Disruptive Leadership

Disruptive leadership encourages bold, calculated risk-taking behavior and the exploration of new ideas that redefine industry standards and drive innovation and growth.

Unlike current approaches to leadership, this book advances important principles of adaptive capacity essential for executing a digital transformation strategy that prioritizes collective intelligence, shared ownership, and creative problem-solving. At times of accelerated disruption, leaders must move beyond linear approaches blending conventional leadership types with new approaches that encompass diverse qualities like decisiveness and empathy, courage and honesty. This book provides a rich framework, offering readers a deeper lens to understanding how and why disruptive and innovative leadership is needed to navigate unpredictability, stimulate resilience, and drive purposeful innovation. The conceptual framework of this book emphasizes the evaluation of disruptive leadership within the context of – Interfunctional Collaboration, Digital Integration, Value Creation, and Continuous Innovation.

Together, the parts and chapters in this book demonstrate the transformative nature of disruptive leadership. Hence, the book represents a holistic view of how and why disruptive leaders shift from a traditional leadership role to one that is visionary, agile, and empowering.

Dr. Alan Belasen has more than three decades of experience enhancing executive capabilities across business, government, and healthcare sectors. His work centers on leadership effectiveness, strategic communication, trustworthy governance, and improving performance within complex organizational systems. As co‑founder and long‑time chair of the MBA Program at SUNY Empire University, Dr. Belasen spent nearly 12 years leading the design and expansion of high‑impact graduate programs. He played a pivotal role in launching and shaping the MBA in Management, Global Leadership, Healthcare Leadership, and the innovative MBA Pathway for Veterans, efforts that significantly broadened the university’s reach and strengthened its reputation for practitioner‑focused management education.

Across his career, Dr. Belasen has developed and delivered leadership programs that improve organizational performance, enhance resilience, and strengthen strategic decision‑making. He has authored more than 150 articles and book chapters published in leading journals in areas such as strategic communication, healthcare quality, leadership development, gender in management, and organizational behavior, contributing broadly to both scholarship and practice.

His recent books - Transparent Leadership (2025), Clutch Leadership (2025), Brilliant Leadership (2024), Transforming Leadership, Improving the Patient Experience (2024), and Resilience in Healthcare Leadership (2022) - offer practical, evidence‑based frameworks for leaders operating in high‑stakes, rapidly changing environments. Dr. Belasen’s contributions have been recognized through multiple Outstanding Reviewer Awards from the Academy of Management, the John L. Green Award for Excellence in Business Education (IACBE), and the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Scholarship and Creative Activities.