Director Leadership

42 Rules for Your New Leadership Role, 2nd Edition, describes practical and effective actions for you to make a strong start at your new VP, director, or manager job. Drawing from extensive interviews with corporate leaders and the author's 20 years as a strategy consultant and executive coach, these rules form the manual they forgot to hand you when you got that promotion or offer letter.

With its vivid stories and conversational tone, Boards That Excel is like sitting down with an astute and experienced friend - one who's passionate about what corporate and nonprofit boards can do when they set high aspirations, are clear on purpose, and do the right things in the right way.

In Startup Boards, Brad Feld - a Boulder, Colorado-based entrepreneur turned-venture capitalist - shares his experience in this area by talking about the importance of having the right board members on your team and how to manage them well. Along the way, he shares valuable insights on various aspects of the board, including how they can support you, help you understand your startup's milestones and get to them faster, and hold you accountable.

What does an executive director actually do? And how can you lead your organization to a stronger place? Nonprofit expert Erik Hanberg wrote The Little Book of Nonprofit Leadership to speak directly to executive directors of small (and very small) nonprofits who are asking these questions. EDs, especially at small nonprofits, tend to be dropped into the deep end of the pool with the expectation that they know how to swim. The Little Book of Nonprofit Leadership will be a welcome rescue line.

Non Executive Directors used to be caricatured as cronies of the Chairman (who is also a Non Executive Director) or CEO. Fat cats, freeloading members of the "old boy network", retirees who wanted to have somewhere to go other than the golf club for a decent lunch and a chat. Not an attractive scenario and for various reasons, but not least because of numerous serious corporate scandals where shareholders were left unprotected, the whole can of Non Executive worms has been subject to investigation.

Women on corporate boards is strictly a business issue. Independent research studies demonstrate that public companies with women on their boards are more profitable, more productive, and their workforce is better engaged. Even more compelling, shareholders large and small have the best chance for positive returns on their investments when women are on the boards.

Which mindset do you think existing Boards and CEOs are in when it comes to HRDs being able to make the move to CEO? Have you ever asked the question why HR Directors don’t make the move to CEO? Why Boards and CEOs ignore “HRness”? Is HR really dead? Where is HR’s guiding North Star? Could you imagine an HR Director being your CEO? In Human Resources Changes the World, Glenn G Jones examines the available research and sets out the reasons why HR is not progressing to its full potential; it will surprise you.