Leading from the Middle and Other Contrarian Essays on Library Leadership

This compilation reveals how followers help an organization get better and how effective followersleading from the middleare essential to the best kind of leadership Leading from the Middle and Other Contrarian Essays on Library Leadership John Lubans Jr. argues for democratic library organizations with shared leadership and decision making by leaders and followers. His book distills 15 years worth of leadership essays to advance a theory of a collaborative and empowering leadership touching on such subjects as teamwork empowerment followership challenges values coaching self-management collaboration communication and techniques and tools.Lubans''s 36 essays draw new and insightful perspectives on leadership from disparate realms: travel sports music retail businesses and airlines. All of the essays have been edited and revised for this book and many have been extensively updated with new material and epilogues. The essays flow from the author''s experience as a manager/leader his teaching of the topic and his research into and experimentation with organizational leadership. Insights and suggestions are tempered by a candid reflection on successes achieved and mistakes made.