When Opposites Dance: Balancing the Manager and Leader Within

by Roy G. Williams and Terrence E. Deal

Captures the essence of what it takes to develop new skills for success today: a manager-leader who can balance the coolness of analysis and the warmth of the heart. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0891061797
• ISBN13: 9780891061793
• Release Date: June 2003
• Publisher: Nicholas Brealey Publishing
• Length: 232 Pages
• Weight: 1.25 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.3" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Balance managerial tendencies against the needs of workers

Expert educators Roy Williams (Adjunct Professor of Leadership, Vanderbilt's Peabody College) and Terrence Deal (University of Southern California) combine their considerable expertise and experience in When Opposites Dance: Balancing The Manager And The Leader Within, to knowledgeably examine the four natural styles of managing and leading (rational, political, humanist, and culturist) and explore how to balance managerial tendencies against the needs of workers within the context of current and volatile situations for optimum productivity. An exceptionally well written, personality examining, and goal-oriented self-help aid, When Opposites Dance is very highly recommended reading for corporate managers and executive policy makers.

Military Application

The path to the publisher's door is crowded with authors anxious to reveal "the way" to develop strong leaders and effective managers. Most offer guides that are unreadable beyond page 50 because they reveal nothing more than a reshuffled list of the habits of successful CEO's or a new George Patton story. A generic title could be: "I Am Publishing This So I Won't Perish".Professors Williams and Deal have broken out of the pack with "When Opposites Dance". What is new is the combination of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and Deal's "Cognitive Frames" - with a bit of Jungian psychology - to explain the importance of a manager achieving a balance between the Adam and Eve in his life. The clear logic of the premise will allow the most combat-hardened military leader to begin to look for his feminine side without cringing.What really sets this book apart is its readability. The use of twelve well-known Americans as illustrative examples (college freshmen will recognize most of the names) will hold the reader's interest. If you are seeking to develop your own management/leadership style, and particularly if you are training others in the art, buy this book.Military Leadership Instructor

When Opposites Dance

When I pick up a book I want relevance, clarity, and inspiration. I got all three in this book and that is why I just ordered 10 more copies for my friends! It is a fabulous read for anyone who takes seriously their journey with self awareness and leadership. The personalites anaylzed are well-known and interesting, the chapters are concise and well-organized and the take-home value is immediate and longlasting. I would recommend it for anyone who desires a practical mechanism for personal growth and leadership maturation. I intend to use it with all the staff members of the church where I am a pastor. Matter of fact, it would be a great resource for leadership teams to use in team-building opportunities.Dan Francis

Know Who You Are and Who You Are Dancing With

I found the book superb! It gives a logical spectrum to evaluate yourself and others you deal with. It helps to organize needed communication skills to effectively interact with people of different mindsets. I graded a strong politicist and could see how I need to understand different styles and incorporate them rather than confront in a win/lose scenerio. The book also clearly shows the need for both leaders and managers and that talented, aware people can move between the two. While a book focused on life-approach styles, it subtlely suggests the needed balance in peoples lives between inward(spiritual) and outward(action)components. Those that weren't balanced accomplished goals but significant problems came their way that diminished their effectiveness. The book is useful in business, government, education, the church and anywhere social interaction is required for success.

When Opposites Dance

In "When Opposites Dance", Roy Williams introduces a unique Management-Leadership model. This model integrates the concepts of a personality continuum together with the internal struggle between masculine and feminine. Mr. Williams uses 12 mini-biographies (4 presidents, 4 airline CEO's, and 4 women) to give very clear and interesting examples of the Rationalist, Politicist, Humanist and Culturalist. The model along with the biographies are presented in a consistent, logical format that is easy follow and understand. The central point of the book and the model is awareness. Mr. Williams suggests that the key to success on many levels is self-awareness. What are our strengths and weaknesses? Who dominates, our internal Adam or Eve? Once we begin to answer these questions we can try to understand those around us to see how we might complement or conflict with each other. I highly recommend "When Opposites Dance". Not only to those trying to succeed in business, but to everyone who is trying to succeed in all their relationships (business and personal).