Person-Centered Leadership

An American Approach to Participatory Management

Jeanne M. Plas

• Publisher: SAGE Publications, Inc
• Year: 1996
• Print ISBN: 9780803959996
• eBook ISBN: 9781452248233
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Management
• Index: Business

From the Business Community...
"Person-Centered Leadership builds on that foundation of caring for every individual in the organization and takes it to the next level. It features engaging ?people first/team result? anecdotes from a variety of American companies and straightforward ?how-tos? for becoming the kind of leader (not just business) that people love to work for and be associated with. We?ll use it as a discussion for one of our upcoming staff get-togethers."
--Michael A. Fisher, Premier Manufacturing Support Services

"Dr. Plas?s book provides insights into aspects of human behavior that enhance effective management skills. She affirms that respecting employees as individuals with unique talents and needs within the workplace creates a productive atmosphere that results in happier people and higher profits. This book is now required reading for everyone in our firm who manages people. I totally agree with Dr. Plas?s conclusions about competent leadership and its positive impact on all aspects of the individual and the company."
--Bill W. Shoptaw, Shoptaw-James, Inc.

From the Academic Community..
"I found particularly interesting the insightful comment that past teamwork and TQM efforts are flawed because they have not rewarded individuals. This suggests a new form of team with individual recognition and elaborated roles for members. The key ideas of related individualism, authenticity, and acceptance of strength and weakness provide guidelines for transforming organizations. There are three chapter-long case studies and a number of shorter examples that add much interest to the book. I would recommend the reader to look at the ?person-centered principles? that accompany the three chapter-long cases in the second part of the book and the ?actions, hints, and cautions? sections in the boxes in Chapter 13. I found the ideas to be well presented and insightful and the case studies to be rich and interesting. I think the practical suggestions in the final chapter will be helpful to managers who try to apply the book?s recommendations for change."
--Joseph Seltzer, Department of Management, La Salle University

Why hasn?t TQM (total quality management) worked as well in the U.S. as it has elsewhere? In the United States, employees seem to prefer recognition of individual achievement over recognition of the work team. Could the American cultural emphasis on the individual be a crucial factor? This engagingly written textbook demonstrates that the recent participatory management failures are the result of a lack of appreciation for the cultural role of rugged individualism. Offering an alternative, person-centered leadership, which puts the individual at the very center of the management approach, author Jeanne M. Plas demonstrates effective, psychology-based, person-centered management techniques using contemporary examples--many of them drawn from her research and consulting work with successful U.S. businesses and CEOs.

Topics include:

• A historical overview of the relationship of the individual to the corporation.
• The response of new leaders to the problem of rapid technological and social change that outpaces the development of cultural attitudes.
• Illustrations of a variety of person-centered leadership approaches that fit different companies and different managerial styles.
• Specific strategies that leaders and managers can use to bring out the best in themselves, their associates, and their organizations.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Contents
• Acknowledgments
• Chapter 1 - Leadership Person by Person: An Introduction
• Part I - Person-Centered Leadership: The Fundamentals, the Past, the Future
• Chapter 2 - Wholeness at Work: Hearts, Hands, Spirits, Minds
• Chapter 3 - Historical Perspectives on the Relationship of the Individual to the Corporate Organization
• Chapter 4 - Teamwork and Individualism
• Chapter 5 - The Changing Culture: The Context for Business
• Part II - Person-Centered Leadership: The Basics, the Variations, the Corporate Chiefs Who Make It Work
• Chapter 6 - Person-Centered Leaders: An Introduction to the Uniqueness and the Methodology
• Chapter 7 - James X. Mullen: Founder and President, Mullen Advertising, Wenham, Massachusetts
• Chapter 8 - Dean Kamen: Founder and President, DEKA Research and Development, Manchester, New Hampshire
• Chapter 9 - Robert S. Davis: Founder and President, Seaside Development Corporation, Seaside, Florida
• Chapter 10 - Leading Person by Person: Multiple Variations on the Theme
• Part III - Making the Changes That Make a Difference
• Chapter 11 - The Possibilities for Transformation
• Chapter 12 - Person-Centered Strategies - The Focus on You
• Chapter 13 - Person-Centered Strategies: The Focus on Associates
• Appendix: Methodological Approach to the Study of Organizations
• Index
• About the Author