Inspiring Leadership: Staying Afloat in Turbulent Times

"...successfully moves the concept of enhancing performance from round-the-world yacht racing into the business world? Sir Chay Blyth, CBE BEM ?This is a powerful book with simple and transparent lessons.? From the Foreword by Richard Olver, Managing Director, BP To answer the how, what, when and why questions of effective leadership, the authors of this groundbreaking book looked to the world of competitive sport. The BT Global Challenge 2000/1 Round the World Yacht Race provided a unique case study and an excellent parallel with today?s business environment. The race was highly competitive, the environment hostile, at times dangerous, and conditions were uncertain. Faced with these pressures, and racing identical yachts, the winners were the skippers who led their teams most effectively to achieve and sustain high performance. The authors of this groundbreaking book were given unrivalled ?behind the scenes? access to The BT Global Challenge 2000/1 Round the World Yacht Race and conducted over 500 interviews with the crew and skippers from each of the 12 teams before, throughout and after the race. The authors identify the key attributes and skills which make effective leaders stand out from the crowd and demonstrate how emotional intelligence can be developed to impact on performance. Combining these new findings with existing theories of management and leadership, emotional intelligence, motivation and team dynamics this book provides managers and MBA students with an in-depth understanding of what makes a high performing leader and demonstrates how to sustain competitive advantage in business.