Leadership in Balance

Reviews / Votes

"Leadership in Balance overflows with ideas that challenge business and government leaders to examine their own thinking and to adopt new ways of perceiving their own place in their organizations. Kucia and Gravett present cutting edge principles that combine eastern and western cultural styles, creating a genuine balanced style that anyone in a position of influence can use to deal more effectively with both peers and subordinates. Each chapter engages and motivates the reader to proceed onward with intense anticipation for gaining deeper leadership insights and ideas to be shared with colleagues." - Robert E. Wubbolding, Professor Emeritus, Xavier University,USA; Director of Training, The William Glasser Institute (1988-2011); Director, Center for Reality Therapy, Cincinnati, USA

"Kucia and Gravett provide an important evolution in leadership literature. Drawing on interviews with CEOs of major corporations and non-profit organizations, the authors develop a 'Balance Framework' that replaces hierarchical management with a leadership style that blends and orchestrates competing organizational dimensions, such as competition vs. collaboration, in accordance with the organization's mission, structure, and culture. The resulting balance leverages the benefits of each dimension to increase organizational effectiveness." - Joe Pichler, Retired CEO and Chairman, The Kroger Company

"A must-read for all leaders and 'wanna-be' leaders. Unlike the typical treatise on leadership, Leadership in Balance provides a profound glimpse at the inner experiences of today's successful leaders. The emphasis on 'a deeper dimension' of leadership is not only theoretically based, but measurable, with both ample anecdotal and promising empirical support. Professors, workshop trainers, and inquisitive researchers who focus on leadership should include this book in their 'toolbox for learning'." - David T. Hellkamp, Professor Emeritus, Xavier University, USA; past President, Society of Consulting Psychologists, American Psychological Association

"The twenty-first century business landscape is turning out to be complex, volatile, and often uncertain. Leadership charlatans would have us believe that we can navigate such landscapes with a few simple management tricks. Kucia and Garvett have instead wisely offered us a more thoughtful, balanced vision of the leader's role." - Chris Lowney, author, Heroic Leadership and Pope Francis: Why He Leads the Way He Leads

"Kucia and Gravett's Leadership in Balance describes the shifting concepts of leadership that have given organizations the power to be more collaborative in the way they work, as well as in the ways they are learning to trust the creativity of their own people. For academic institutions in particular, Leadership in Balance offers a welcome alternative to the administrative practices that too often have encouraged professors to see themselves as independent contractors." - Robert Zemsky, Professor and Chair, The Learning Alliance, University of Pennsylvania, USA

"Heightened demands on organizations of all kinds for increased accountability, transparency, and responsiveness require leaders who understand that collaboration and the deliberate building up of trust and commitment among key stakeholders is tantamount to success. Building on insights and observations from a broad base of academic knowledge and practical experience, Kucia and Gravett present a thoughtful and workable leadership framework suited for the dynamic operating environment that characterizes the 21st century." - John C. Lechleiter, Chairman, President, and CEO, Eli Lilly and Company