Gower Handbook of Leadership and Management Development

On few occasions in the history of modern management have leadership skills been in such sharp focus as they are now. The ability to direct often very large and diverse organizations; to make sense of the complex and turbulent markets and environments in which you operate; and to adapt and learn seems at an all time premium. The premise behind the fifth edition of this influential Handbook is that leadership, management and organizational development are all parts of the same process; enhancing the capacity of organizations, whatever their size, and the people within them to achieve their purpose. To this end, the editors have brought together a who’s who of current writers on leadership and development and created the definitive single volume guide to the subject. The perspectives that the text provides to leadership, learning and development, embrace the formal and the informal, cultures and case examples from organizations of all kinds; and offers readers a rigorous, readable and, where appropriate, ground-breaking book. In the 14 years since the fourth edition of this classic book, very much has changed. But the need for this Handbook is as strong as ever and the Fifth Edition of Gower Handbook of Leadership and Management Development is set to become a definitive read for senior managers and those who develop them and an essential reader for the management students aspiring to become the next generation of leaders.

Jeff Gold is Principal Lecturer in Organisation Learning at Leeds Business School, Leeds Metropolitan University and a member of the Northern Leadership Academy. He has specialized on the formation of Learning Partnerships with organisations to provide consultancy and advice on strategic learning and leadership. He has led a range of seminars and workshops on leadership with a particular emphasis on participation and distribution. He has also published and presented conference papers on a wide variety of topics relating to leadership, management and organisation learning. Jeff is the co-author of Management Development, Strategies for Action (with Alan Mumford), published by CIPD in 2004 and the fourth edition of his textbook on Human Resource Management (with John Bratton) was published in 2007 with Palgrave Macmillan. Richard Thorpe is a Professor of Management Development at Leeds University Business School and Deputy Director of the Keyworth Institute. Having spent some years in industry which saw him move to the highlands of Scotland to manage a small manufacturing company, Richard joined the Pay and Reward Research Centre at Strathclyde University. After a period at Glasgow University he moved south and spent nearly 20 years at the then Manchester Polytechnic (later Manchester Metropolitan University). There he was variously Head of the MBA, Deputy Head of the Department of Management and Director of the Graduate Business School. Richard’s research interests lie in the field of management and organisational development and he is currently working on an ESRC research project focused on the Evolution of Business Knowledge in SME’s. He is a member of the ESRC Training and Development Board and Vice President of the British Academy of Management. Alan Mumford has been involved with management training and development and with other aspects of managerial effectiveness for over 20 years. At present, he is Visiting Professor of Management Development at Interactive Management Centres. He is continually involved in improving the ways in which most managers learn (in particular through their normal work). His most recent books are How Managers Can Develop Managers and Learning at the Top. Alan is a Companion of the Institute of Personnel Management.