Discovering the Leader in You: How to Realize Your Leadership Potential, New and Revised

From the Center for Creative Leadership (CCL) comes the thoroughly revised and updated edition of Discovering the Leader in You. This new edition targets leaders (and aspiring leaders) who work in highly complex and competitive environments and want to reenergize themselves by tapping into the qualities that characterize success.

In our high-pressure environment many leaders have begun to question their abilities, the directions their lives have taken, and their hopes for their future. The authors define this as the problem of drift. All of us experience drift at one time or another, but it can become a problem if we stay adrift for too long. Long-term drift is risky because leaders will make decisions by default rather than by conscious choice. Discovering the Leader in You offers a model leaders can use to get back on track and make conscious choices about why, when, how, and where they lead.

Discovering the Leader in You presents a systematic framework that connects leaders to the realities of their organizational contexts and the realities of their personal lives. By examining the demands on and expectations of a leader as a person, leaders can better match their talents to the opportunities surrounding them. This innovative framework is based on five key elements: current organizational realities, leadership vision, leadership values, leadership profile, and current personal realities. In addition to this proven framework, the book includes illustrative case examples and puts the spotlight on the transition from "the decision to lead" to "how to implement the decision to lead."

Discovering the Leader in You offers a personal guide for tackling the job of leadership with personal enthusiasm, vision, and constant energy.

About the Authors

Sara N. King, former group director at the Center for Creative Leadership, is currently principal of her own consulting firm, Optimum Insights.

David G. Altman is executive vice president of research, innovation, and product development at the Center for Creative Leadership.

Robert J. Lee is a former president of the Center for Creative Leadership.