Hidden agendas, unresolved conflicts, crucial issues never discussed : these examples of drama in the office are what the author calls "interpersonal mush." Conflicts or issues can dominate the workplace and hamper honest communication. Clear Leadership directly tackles these issues by providing specific tools and techniques, as well as personal stories of individuals who have put the principles and practices of Clear Leadership into action.

Beginning with exploring interpersonal qualities, employees can achieve outstanding results for themselves and their organizations. Expanding on the powerful concepts that made the first edition a success, this fully revised edition looks beyond what it takes to lead performance. Clear Leadership now includes 23 skill-building exercises, dozens of case examples and alternative thinking about approaches to conversations.

Additional chapters put a sharper focus on ways the original model of the four selves (the Aware Self, the Curious Self, the Appreciative Self and the Descriptive Self) can help us all learn from our collective experiences, avoid miscommunication and cut through the "mush."

Contents

Preface to the Revised Edition

Acknowledgments

About the Author

Introduction

1 Where Interpersonal Mush Comes From and What It Does to Organizations

2 Introduction to the Organizational Learning Conversation

3 Understanding the Foundations of Clear Leadership

4 The Four Elements of Experience

5 The Aware Self

6 The Descriptive Self

7 The Curious Self

8 The Appreciative Self

9 The Learning Conversation in Depth

Conclusion: Learning to Sustain Collaborative Organizations

Appendix: Research on the Impact of Clear Leadership in Organizations

Notes

Glossary

References Index

About the author :

Gervase Bushe's career spans three decades of working with organizations to transition their structures, culture and processes away from command and control toward more collaborative work systems. He has published over 50 papers and three books in the areas of organizational change, leadership, teams and teamwork, and his work on organizational change is cited in all contemporary organization development textbooks. He is internationally recognized for helping develop the, appreciative inquiry, approach to change. Prior to joining Simon Fraser University in 1983, he was employed in the organizational research and development department at General Motors in the U.S., where he focused on developing better union-management relations in the transition to team-based manufacturing. Past consulting clients have been as diverse as Shell Oil, American Airlines, Business Objects, Ensign Management, PeaceHealth, MacMillan Bloedel, Citizenship and Immigration Canada, BC Research, Telus, Novellus, Fraser Health Authority and the Vancouver Art Gallery.

Over the past 15 years, he has been studying the leadership and organizing processes needed to make these new organizational structures function effectively. www.gervasebushe.ca www.clearleadership.com www.linkedin.com/pub/gervase-bushe/0/6b7/b34 "There is great power in his idea that we construct the world and become effective when we get this, share this, and get interested in the stories of others. This book makes leadership accessible to all, even the quiet, shy, avoid-eye-contact ones among us. It is also written with elegant simplicity. Buy it, read it, pass it around." - Peter Block, Partner at Designed Learning; author of Community, the Structure of Belonging "devoted to helping people communicate effectively and was written very, very clearly. It was not pedantic or condescending; in it, the author seems to genuinely respect his audience." - Kristina Grob, Feminist Review August 26, 2009