About the Book
Empowering Leadership of Tomorrow examines leadership that enables and empowers others to co-participate, co-create, and experience the joy of creativity. It proposes a kind of leadership that fosters bottom-up dynamics, empowering people, groups, teams, and societies. Praszkier shows how this approach, called Empowering Leadership (EL), can drive success in business and, in the case of social entrepreneurship, have an immense social impact. Furthermore, he shows that EL style is also beneficial in other fields, such as parenting and counseling. The book presents diverse case studies from business and social arenas, as well as from family life. It establishes practical guidelines for leadership development, including methods to enhance creativity, and also casts an eye toward the future, demonstrating approaches to navigating future scenarios in a complex and unpredictable environment.
Table of Contents:
Part I. Concept; Section 1. Leadership: 1. Traditional delineations of kinds of leadership; 2. Contemporary views on leadership; 3. Leadership and social influence; 4. Example: the specific social influence of social entrepreneurship; Section 2. Complexity and Networks: 5. Complexity: what does it mean?; 6. Something out of nothing: big social movements harnessing chaos into order; 7. Creativity: what it is and how it works; 8. Efficient networks; Section 3. Empowering Leadership: 9. Empowering leadership; 10. Preconditions for endogenous dynamics; Part II. Implementations; Section 4. Empowering Leadership in Action: 11. Empowering leadership in business; 12. Empowering leadership in social arena; Section 5. Being an Empowerer: 13. Some characteristics of an Empowerer; 14. How to enhance creativity; 15. Empowering as a lifestyle; Part III. Future; Section 6. How to Foresee the Future?: 16. Exploring the future; 17. Playing and dancing the future.
About the Author :
Ryszard Praszkier is a researcher at the University of Warsaw. He is the author or co-author of many publications, including Social Entrepreneurship: Theory and Practice (Cambridge, 2011). He has worked for over two decades for Ashoka: Innovators for the Public, an international association promoting social innovators. He has been a second-opinion reviewer for more than 100 candidates to Ashoka Fellowship on nearly all continents.
Review :
'Don't we all want to become better leaders? Ryszard Praszkier synthesizes an extraordinary amount of information on leadership, from theoretical perspectives to the work of great leaders from the business and social arena, and offers the reader practical steps on how to become an effective, creative and empowering leader.' Derek Brown, The Peace Appeal Foundation
'This is an outstanding book on leadership, written by an analytical and introspective leader. Ryszard Praszkier's Empowering Leadership of Tomorrow permanently furthers our understanding of how both the leaders and the followers can creatively accomplish astonishing things. The book is grounded in a long experience in the arena of international social entrepreneurship and in the broad knowledge of the contemporary social science. Yes, you can learn how to lead - much of it from this book.' Vladimir Zwass, Inaugural Gregory Olsen Endowed Chair and University Distinguished Professor of Computer Science and MIS, Fairleigh Dickinson University, New Jersey
'Leaders of all sectors, whether entrepreneurs or intrapreneurs, must read Dr Praskier's book - Empowering Leadership of Tomorrow - to learn how to create, cultivate and curate the most compelling culture to empower teams and communities to solve our most pressing problems and build a better world.' R. Paul Herman, CEO and founder, HIP (Human Impact + Profit) Investor
'Leadership must change in order to fulfil contemporary requirements. Ryszard Praszkier explains this well in a remarkable book open to praxis and filled with insights. This book is a must read for those interested in understanding how human systems are moving towards new heights of complexity and integration. A researcher with in depth experiences of social entrepreneurship, Praszkier is offering the vista of what empowering leadership could be.' Andrea Bartoli, Dean, School of Diplomacy and International Relations, Seton Hall University, New Jersey
'As we can see from daily reports in the media, there has never been a more critical time in recent history to address issues related to leadership. This book exploits to the fullest, the literature on leadership, but does not stop there. It provides important insights with the cutting-edge application of complexity theory to new social actors and the dynamics of social change. Important chapters deal with leadership and social influence, the authentic leadership of social entreprenuers, creativity, complexity and social networks. Theoretical concepts are supported by real-life examples taken from different contexts around the world which strengthen and greatly enrich the volume. The volume also provides practical knowledge for cultivating and nurturing leadership that is inclusive, enabling and empowering. As an educator, I cannot wait to use Ryszard Praszkier's Empowering Leadership of Tomorrow in my courses for international university students!' Jody Jensen, Jean Monnet Professor, University of Pannonia and Senior Research Fellow, Institute of Advanced Studies, Kőszeg
'This book is a guide to creating initiatives that release your team's potential and take performance to the next level. … [It] is based on extensive academic research and dozens of detailed case studies and is written in simple, yet vivid, language; it will hence prove attractive for anyone interested in the practical implications of state-of-the-art social science.' Marshall Goldsmith, author of Triggers and What Got You Here Won't Get You There
'Upon completing Praszkier's presentation, this reviewer can have but one reaction - WOW! We have just been presented with a text that sets forth both the depth and breadth of the subject, empowering leadership. The reader is given a conceptually insightful, theoretical framework that includes classical and contemporary thought. When studying in depth the substance of chapter 2 on the kinds of leadership, chapter 5 on complexity, or chapter 7 on creativity, the reader comes to appreciate the contribution of this text. Following this theoretical logic, the reader is presented with great case-study material. This reviewer, who appreciates and understands the theory and the case study perspectives, is pleased to award Dr Praszkier high marks on a job well. This is truly an exceptional book and is recommended for inclusion in most graduate library collections.' J. B. Kashner, Choice
