The Deep Blue Sea: Rethinking The Source Of Leadership

In this groundbreaking new look at twenty-first-century leadership, Bill Drath re-articulates the idea of leadership from an individual basis to one where group members share responsibility-resulting in more effective leadership. Through the story of a fictional piano company, Drath illustrates why this new notion of leadership is needed in order to face the challenges of the postindustrial information age. He offers us a larger meaning of leadership-a meaning that sees how, in making leadership happen, we all swim together in "the deep blue sea." "Bill Drath takes us out along the frontiers of leadership theory and gives us a new and even courageous answer to the age-old question: who is the leader and who are the led? A great read for those who want to move beyond ordinary thinking about leadership." --Jack Galvin, former Supreme Allied Commander, Europe (NATO) and Commander-in-Chief U.S. European Command" A penetrating analysis of the roots of leadership from one of the most original thinkers in the field." --David K. Hurst, speaker, writer, and consultant on management and author of Crisis and Renewal: Meeting the Challenge of Organizational Change "Changes forever the way we look at and consider leadership. The magnitude of Bill Drath's contribution is only realized when you start to ask yourself what are the implications of relational leadership on how we develop leaders, evolve organization strategy, and drive change?" --Steve Mostyn, Senior Program Manager, Motorola University EMEA

The forces of globalization and collaboration have presented a challenge to the traditional notions of leadership. How does leadership happen when there are many leaders trying to reach a goal and no clear followers? And what does leadership look like when no one person is in charge? In The Deep Blue Sea, Wilfred Drath responds to these challenges by presenting a new leadership framework called "relational leadership." His revolutionary approach recasts the idea of leadership as a group function that results in self-organized entities. Using the story of a fictional piano company, Drath helps us understand why this new notion of leadership is needed to face the challenges of the 21st century.
A Center For Creative Leadership Book