Leaders actions can have consequences opposite to those they intended. These unintentional results are difficult to detect, understand, and change. Consequently, leaders' actions tend to persist resulting in further unexpected outcomes and so on. This can create a vicious cycle of leadership failure. This book describes seven leadership paradoxes that are inherent in running today's complex and changing organizations. They represent the fundamental issues that modern leaders must recognize and deal with effectively to succeed. The Protean Leader: Leading in Uncertain Times: The Power of...

Leaders' actions can have consequences opposite to those they intend. These unintentional results are difficult to detect, understand, and change. Consequently, leaders' actions tend to persist resulting in further unexpected outcomes. This can create a vicious cycle of leadership failure. With all their best efforts, strategic, financial, scenario, human capital and operational plans in place, they fail. Unaware, they self-sabotage and sabotage others; again, the result is unintended consequences, no matter how hard they try.

This book gives a glimpse into why and how this...