The elusive phenomenon called “Leadership” is like the elephant in the noted fable about the blind men seeking to describe the elephant that they are touching. Some “blind men” (leadership theorists) declared that leadership is a matter of style or personality traits, other declare that effective leadership is dependent on the setting in which it is being engaged; others that it is based on a set of competencies or behavior patterns. These blind men are all correct—but they are only viewing (touching) part of the elephant. This book is uniquely about the entire elephant –
Leadership is a complex phenomenon. It is not just complicated (with many parts) but also complex (with all of the parts interacting with one another). This book is the first to provide a synthesis of leadership, in which the many interweaving parts are portrayed and the implications of this interweaving are explicitly traced. The Ark of Leadership provides the foundation for any leadership development initiative by outlining multiple perspectives, each with its implications, resulting in a guide on how to foster and develop leadership in many different settings.
Early Reviews:
The Ark of Leadership is hard to encapsulate: the most comprehensive reference and practical approach to leadership development I have seen in all my years of being an IT leader and then coaching and consulting leaders globally. Unlike ambiguous terms and prescriptive ideals about what makes a great leader, it articulates the many considerations that inform a leader’s path, empowering individuals to shape themselves into the leaders they aspire to be – for the context to which they feel most called to contribute.
The five practices of Legacy Leadership weave together key dimensions of leadership development and are cross-referenced with personality and leadership styles, with interpersonal needs and how they apply (most or least effectively) under different organizational conditions.
We follow the narrative journey of lively client cases, navigating through their challenges, with a spectrum of emotions—from frustration and resignation to ambition and possibility.
In both my role as a leader and my practice of leadership development, I consider this book a trusted companion, to be referred to time and again. And I consider it a bonus to also find a much richer understanding here into the evolution of teams, with their pitfalls and enormous potential.
Anne Miller,
Strategic business consultant and global executive coach
As a studious leadership coach for over 35 years, I find this is the best all-around reference guide to leadership development I’ve ever seen. It will live on your desk, not on your shelf! “The Ark of Leadership” is a crisply structured compendium of leadership best practices and approaches – vast territory indeed! But it is concise, engagingly written, cross referenced, and easily accessible for any situation, as we collectively respond to a “whitewater” world.
Karen King
Lead Partner, Vistage WorldWide CEO Peer Organization, NM
The Authors
Making use of more than 120 combined years of coaching, consulting and leadership development in more than 1,000 organizations throughout the world, Bergquist, Sandstrom and Mura provide a comprehensive portrait of leadership as it is engaged in many different countries and in a wide range of organizations and communities.
William Bergquist
An international coach and consultant, professor in the fields of psychology, management and public administration, author of more than 50 books, and president of a global institution (PSP) that provides training, conducts research, and publishes books at the cutting edge of professional psychology. Dr. Bergquist consults on and writes about personal, group, organizational and societal transitions and transformations. In recent years, Bergquist has focused on the processes of organizational coaching and the field of health psychology. He is coauthor with Agnes Mura of coachbook and consultbook, co-founder of the Library of Professional Coaching and founder of the Library of Professional Psychology.
Jeannine Sandstrom
With a doctorate in Human Resource Development, Jeannine Sandstrom launched a career dedicated to practical and research-based developmental leadership approaches. She led three national management development consultancies prior to founding Coachworks, a firm that focuses on strategic leadership, leader-team development and the education of professional coaching and consultant. Her articles have been featured in The Wall Street Journal and Fortune Magazine. A Master Certified Coach, teacher and mentor to generations of professional coaches, Dr. Sandstrom has been generously and generatively active on numerous national professional and industry organization.
Agnes Mura
A pioneering practitioner in leadership development at a global level for over 20 years, Agnes Mura serves as a Master Certified Coach. She has coached, facilitated and consulted on organizational behavior in six languages, in the US, Europe and Latina America, while helping build professional coaching associations that have shaped the profession. Agnes’ leadership was forged in her escape from Romania, an academic career in Germany, diplomacy work for the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics and a senior career in international banking. She served from 2013 to 2020 as an Independent Director of a global publicly traded company. With Dr. Bergquist, she has co-authored multiple books.
