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New Book: What Philosophy Can Teach You About Being a Better Leader
More and more people feel alienated from the businesses they work for. Traditional management practices are rooted in economics and psychology. The business world has lost sight of the important lessons from moral philosophy and this has led to a focus on numbers and productivity rather than the people who make those numbers happen. As a result, trust in leaders and organizations is at an all-time low and many people feel unhappy and disillusioned at work.
What Philosophy Can Teach You About Being a Better Leader argues that the leaders who will succeed in the uncertain and complex world of work, are the ones focusing on their workforce and valuing its members as people, rather than just cogs within the machine. The four business experts and authors of this important new book argue that the rise of the ‘omnipotent leader’, who focuses on telling rather than leading, risks creating a generation of feudal CEOs and needs to be resisted. They show how leaders need to learn from philosophy about the importance of asking the right questions. They consider the main issues plaguing today's leaders such as what a “good” leader really is, through the eyes of the greatest philosophers.
Why this book matters:
- Modern management practices aren’t working. Workers are disengaged, frustrated and feeling unvalued in traditional company structures
- 15.4 million working days are lost a year due to work-related stress, depression and anxiety according to the Health and Safety Executive
- Workload pressures and a lack of managerial support were the main work factors cited as causing work related stress, depression or anxiety
- For decades work has become dehumanised, with employees treated as tools or assets rather than people. A result of business leaders placing economics, management theory and organizational psychology centre stage
- In their new book What Philosophy can teach you about being a better leader - four thought leaders from the UK’s top Business schools examine what has gone wrong and show how thinking from Socrates, Aristotle, Kant and Nietzsche can restore humanity to the workplace and help leaders build thriving, profitable and successful businesses
With the help of Aristotle, Socrates, Kant and Nietzsche, as well as a whole host of other brilliant minds, they turn traditional management practices on their head, showing how traditional attempts to ‘engage’ employees such as the ‘town hall’ and other top down communications efforts are doomed to fail. Instead they draw lessons from philosophy on what it means to be human, and about finding fulfilment and living a good life. Showing how moving away from traditional, hierarchical, risk focused control structures can lead to improved employee engagement, increased productivity and better outcomes for the entire business.
The Authors
David Lewis is Programme Director for Executive Education at London Business School and a renowned strategy and leadership expert.
Jules Goddard is a Fellow of the Centre for Management Development at London Business School, where he has taught competitive strategy and creative marketing for 30 years.
Dominic Houlder is an Adjunct Professor in Strategic and Entrepreneurial Management at London Business School. He is internationally recognised as a leading business strategist.
Alison Reynolds is faculty at Hult Ashridge Business School and recognised on the Thinkers50 radar for her research.
What Philosophy Can Teach You About Being A Better Leader
- What Philosophy Can Teach You About Being a Better Leader
- By David Lewis, Jules Goddard, Dominic Houlder and Alison Reynolds
- Published by Kogan Page
- Paperback Version: £14.99
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