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Leading Continuous Improvement in Schools: Enacting Leadership Standards to Advance Educational Quality and Equity (PSEL/NELP Leadership Preparation)
by Erin Anderson Kathleen M. Cunningham David H. Eddy-SpicerThis volume provides a set of principles and systematic methods for improvement to help district and school leaders achieve the continuous improvement goals embedded in the Professional Standard for Educational Leadership (PSEL) and the National Educational Leadership Program (NELP) standards. Bringing the PSEL Standard 10 to life, this book tackles the why, how, and what of continuous improvement through an equity lens. In the first section, Leading Continuous Improvement in Schools provides an overall introduction to and rationale for continuous improvement, situating current approaches to continuous improvement, situating current approaches to continuous improvement in education within broader historical and sectoral contexts. The second section highlights how the tenets of improvement science – such as making iterative, incremental, evidence-based advancements; utilizing practical measurements; and acknowledging variability – position school and system leaders to adaptively integrate systematic and evidence-based approaches to change as part of ongoing organizational processes. The book concludes with a section that invites readers to consider leadership approaches that forward improvement work, how leaders can build internal capacity to engage in improvement, and how policy can support efforts to build and sustain the capacity for continuous improvement. Special features include beginning-of-chapter highlights, end-of-chapter connections to standards, and action inventories through each chapter. Overall, the volume provides a focus on the continuous improvement aspects of the NELP and PSEL standards that serves as a bridge, supporting students preparing to become educational leaders in their journey from learning about continuous improvement to learning how to lead continuous, equity-oriented improvement work in their own contexts.
Leading Continuous Improvement in Schools: Enacting Leadership Standards to Advance Educational Quality and Equity (PSEL/NELP Leadership Preparation)
by Erin Anderson Kathleen M. Cunningham David H. Eddy-Spicer• Aligns improvement efforts with two sets of standards, NELP and PSEL – no other books in the field do this. • To help ground the main points in this volume, each chapter features a case that presents a leader who is simultaneously leading a school while also learning about improvement science in their graduate class. • To help instructors use this book in their courses, each chapter includes teaching notes and an action inventory aligned to the case examples and chapters. • Uses Improvement Science as a method of continuous change and equity as a values framework—this book centers equity in every improvement effort • This book helps to reframe the conversation about how data can be used by leaders for improvement -- it emphasizes creating a data culture that allows for experimentation and learning from failure and does not limit emphasis on lagging accountability data. • This book is comprehensive with attention to foundational theory and research on continuous improvement, practical methods of continuous improvement, and the leadership of continuous improvement
Leading Instructional Rounds in Education: A Facilitators Guide
by Lee Teitel Thomas Fowler-FinnInstructional rounds is a powerful form of professional learning aimed at helping schools and systems develop the capacity to educate all children to high levels. In this practical book, Thomas Fowler-Finn, an experienced consultant who has worked closely with the Harvard team that pioneered instructional rounds, discusses how facilitators can skillfully guide a network of educators through the rounds process. He shows how to scaffold participant learning, model effective teaching practices, and gradually transfer agency to the network. Leading Instructional Rounds is an invaluable resource for advancing the work of all facilitators, whether novice or experienced.
Leading Instructional Rounds in Education: A Facilitator’s Guide
by Thomas Fowler-FinnInstructional rounds is a powerful form of professional learning aimed at helping schools and systems develop the capacity to educate all children to high levels. In this practical book, Thomas Fowler-Finn, an experienced consultant who has worked closely with the Harvard team that pioneered instructional rounds, discusses how facilitators can skillfully guide a network of educators through the rounds process. He shows how to scaffold participant learning, model effective teaching practices, and gradually transfer agency to the network. Leading Instructional Rounds is an invaluable resource for advancing the work of all facilitators, whether novice or experienced.
Leading Intelligence Analysis: Lessons from the CIA’s Analytic Front Lines
by Bruce E. Pease"Bruce Pease has written a much needed book on a long ignored topic: how does one lead analysts? Most analysis is at some level a group activity, whether in government or the private sector. Much has been written about good versus bad analysis and how to train analysts, but Pease, himself a veteran senior CIA analyst and manager, focuses on what the leaders of these analysts need to know and should be thinking about. Leadership matters in analysis as in all other endeavors, and Pease offers invaluable guidance on how to lead effectively. This book is a must for anyone in a leadership role in an analytic enterprise." —Mark M. Lowenthal, PhD, Intelligence & Security Academy, LLC Written by an experienced professional who has led Navy Intelligence and CIA analysts in high-stakes situations, Leading Intelligence Analysis introduces the fundamental managerial skills and practical tools needed to lead analysis projects conducted by individuals and teams. Author Bruce Pease provides insights into key questions such as What kind of environment draws out a team’s best work? What brings out their creativity? When does pressure bring out their best insights? When does pressure sap their intellectual energy? and What kind of team builds new knowledge rather than engaging in group-think? This book draws on the author’s perspective from decades of leading intelligence analysts on critical issues, including war in the Middle East, terrorism after 9/11, and nuclear threats. Key Features Practical advice helps leaders of analytic units nurture insight with the understanding that it can be enabled but not manufactured. Discussion of a range of different types of analysis serves leaders conducting research in areas including data analysis, security analysis, geopolitical analysis, threat warning, counterterrorism, and business climate analysis. Practical advice on judging IT tools guides leaders to the correct data science approach for various situations.
Leading Intelligence Analysis: Lessons from the CIA’s Analytic Front Lines
by Bruce E. Pease"Bruce Pease has written a much needed book on a long ignored topic: how does one lead analysts? Most analysis is at some level a group activity, whether in government or the private sector. Much has been written about good versus bad analysis and how to train analysts, but Pease, himself a veteran senior CIA analyst and manager, focuses on what the leaders of these analysts need to know and should be thinking about. Leadership matters in analysis as in all other endeavors, and Pease offers invaluable guidance on how to lead effectively. This book is a must for anyone in a leadership role in an analytic enterprise." —Mark M. Lowenthal, PhD, Intelligence & Security Academy, LLC Written by an experienced professional who has led Navy Intelligence and CIA analysts in high-stakes situations, Leading Intelligence Analysis introduces the fundamental managerial skills and practical tools needed to lead analysis projects conducted by individuals and teams. Author Bruce Pease provides insights into key questions such as What kind of environment draws out a team’s best work? What brings out their creativity? When does pressure bring out their best insights? When does pressure sap their intellectual energy? and What kind of team builds new knowledge rather than engaging in group-think? This book draws on the author’s perspective from decades of leading intelligence analysts on critical issues, including war in the Middle East, terrorism after 9/11, and nuclear threats. Key Features Practical advice helps leaders of analytic units nurture insight with the understanding that it can be enabled but not manufactured. Discussion of a range of different types of analysis serves leaders conducting research in areas including data analysis, security analysis, geopolitical analysis, threat warning, counterterrorism, and business climate analysis. Practical advice on judging IT tools guides leaders to the correct data science approach for various situations.
Leading Ladies! (Little Golden Book)
by Holly RiceAll thirteen Disney princesses take center stage in this beautifully illustrated Little Golden Book about leadership, empowerment, and community!Learn about what it takes to be a leader from Disney&’s leading ladies, the Disney princesses! See how Mulan teaches young soldiers, Tiana directs junior chefs, Moana guides her mighty island village, and more! With themes of leadership, fun, empowerment, and community, this book is perfect for future leaders ages 2 to 5 who love the Disney princesses!
Leading Pharmaceutical Innovation: Trends And Drivers For Growth In The Pharmaceutical Industry
by Alexander Schuhmacher Oliver Gassmann Max Von Zedtwitz Gerrit ReepmeyerPharmaceutical giants have been doubling their investments in drug development, only to see new drug approvals to remain constant for the past decade. This book investigates and highlights a set of proactive strategies, aimed at generating sustainable competitive advantage for its protagonists based on value-generating business practices. We focus on three sources of pharmaceutical innovation: new management methods in the drug development pipeline, new technologies as enablers for cutting-edge R&D, and new forms of internationalisation, such as outside-in innovation in the early phases of R&D.
Leading Progress: The Professional Institute of the Public Service Canada 1920–2020
by Jason RussellOn February 6, 1920, a small group of public service employees met for the first time to form a professional association. A century later, the Professional Institute of the Public Service Canada (PIPSC) is a bargaining agent representing close to 60,000 public sector workers, whose collective efforts for the public good have touched the lives of every Canadian. Published on the centennial of PIPSC’s founding, Leading Progress is the definitive account of its evolution from then to now—and a rare glimpse into an under-studied corner of North American labour history. Researcher Dr. Jason Russell draws on a rich collection of sources, including archival material and oral history interviews with dozens of current and past PIPSC members. The story that unfolds is a complex one, filled with success and struggle, told with clarity and even-handedness. After decades of demographic and generational shifts, economic booms and busts, and political sea change, PIPSC looks toward its next hundred years with its mission as strong as ever: to advocate for social and economic justice that benefits all Canadians.
Leading Protests in the Digital Age: Youth Activism in Egypt and Syria (Palgrave Studies in Young People and Politics)
by Billur Aslan OzgulThis book explores in detail new protest organisation and mobilisation strategies of young activists in the digital age with the aim to identify the tactics that worked well against those creating high risks in the context of digitally supported protests. Focusing on Egyptian protests as well as peaceful protests in Syria, the book offers rich and unique data as it brings together the experiences and voices of the key figures involved in the protests, both on the ground and online. It challenges perspectives that defined the Arab uprisings as leaderless movements formed through the non-hierarchical communication of digital technologies. The author presents three kinds of leaders that shape the political communication environment in digitally supported protests and highlights the significance of their leadership skills to the movements’ capacities.
Leading Public Design: Discovering Human-Centred Governance
by Christian BasonThis powerful new book provides a clear framework for understanding and learning an emerging management practice, leading public design. Drawing on more than a decade of work on public sector innovation, Christian Bason uses his extensive practical experience and research conducted among public managers in the UK, the US, Australia, Finland and Denmark to explore how public organisations can be redesigned from the outside in, shaping policies and services that are truly experienced as useful and meaningful to citizens, and which leverage all of society’s resources to co-produce better outcomes. Through detailed case studies, the book presents six management practices which leaders in government can use to involve citizens, staff and other stakeholders in innovation processes. It shows how managers can challenge their own assumptions, leverage empathy with citizens, handle divergence, navigate unknown territory, experiment and rehearse future solutions through prototyping, and create more public value. Ultimately, Leading public design provides a pathway to a new and different way of governing public institutions: human-centred governance. As a more relational, networked, interactive and reflective approach to running organisations, this emerging governance model promises a more human yet effective public sector.
Leading Public Sector Innovation 2E: Co-creating for a Better Society
by Christian BasonThe second edition of this significant text has been thoroughly revised to take account of the latest literature, case studies and international developments in the field. Drawing on global research and practical examples, Bason illustrates the key triggers and practices of public sector innovation. Each chapter includes a refined ‘how to do it’ toolkit, and two new chapters have been added, one which discusses the rise of innovation labs in the public sector, and a practical chapter focused on change leadership, to complement the existing chapter on leadership roles. The book will be a valuable resource for researchers and students in public administration, management and policy, as well as managers, project managers and staff in public sector organisations.
Leading Representatives: The Agency of Leaders in the Politics of the U.S. House (Interpreting American Politics)
by Randall StrahanMany studies of Congress hold that congressional leaders are "agents" of their followers, ascertaining what legislators agree on and acting to advance those issues rather than stepping to the forefront to shape national policy or the institution they lead. Randall Strahan has long argued that this approach to understanding leadership is incomplete. Here he demonstrates why and explores the independent contributions leaders make in congressional politics.Leading Representatives is a study that draws on both historical and contemporary cases to show how leaders in the U.S. House have advanced changes inside Congress and in national policy. Exploring the tactics, tenure, and efficacy of the leadership of three of the most colorful and prominent Speakers of the House—Henry Clay, Thomas Reed, and Newt Gingrich—Strahan finds that these men, though separated in time and of differing thought and actions, were all leaders willing to take political risks to advance goals they cared about deeply. As a result, each acted independently of his followers to alter the political landscape. Strahan makes use of a wide range of resources, including the former representatives' papers and correspondence and interviews with Gingrich and his staffers, to demonstrate how these important leaders influenced policy and politics and where they ran aground.In expounding lessons Strahan has gleaned over two decades of studying U.S. legislative politics, Leading Representatives offers a new theoretical framework—the conditional agency perspective—that effectively links contextual perspectives as applied to congressional leadership with those emphasizing characteristics of individual leaders. This engagingly written book will be of interest to political scholars of all stripes as well as readers inclined to learn more about the history and inner workings of the House.
Leading Representatives: The Agency of Leaders in the Politics of the U.S. House (Interpreting American Politics)
by Randall StrahanAn in-depth examination of the role U.S. House leadership plays in shaping America’s national policy and political system.Many studies of Congress hold that congressional leaders are “agents” of their followers, ascertaining what legislators agree on and acting to advance those issues rather than stepping to the forefront to shape national policy or the institution they lead. Randall Strahan argues that this approach to understanding leadership is incomplete. Here he demonstrates why and explores the independent contributions leaders make in congressional politics.Leading Representatives is a study that draws on both historical and contemporary cases to show how U.S. House leaders have advanced changes inside Congress and in national policy. Exploring the tactics, tenure, and efficacy of the leadership of three of the most colorful and prominent Speakers of the House—Henry Clay, Thomas Reed, and Newt Gingrich—Strahan finds that these men, though separated in time and of differing thought and actions, were all leaders willing to take political risks to advance goals they cared about deeply. As a result, each acted independently of his followers to alter the political landscape. Strahan makes use of a wide range of resources, including the former representatives’ papers and correspondence and interviews with Gingrich and his staffers, to demonstrate how these important leaders influenced policy and politics and where they ran aground.In expounding lessons Strahan has gleaned over two decades of studying U.S. legislative politics, Leading Representatives offers a new theoretical framework—the conditional agency perspective—that effectively links contextual perspectives as applied to congressional leadership with those emphasizing characteristics of individual leaders.
Leading School Renewal: A Guide for Educational Ground Breakers
by Steffan Silcox Neil MacNeillLeading School Renewal explores how school principal leadership behaviour impacts on school change endeavours, and in particular pedagogic renewal, which is a form of educational improvement that is primarily concerned with the growing of the knowledge, skills and beliefs of education in a manner that optimises students’ life options. The authors identify attributes of principals who have engaged in school renewal and examine the influences on their leadership behaviours and disposition towards renewing their schools while also acknowledging the influence of site-specific contextual variables. The authors propose that certain leadership behaviours exhibited by school principals are integral with renewing a school’s pedagogic focus. They argue renewal is a preferred form of sustainable educational change because it relates to deep-seated cultural changes in approaches to pedagogy, curriculum and school structures. Whilst also maintaining that leadership is at the heart of school improvement and principal leadership practices which are based on a clear sense of purpose, values and beliefs about learning and teaching can transform a school into a learning organisation. Including a foreword by Professor John Hattie, this book is appropriate for all school leaders and educators who want to learn more about school leadership behaviours and highly effective school change.
Leading Works in Law and Social Justice (Analysing Leading Works in Law)
by Faith Gordon and Daniel NewmanThis book assesses the role of social justice in legal scholarship and its potential future development by focusing upon the ‘leading works’ of the discipline. The rise of socio-legal studies over recent decades has led to a more interdisciplinary approach to the study of law, which prioritises placing law into its wider social context. Recognising the role that culture, economics and politics play in the development of law is important in order to fully understand the position and impact of law in society. Innovative and written in an engaging way, this collection includes leading and emerging scholars from across the world. Each contributor has been invited to select and analyse a ‘leading work’, a publication which has for them shed light on the way that law and social justice are interlinked and has influenced their own understanding, scholarship, advocacy, and, in some instances, activism. The book also includes a specially written foreword and afterword, which critically reflect upon the contributions of the 'leading works' to consider the role that social justice has played in law and legal education and the likely future path for social justice in legal scholarship. This book will be an essential resource for all those working in the areas of social justice, socio-legal studies and legal philosophy. It will be of wider interest to the social sciences more generally.
Leading Works in Public Law (Analysing Leading Works in Law)
by Patrick O’Brien and Ben YongThis book brings together a group of leading scholars working in public law and constitutional theory. It examines accepted leading works of public law while also exploring those that deserve greater attention. Over 13 chapters, a group of leading public law experts each examine one leading work from the UK public law canon. Each chapter critically reflects on the context of a work in public law, taking into account not just the work and its context but also how it shapes and contributes to the broader discipline. The final chapter offers an international overview of the chapters themselves, reflecting critically on the scholarly canon of UK public law from the perspective of American constitutional scholarship. The book will be of interest to scholars and students of constitutional law.
Leading an African Renaissance
by Kathleen Patterson Bruce WinstonThis book looks at the challenges and possibilities facing leadership in Africa today by providing a rich history of the continent, the complexities the continent has experienced, and the great hope and encouragement that remains. It explores what African leadership is and the possible effects it has on leaders, followers, and organizations across the continent. While some maintain that leadership of and within Africa presents too many challenges, this book argues that Africa is ripe with potential and on the verge of an African Renaissance. This book looks beyond socioeconomic factors to explore different perspectives of leadership such as holistic, transformational, and servant leadership, as well as values and ethics. Taking a philosophical and pragmatic approach, this edited collection provides insight from African-born leadership scholars to deliver a first-hand account of the challenges the continent faces. Their unique experiences and immersion in the African world pave the way for a revival of leadership through a lens of history, tradition, economics, societal, and leadership perspectives.
Leading and Managing Indigenous Education in the Postcolonial World (Routledge Research in International and Comparative Education)
by Zane Ma RheaThis book brings together the academic fields of educational leadership, educational administration, strategic change management, and Indigenous education in order to provide a critical, multi-perspective, systems level analysis of the provision of education services to Indigenous people. It draws on a range of theorists across these fields internationally, mobilising social exchange and intelligent complex adaptive systems theories to address the key problematic of intergenerational, educational failure. Ma Rhea establishes the basis for an Indigenous rights approach to the state provision of education to Indigenous peoples that includes recognition of their distinctive economic, linguistic and cultural rights within complex, globalized, postcolonial education systems. The book problematizes the central concept of a partnership between Indigenous people and non-Indigenous school leaders, staff and government policy makers, even as it holds this key concept at its centre. The infantilising of Indigenous communities and Indigenous people can take priority over the education of their children in the modern state; this book offers an argument for a profound rethinking of the leadership and management of Indigenous education. Leading and Managing Indigenous Education in the Postcolonial World will be of value to researchers and postgraduate students focusing on Indigenous education, as well as teachers, education administrators and bureaucrats, sociologists of education, Indigenous education specialists, and those in international and comparative education.
Leading for Change in Early Care and Education: Cultivating Leadership from Within (Early Childhood Education Ser.)
by Anne L. DouglassFeaturing both research findings and practical recommendations, this book presents an innovative framework for nurturing leadership in the care and education of young children. Early educators are often seen as the objects of change, rather than the architects and co-creators of change. Douglass calls for a paradigm shift in thinking that challenges many long-held stereotypes about the early care and education workforce's capacity to lead change. Case studies show how educators use their expertise every day to make a difference in the lives of children and families. These accounts demonstrate concrete strategies for expanding current thinking about who can be leaders for change and for developing more inclusive pathways for leadership. This book has the potential to revolutionize the field with a new model for developing and nurturing innovative, entrepreneurial, and skilled early educator leaders capable of driving transformative change-from classrooms and home-based programs to communities and beyond. Includes a cross-disciplinary examination of leadership, improvement, and innovation, a framework for building ecosystems that supports professional growth and teacher retention, case studies that reveal immense untapped potential from within the early care and education workforce, and a critical look at the current state of leadership and quality improvement in early childhood education.
Leading for Equity: The Pursuit of Excellence in the Montgomery County Public Schools
by David Gergen David A. Thomas Stacey M. Childress Denis P. DoyleLeading for Equity tells the compelling story of the Montgomery County (Maryland) Public Schools and its transformation--in less than a decade--into a system committed to breaking the links between race and class and academic achievement. In chapters organized around six core themes, the authors lay out the essential elements of MCPS's success. They identify key lessons other districts can draw from MCPS's experience and offer a framework for applying them. A dramatic departure from "business as usual," MCPS has won nationwide attention as a compelling model for tackling the achievement and opportunity issues that confront our nation as a whole.
Leading for Equity: The Pursuit of Excellence in the Montgomery County Public Schools
by David A. Thomas Stacey M. Childress Denis P. DoyleLeading for Equity tells the compelling story of the Montgomery County (Maryland) Public Schools and its transformation—in less than a decade—into a system committed to breaking the links between race and class and academic achievement. In chapters organized around six core themes, the authors lay out the essential elements of MCPS&’s success. They identify key lessons other districts can draw from MCPS&’s experience and offer a framework for applying them. A dramatic departure from &“business as usual,&” MCPS has won nationwide attention as a compelling model for tackling the achievement and opportunity issues that confront our nation as a whole.
Leading from Behind: The Reluctant President and the Advisors Who Decide for Him
by Richard MiniterBarack Obama has never been fully vetted—until now. In the New York Times bestselling Leading from Behind, investigative journalist Richard Miniter presents the first book to explore President Obama's abilities as a leader, by unearthing new details of his biggest successes and failures. Based on exclusive interviews and never-before-published material, Leading from Behind investigates the secret world of the West Wing and the combative personalities that shape historic events. Contrary to the White House narrative, which aims to define Obama as a visionary leader, Leading from Behind reveals a president who is indecisive, moody, and often paralyzed by competing political considerations. Many victories—as well as several significant failures—during the Obama presidency are revealed to be the work of strong women, who led when the president did not: then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi; Secretary of State Hillary Clinton; and Valerie Jarrett, his closest adviser and an Obama family confidante, whose unusual degree of influence has been a source of conflict with veteran political insiders.In Leading from Behind, you will learn:· Why Obama's relationship with Israel was poisoned years before he met Israel's prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu· The real reason for Valerie Jarrett's strong hold over both Barack and Michelle Obama· ObamaCare wasn't Obama's idea. It was House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's. And the real reason he danced to her tune.· Obama delayed and canceled the mission to kill Osama bin Laden three times and then committed an intelligence blunder that allowed dozens of high-level members of al Qaeda to escape.· Why Obama destroyed a secret budget deal with House Speaker John Boehner that would have reformed entitlements, slashed spending, and reduced the national debt—without raising taxes· Why Obama is determined to save Attorney General Eric Holder, even though he has mislead and stonewalled Congress about "Operation: Fast and Furious"· Why Obama decided to defy the Tea Party and ditch his plans to end earmarksIn Leading from Behind, Richard Miniter's provocative research offers a dramatic, thoroughly sourced account of President Obama's White House during a time of intense domestic controversy and international turmoil.
Leading from Within: Conscious Social Change and Mindfulness for Social Innovation (The\mit Press Ser.)
by Gretchen Ki SteidleA roadmap for integrating mindfulness into every aspect of social change: how to lead transformation with compassion for the needs and perspectives of all people.Gretchen Steidle knows first-hand the personal transformation that mindfulness practice can bring. But she doesn't believe that transformation stops at personal wellbeing. In Leading from Within, Steidle describes the ways that personal investment in self-awareness shapes leaders who are able to inspire change in others, build stronger relationships, and design innovative and more sustainable solutions. Steidle argues that both personal and societal transformation are essential for a just society, and with this book she offers a roadmap for integrating mindfulness into every aspect of social change. Conventional methods attempt to compel people to change through incentives or punitive measures. Conscious social change calls for leading with a deeper human understanding of change and compassion for the needs and perspectives of all stakeholders.Steidle offers mindfulness practices for individuals and groups, presents the neuroscientific evidence for its benefits, and argues for its relevance to social change. She describes five capacities of conscious social change, devoting a chapter to each. She writes about her own experiences, including her work helping women to found their own grassroots social ventures in post-conflict Africa. She describes the success of a group of rural, uneducated women in Rwanda, for example, who now provide 9,000 villagers with clean water, ending the sexual exploitation of disabled women unable to collect water on their own. Steidle also draws from the work of change agents in the United States to showcase applications of conscious social change to timely issues like immigration, racism, policing, and urban violence. Through personal stories and practical guidance, Steidle delivers both the inspiration and tools of this innovative approach to social transformation.About Global Grassroots: In post-conflict Africa, Global Grassroots equips emerging women leaders, including war survivors, subsistence farmers, and the undereducated, with the tools and resources to create conscious social change. Our core program is our Academy for Conscious Change, a social entrepreneurship and mindfulness-based leadership program that helps vulnerable women design their own non-profit solutions to address priority social issues. In our first decade of operations we have trained over 650 change agents who have designed 150 civil society organizations benefiting over 150,000 people.
Leading from the Center: Why Moderates Make the Best Presidents
by Gil TroyGeorge Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy-most would agree their presidencies were among the most successful in American history. But what made these very different men such effective leaders? According to presidential historian Gil Troy, these presidents succeeded not because of their bold political visions, but because of their moderation. Although many of the presidential hopefuls for 2008 will claim to be moderates, the word cannot conceal a political climate defined by extreme rhetoric and virulent partisanship. In Leading From the Center, Gil Troy argues that this is a distinctly un-American state of affairs. The great presidents of American history have always sought a golden mean-from Washington, who brilliantly mediated between the competing visions of Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton, to Lincoln, who rescued the Union with his principled pragmatism, to the two Roosevelts, who united millions of Americans with their powerful, affirmative, nationalist visions. As America lines up to select a president for the future, Gil Troy astutely reminds us of the finest traditions of presidential leadership from our nation's past.