Let's face it – it's not easy to find a leadership book that translates theory into practical application. Simply understanding the basic principles of leadership is not adequate preparation for actually leading in today's workplace.

To that end, Leadership Theory in Action: Application and Practice in the Modern Workplace is not an ordinary textbook. In fact, it is more of a user's manual for distilling abstract theoretical concepts down to tangible, usable strategies and perspectives for being an effective leader in the modern organization.

Case in point: when teaching a course on theory, an educator's risk is someone in the room thinking to themself, 'What a joke of a class. There is nothing here that I'll ever use in real life.' You've been there before – an instructor going on and on about hard-to-digest theoretical concepts that are fuzzy at best when it comes to knowing how to put them into practice. Inevitably, the end result is low excitement about the course, limited transfer of learning into application, and downright boredom. And who wants that?

The good news is that the authors of Leadership Theory in Action have been there too. Back in the day when we were studying leadership theory in school, acing the class was all about memorization with almost zero focus on application. Sure enough, when we took our first management jobs, we each had a blinding flash of the obvious: what we had learned about leadership theory did not match the everyday challenges that actual leaders face. 

Rest assured we have worked hard to ensure a better experience and outcome for you as a reader of this book. Whether you already have experience in leading people or are preparing for a future leadership role, we are committed to ensuring that by reading this book you will be well equipped to apply any of the leadership theories we cover both at work and in other aspects of your life.