surf's up: leadership perspectives

IEEE ENGINEERING MANAGEMENT REVIEW, VOL. 34, NO. 2, SECOND QUARTER 2006 83

Surf’s Up: Leadership Perspectives—LINDA KOSMIN LANGFORD

EMR Contributing Editor

IEEE DOI 10.1109/EMR.2006.875001

MANAGERS, supervisors,and team collaborators in bothcommercial and nonprofit orga-nizations face similar leadershipchallenges and opportunities.Those who lack some of theintrinsic attributes needed toencourage human potential,inspire and motivate associates,and maximize quality processimprovements, can look to theInternet for guidance. The Webresources described below helpspur optimism by sharing in-sights about effective leadershipbehaviors and strategic practicesthat have been shown to producepositive impacts on workforce sat-isfaction levels and achievements.

Advancing Womenin Leadershiphttp://www.advancing-women.com/awl/awl.htmlWeb visitors have access to thefull_text of the refereed contentsof this scholarly online journalbeginning with the first issuein 1997. This electronic serialpublication is international inscope and features articles,book evaluations, and literaturereviews. Coverage includesqualitative and quantitativedescriptions of research findings,as well as thoughtful essaysfrom current and historical

perspectives. Good resourcefor learning about prospectsfor social justice in the workplace, ways to eliminategender discrimination, andopportunities for successin carrying out leadershipresponsibilities. Manuscriptsare solicited from both maleand female readers.

Badbossology.comhttp://www.Badbossology.comThis open access site confrontsthe behavioral aspects ofleadership. It strives to presentbalanced perspectives and copingstrategies when offering insightfuladvice. Material is geared towardtackling and resolving issues thatoften stymie harmony betweenemployees and supervisors.Articles, books, discussionforum postings, annotated newsheadlines with global links tofull_text, and survey resultsare among the many usefulresources referenced. Focus ison examining issues relatedto scare tactics, managerialineptitude, bigotry, unauthorizeddisclosures, slipshod laborpractices, and compensationinequalities. Additional contentsuggestions are invited fromviewers.

84 IEEE ENGINEERING MANAGEMENT REVIEW, VOL. 34, NO. 2, SECOND QUARTER 2006

Collaborative Leadership:Success Stories inTransportation Mega Projectshttp://www.fhwa.dot.gov/programadmin/mega/collaborative.cfmLessons learned from this detailedreport about collaborativeleadership theory and techniquesare applicable to the design,development and implementationof mega projects (i.e.,$ billionplus) in other engineeringdisciplines. Site visitors haveaccess to seventy_four pagesof suggestions and analyses.Included are definitions, aswell as recommendations forproject launch strategies,leadership cooperationengagers, partnership enduranceenablers, and communicationfacilitators. The Referencescited in the bibliographylink to full_text publicationslocated elsewhere on the Web.

Drucker Archiveshttp://www.druckerarchives.netThe Peter F. Drucker Institute(formerly the Peter F. DruckerResearch Library and Archive)is located on the ClaremontGraduate University campusin southern California. Itserves as an intellectualrepository proudly preservingthe writings, teachings, andprofound knowledge ofthis management scholar.Bibliographic information about

physical holdings in the archivalcollection can be searched at thisWebsite. While some full_textarticles can also be read online,the site presently serves primarilyas a catalog describing the legacyof an outstanding, productivecareer that spanned sixty years.Access to the physical archivesis by appointment. Contactinformation is provided online.

Employers’ Organisationfor Local Government (EO)http://www.lg_employers.gov.uk/about/index.htmlLeadership is but one of thekey competencies addressedhere. Other topics covered arecompensation, safety in the workplace, skills development, hiringpractices, staff retention, andservice delivery options. Sitevisitors can read the full_textof ten executive leadership casestudies where situations arepresented and then followedby descriptions of processdrivers, outcomes, and futureplans. Leadership developmentthemes are described andsuccession planning explained.

Leader Valueshttp://www.leader_values.comHere we find an informativeportal covering the many aspectsof leadership development andpractice. Coverage is global.Site visitors are welcome toaccess hundreds of full_text

articles, book reviews, andrelevant quotations that helpbolster individual endeavors,self_assessments, and groupdynamics. Added value featuresinclude access to newslettercontents, blog postings, researchtools, and a glossary. Also, thereare useful links to relevant sitesfound elsewhere on the Webthat examine leadership traitsand provide additional guidance.

Leadership@RGU_Link Libraryhttp://www.rgu.ac.uk/hr/leadership/page.cfm?pge=9218The Robert Gordon Universityoffers nineteen Web pages oflinks to hundreds of full_textarticles about leadership. Theseare arranged under 34 categoriesfrom accountability to visionwith emphasis on leadershipdevelopment, innovation,problems, theory and practice.Clicking on these hypertextthreads speeds access toinformative material publishedelsewhere on the Web. Forexample, there are connectionsto interviews with experts JohnP. Kotter, Peter F. Drucker,and Max De Pree. Excellentresource for reading about theimpact of leadership styles onchange management, decisionmaking, team efforts, projectmanagement, and successionrisks.