Becoming a Leader in Product Development: An Evidence-Based Guide to the Essentials
- Length: 253 pages
- Edition: 1
- Language: English
- Publisher: Apress
- Publication Date: 2021-10-20
- ISBN-10: 1484272978
- ISBN-13: 9781484272978
- Sales Rank: #457002 (See Top 100 Books)
It is becoming increasingly challenging for product development leaders to effectively lead as workplace demands continue to increase. The rate of change in technology, society, and business places immense pressure on leaders to ensure their groups move in the direction of their goals. What might have worked in the past no longer works.
Organizational surveys show that firms struggle with leadership. Product development leaders routinely complain of burnout and stress while their teams members complain of workplace dissatisfaction, resulting in organizational underperformance.
The lack of evidence-based leadership literature for product development leaders means that many leaders are left to figure things out with little guidance. They do not have a reliable resource that they can refer to when they face leadership challenges and, as a result, struggle during times of crisis and change. This book addresses this challenge by providing a theory-informed set of techniques for product development leaders.
Becoming a Leader in Product Development provides an evidence-base set of practices for product development leaders. In doing so, it explores what leadership is and the leader’s role in the leadership process, the impact of national culture and organizational culture on the leadership process, and the need for product development leaders to practice adaptive and servant leadership, followership, and self-care. The underlying theories for each topic are reviewed and then brought to life through stories and examples.
What You Will Learn
- See the difference between authority, persuasion, and influence and how leaders can use these constructs to benefit their organizations
- Gain the skills for practicing servant and adaptive leadership in your organization
- Examine the blind spots of each leadership theory
- Discover the importance of adapting leader behavior to the national culture and organizational culture where you find yourself
Who This Book Is For
Product development leaders (starting with product development managers) who want to go beyond leadership anecdotes to evidence-based leadership practice. A secondary audience is individuals aspiring to product development leadership positions.
Contents About the Author Acknowledgments Introduction Chapter 1: Why Assigned Leaders What Is Leadership? Where Are We Going? Working Well Together The Collective over the Individual Leadership Through DAC Leadership as a System Understanding the Context The Importance of Followers The Role of Leaders Leaders—Emergent and Assigned Do We Really Need Assigned Leaders? Destructive Leadership and Management Destructive Leadership Management The Authority, Power, and Influence Cocktail Power Power-Over Versus Power-With Formal Authority Informal Authority Influence Power, Authority, and Influence—The Interplay Leaders Make a Difference Takeaways Chapter 2: The Agile Game What Is Agile? Brief Review of the History of Agile Agile as a Software Development Culture Limitations and Challenges Agile Is Not a Panacea Practicing Agile? Easier Said Than Done If You Choose Agile, Lead the Way Takeaways Chapter 3: Making Sense of Cultural Plurality National Culture and Its Dimensions Power Distance Individualism Masculinity-Femininity Uncertainty Avoidance Long-Term Versus Short-Term Orientation Indulgence Versus Restraint Are Cultural Dimensions Useful? What Makes an Outstanding Leader? Becoming a Multicultural Leader Takeaways Chapter 4: Organizational Culture: Friend or Foe? The Organization—What Is It? Organizational Climate What Is Organizational Culture? Integration View—A Single Organizational Culture Differentiation View—Multiple Subcultures Fragmentation View—Conflict and Confusion Uncovering Hidden Perspectives Organizational Culture Typologies The Schneider Model Control Culture—Leader as Commander Collaboration Culture—Leader as Coach Competence Culture—Leader as Visionary Cultivation Culture—Leader as Steward The Competing Values Framework Clan Score—We Function Like a Family Adhocracy Score—We Do Not Innovate Enough Market Score—We Have to Hit Our Numbers Hierarchy Score—It Does Not Feel Like a Hierarchy Why Does Organizational Culture Matter? Takeaways Chapter 5: Leading with a Heart of Service What Is Servant Leadership? Strategic Servant Leadership Establishing a Direction Setting an Example Operational Servant Leadership Caring for Team Members Provide Teams with Development Opportunities A Commitment to Continuous Improvement Servant Leadership Summary Characteristics of Leaders Who Serve Listening Empathy Healing Awareness Persuasion Conceptualization (Conceptual Thinking) Foresight Stewardship Commitment to People Development Building Community Characteristics Worth Developing Behaviors of Leaders Who Serve Others Servant Leadership’s Dark Side Followers’ Disempowerment Followers’ Reliance on the Leader Followers’ Negligence Leader’s Paternalism Leader’s Protective Behavior Takeaways Chapter 6: Leading Through Service in Practice Addressing Needs and Fostering Healthy Interactions Building Community Across Departments Increasing Motivation, Support, and Trust Preventing Burnout by Maintaining a Sustainable Pace Servant Leadership and Product Development Reflection Questions Chapter 7: Leading Through Change What Is Adaptive Leadership Technical Challenges Adaptive Challenges Technical and Adaptive Challenges Types of Responses to Adaptive Challenges We Have Always Done It This Way (Cultural Traps) We Will Get Lucky (Natural Selection) Flavor of the Month (Serendipity) Getting It Just Right (Maximum Adaptive Potential) Adaptive Leadership Means Living Dangerously Informal Authority in Adaptive Leadership Leader Competencies for Adaptive Leadership Know Your Organization Embrace Uncertainty and Ambiguity Stay Humble with Deep Conviction Leader Behaviors That Foster Organizational Adaptation Get on the Balcony Identify Adaptive Challenges Regulate Distress Maintain Disciplined Attention Give the Work Back to the People Protect Leadership Voices from Below Limitations of Adaptive Leadership Theory Takeaways Chapter 8: Adaptive Leadership in Practice Gaining Perspective Where Is Learning Required? Giving the Work Back to the People Listening to Everyone’s Voice Keeping Your Eyes on the Prize Keep Calm and Stress Less Working from Home—Recap Becoming an Adaptive Leader—My Story The Promotion The Imposition The Resistance The Awakening The Adaptation Reflection Questions Chapter 9: Follow Well, Lead Well Understanding Followership Types of Followers Effectively Following Your Leader Embrace and Champion Organizational Goals Challenge Constructively Adapt Your Style Tackle Challenges Head-On Be a Role Model of Followership Following Peers Be Supportive Demonstrate Competence Develop Rapport Communication Following Those You Lead Takeaways Chapter 10: Take Care of Yourself Caring Is Hazardous You Cannot Solve All Problems Sometimes People Lack the Skills You Are Ready, but They Are Not Failing to Say “No!” Caring Becomes a One-Way Street Shifty Success Measures Failure Does Happen Self-Care Self-Care Practices Personal Self-Care Practices Attending to Physical Well-Being Emotional Well-Being Social Wellness Spiritual Wellness Professional Self-Care Practices Maximizing Professional Success Having an Individualized Development Method Increasing Professional Self-Understanding Creating a Professional Greenhouse at Work Minimizing Ambiguous Professional Loss Do Not Neglect Self-Care Takeaways Chapter 11: What Next? Index
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