We need effective leaders today more than ever before. In fact, the root cause behind failed businesses and failed governments is usually either a lack of leadership or the presence of destructive or ineffective leadership.

In this collection of dissertations on topics relevant to effective leadership, you'll be challenged to think. Along the way, you'll learn how to:

• Discover and clarify your mission, vision, and values
• Handle difficult people and situations
• Improve the performance of your people and teams
• Communicate with coworkers, customers, and colleagues.
• You'll also learn about the leadership continuum and its gradations and how to find the action, behavior, or decision that balances benefits with costs as best as possible.

Balance is getting something just right. However, since the world is always changing, the sweet spot is always changing, too. What was in balance yesterday may not be today. Like riding a bicycle, we constantly need to monitor our positions and make adjustments to compensate for curves and bumps in the road. Make sound decisions, build better teams, communicate more effectively, be appropriately flexible, and be appropriately strong, with the lessons, examples, and insights in Balanced Leadership.