Leadership Under Construction

Every construction project requires both contractors (concepts) and sub-contractors (applications). Leadership Under Construction assumes the role of contractor by laying a foundation that aspiring leaders can build upon throughout a life-long journey of leadership self-development. It is sure to become a self-development tool that supports students and teachers in building a conceptual foundation for leadership. The book is intended to be a teacher facilitation workbook where ownership is transferred from author to teacher and from teacher to student. The material is a catalyst of thought, knowledge, and understanding where teachers assist students in applying the principles and concepts of leadership and bring continuous attention to how they are connected. Authors Young and Hester encourage student thought in the following three fundamental concepts: Strategic thinking and performance, Continuous improvement and measurement, Relationship building and cultures These concepts best picture how the authors view the global requirements of a solid leadership foundation. When discussing "leadership", it has become increasingly difficult to confine the concepts and their interconnections to a few words or phrases. As a result, it is easy to understand how there would be disagreement and misunderstanding about what a leader is and does and exactly how a person becomes a leader. In this book, the authors hope to gain agreement on these issues and promote student unity on the leadership concepts that are worth following. They contend that this objective can be accomplished by linking thought with purpose, purpose with performance, and performance with relationships.

H. Darrell Young is chairman of Transformance Concepts, a consulting company to healthcare information companies. He is former president and CEO of H.B.O. & Company of Georgia, and founder and CEO of HIE, both public healthcare information systems companies. Joseph P. Hester, a former college professor and public school administrator, has focused his career on developing creative and critical thinking skills in his students. Now retired, Hester continues to write books in education, religion, philosophy, and leadership, including Talking It Over: A Workbook for Character Development (ScarecrowEducation, 2002).