024/early-2025 theme for me, this book was a tough one to rate. Its title specifically references the nonprofit sector, yet there is very little in the text that is specific to nonprofits (beyond vague references to the importance of nonprofit work). I understand the authors have extensive nonprofit experience, and in that sense, I appreciate that they did not overreach.
In full disclosure, I used this book as one of several resources for a course I taught on nonprofit management. I meant it as the accessible resource, the one that students could keep at arms reach and open for direct, succinct, X-Y-Z advice. In that sense, this book functions wonderfully.
There is nothing in this book that is not covered ad nauseam in other management texts, and I would not even say there is anything here presented in a total unique way. I feel bad saying it, but there is nothing memorable about the book. It is a strange fit for Jossey-Bass. Their texts, in my experience, have been "practically theoretical," and by that, I mean that they have been theory heavy but have attempted to give readers ideas on how to implement said theory. This text, though, feels more like a split between practice and self-help. Green and Hauser disclose some theoretical underpinnings, but I found there to be minimal discussion of why these topics were of importance to the nonprofit (or any) manager.
I recognize that I have been hard on this book. When I used it in the aforementioned class, my students indicated overall satisfaction with it. They found it accessible and helpful to their development. That placement suggests to me a contextual consideration for selecting this title - it is a solid text for the aspiring, inexperienced manager (nonprofit or otherwise).
This title was incredible difficult for me to rate, so I copped out and rated it down the middle.
Beerel is obviously well-versed in leadership studies, and she condenses extensive literature on all of the covered approaches and related topics into manageable and accessible chunks. Her writing is scholarly without being stuck on itself. I appreciated that she wrote energetically about topics like mindfulness, and I was pleased to see a diligent exploration of neuroscience within leadership studies, spiritual leadership, and transpersonal leadership. I learned numerous factoids and found myself digging further into the literature on several topics because of this text. These are all good things.
But it’s not all good things. The tone of the writing veers into the snarky far too much for my taste. There is a way to suggest a more critical view of certain approaches (like transformational or authentic leadership) without being flippant or near-insulting. I am not against scholars citing their own work in subsequent writings, but Beerel’s prior texts were foundational sources for much of the discussion. I understand she wrote the book during the coronavirus pandemic, but in my opinion, she overused the pandemic as a case too often. It would be an effective highlight here and there, but otherwise, she may have wanted to consider a “leadership in the time of COVID-19” book. Finally, the chapter on crisis leadership was limited and devoid of the depth that it has received in scholarly literature. These were the negatives that made the book tough for me to finish.
I would recommend this title for leadership students, but unless the students were graduate or doctoral with some prior background in leadership studies, I would hesitate to make it a text for a course.
This title was incredible difficult for me to rate, so I copped out and rated it down the middle.
Beerel is obviously well-versed in leadership studies, and she condenses extensive literature on all of the covered approaches and related topics into manageable and accessible chunks. Her writing is scholarly without being stuck on itself. I appreciated that she wrote energetically about topics like mindfulness, and I was pleased to see a diligent exploration of neuroscience within leadership studies, spiritual leadership, and transpersonal leadership. I learned numerous factoids and found myself digging further into the literature on several topics because of this text. These are all good things.
But it’s not all good things. The tone of the writing veers into the snarky far too much for my taste. There is a way to suggest a more critical view of certain approaches (like transformational or authentic leadership) without being flippant or near-insulting. I am not against scholars citing their own work in subsequent writings, but Beerel’s prior texts were foundational sources for much of the discussion. I understand she wrote the book during the coronavirus pandemic, but in my opinion, she overused the pandemic as a case too often. It would be an effective highlight here and there, but otherwise, she may have wanted to consider a “leadership in the time of COVID-19” book. Finally, the chapter on crisis leadership was limited and devoid of the depth that it has received in scholarly literature. These were the negatives that made the book tough for me to finish.
I would recommend this title for leadership students, but unless the students were graduate or doctoral with some prior background in leadership studies, I would hesitate to make it a text for a course.
I read this book per the recommendations of colleagues at my university. I enjoyed it, particularly the focus on leading "inside-out." I happen to believe that while leading is a collective, human act, effectively leading requires leaders to be self-aware.
In many ways, the text is a re-characterization of leadership tricks published in many other sources (including scholarly research). I'm fine with that because topics connect with people in different ways. Maybe Maor et al.'s way of presenting them works for some people, and if so, that's great.
I also rated the book highly because it is accessible. There's an element here - as there always is with these types of books - of writing about a topic like empathy like it's a formulaic how-to for achievement. As such, I encourage readers to simply be mindful of the potential complexity of these 12 leadership elements as they read. Use the writing for examples, and be far-reaching to identify other examples from within one's own experiences. The book is a quasi-advertisement for McKinsey's Bower Fora, which is understandable (but might be off-putting for some readers). Finally, as is often the case with books like this, readers should dig deeper to understand the elements and not simply tag themselves to the leaders or companies referenced by the book. There are several companies mentioned by name, and what is referenced is what exists at this point in time with respect to those companies. Think long and hard about whether what is in the book will diminish in ten years if, say, a company or its CEO suffers some sort of reputational crisis.
I read this book per the recommendations of colleagues at my university. I enjoyed it, particularly the focus on leading "inside-out." I happen to believe that while leading is a collective, human act, effectively leading requires leaders to be self-aware.
In many ways, the text is a re-characterization of leadership tricks published in many other sources (including scholarly research). I'm fine with that because topics connect with people in different ways. Maybe Maor et al.'s way of presenting them works for some people, and if so, that's great.
I also rated the book highly because it is accessible. There's an element here - as there always is with these types of books - of writing about a topic like empathy like it's a formulaic how-to for achievement. As such, I encourage readers to simply be mindful of the potential complexity of these 12 leadership elements as they read. Use the writing for examples, and be far-reaching to identify other examples from within one's own experiences. The book is a quasi-advertisement for McKinsey's Bower Fora, which is understandable (but might be off-putting for some readers). Finally, as is often the case with books like this, readers should dig deeper to understand the elements and not simply tag themselves to the leaders or companies referenced by the book. There are several companies mentioned by name, and what is referenced is what exists at this point in time with respect to those companies. Think long and hard about whether what is in the book will diminish in ten years if, say, a company or its CEO suffers some sort of reputational crisis.