The Merit of Different Leaders
This article is part of our Mentor-Coach Reading List series. Join the mailing list to receive this and more.
In this series I have selected books that explore the traps of meritocracy, culturally diverse leadership, bamboo ceilings, bridging differences, bias, changing minds, the quietly powerful and different generations.
Happy reading!
Here is more information about the Series 9 selection of books.
The Meritocracy Trap (Penguin Press, November 2020) by Daniel Markovits. The idea that reward should follow ability and effort is so entrenched. But what if, both up and down the social ladder, meritocracy is a sham? Has meritocracy become exactly what it was conceived to resist?
Fostering Culturally Diverse Leadership in Organisations: Lessons from Those Who Smashed the Bamboo Ceiling (Routledge, July 2022) by Karen Loon. Successful Asian-Australian leaders negotiate identity in the workplace and resolve the contradictions and tensions of their identities within organisations. What can we learn from those leaders who have thrived and smashed the ‘bamboo ceiling’? Moreover, are there other factors holding organisational change back? This book provides a roadmap of actions for business leaders looking to create more inclusive and diverse cultures in their organisations.
Bridging Differences for Better Mentoring: Lean Forward, Learn, Leverage (Berrett-Koehler, February 2020) by Lisa Fain and Lois Zachary. Mentors and mentees may come from very different backgrounds and have limited understanding of each other's cultures and outlooks. But mentoring remains the most powerful tool for creating meaningful relationships, furthering professional development, and increasing engagement and retention. Provides useful advice for mentors and mentees on how to bridge gaps between and among cultures.
The End of Bias: Can We Change Our Minds? (Granta, July 2022) by Jessica Nordell. Unconscious bias: persistent prejudiced behaviour that clashes with our consciously held beliefs. It robs organisations of talent and individuals of their futures. What real-world steps can be taken to counteract it? This book introduces us to the people who are practising a range of promising methods: the police using mindfulness to regulate high-stress situations; the doctors whose diagnostic checklists help eliminate bias in treatment; the lawyers and educators striving to embed equality all the way from the early-years playroom to the boardroom. Biased behaviour can be ended. This book shows us how.
Quietly Powerful; How Your Quiet Nature Is Your Hidden Leadership Strength (Major Street, 2020) by Megumi Miki. Challenges quiet professionals to reframe the story they tell themselves about their leadership potential – and encourages organisations to expand their ideas about what good leadership looks, sounds and feels like. The ‘alpha’ or ‘hero’ leadership style is inadequate. Quieter professionals, who are often overlooked or taken advantage of without recognition, have immense value to contribute to organisations. This book aims to empower quieter professionals and those outside majority groups to fulfil their potential. (Disclosure: Dianne Jacobs was one of the people interviewed for this book.)
A New Kind of Diversity: Making the Different Generations on Your Team a Competitive Advantage (Maxwell Leadership, October 2022) by Tim Elmore. Up to five generations find themselves working alongside each other in a typical company. The result? There can be division. Interactions between people from different generations can resemble a cross-cultural relationship. Both usually possess different values and customs. At times, each generation is literally speaking a different language. How can we hope to work together when we can’t even understand each other?
… and here are a few posts from our ‘most read’ articles
CULTURAL DIVERSITY ON BOARDS NEEDS ADVOCATES AND ACTIONS
CALMING DOUBT AND SELF-CRITICISM
LEADERSHIP, PERSPECTIVE and POWER
ADVANCING WOMEN IS NOT RISKY BUSINESS
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