Leadership Agility: Five Levels of Mastery for Anticipating and Initiating Change

Leadership Agility is the master competency needed for sustained success in today’s complex, fast-paced business environment. Richly illustrated with stories based on original research and decades of work with clients, this groundbreaking book identifies five levels that leaders move through in developing their agility. Significantly, only 10% have mastered the level of agility needed for consistent effectiveness in our turbulent era of global competition. Written in an engaging, down-to-earth style, this book not only provides a map that guides readers in identifying their current level of agility. It also provides practical advice and concrete examples that show managers and leadership development professionals how they can bring greater agility to the initiatives they take every day.

About the Authors

Bill Joiner is a seasoned leadership and organization development consultant with thirty years of experience completing successful projects with companies based in the United States, Canada, and Europe. Known for his ability to custom-tailor his work to meet specific client objectives, he speaks about leadership agility and helps companies design leadership development strategies and action learning programs that foster this vital competency. He has facilitated scores of leadership development programs, creative strategy sessions, and organizational change projects, and he serves as a coach to senior leaders undertaking team and organizational change initiatives. He also teaches at the Center for Leadership and Ethics at Boston College. He has a doctorate in organization development from Harvard University and an MBA.

Stephen Josephs's twenty-five-year executive coaching practice has grown through decades of training and research. In the 1970s he began “modeling” exemplary leaders, identifying the unconscious thought processes that allowed them to outperform others by significant margins. Currently, with his knowledge of business performance, psychology, and mind-body disciplines, he helps leaders attain new levels of agility. In working with clients, Stephen guides them in achieving two results: their leadership makes a difference, and they enjoy who they become in the process. A skilled performer himself (classical guitar and improvisational theater), he uses the arts to raise the fun quotient in business. He has a doctorate from the University of Massachusetts and master's degrees from Harvard and Antioch Universities.

Josephs and Joiner are founders of ChangeWise, a leadership and organization development firm with offices in Boston and San Francisco.