Third Generation Leadership and the Locus of Control: Knowledge, Change and Neuroscience

There have been two critical leadership approaches - First Generation Leadership (command and control) that was the dominant model until the 1940s and Second Generation Leadership (compliance coupled with rewards and punishments) that is still dominant today. Since the coming of the information age this approach has come under increasing threat and it is today being rejected by 'Generation Y ', threatening the longevity of traditional organisations. In 'third Generation Leadership and the Locus of Control', Douglas Long acknowledges that we need a new leadership approach - one that elicits engagement and commitment together with enhanced personal, group, and organisational accountability. This has been defined as Third Generation Leadership. At the core of this approach lies the issue of where we all centre our brain's locus of control and how this impacts on every aspect of our lives, including our understanding of and approach to leadership issues. Presented in a very conversational style, with examples drawn from everyday situations, but underpinned by relevant research, this book is about understanding and applying aspects of modern neuroscience that are critical for tomorrow's world. It provides a framework for addressing problems in a new way through the insights now available into how the way we use our brains affects values, worldviews and behaviours. The author introduces the concept of 'red zone - blue zone' to explain the differences between a brain controlled by the stem-limbic areas of the brain (red zone) and the limbic-cortical cortex areas of the brain (blue zone). This becomes a short hand for describing and applying knowledge gleaned from research in neuroscience. The objective is particularly to encourage practitioners in leadership and management roles to better achieve desired outcomes through becoming acquainted with exactly what goes on in the stem-limbic and limbic-neo cortical cortex areas of their brain. Anyone seriously grappling with the leadership that is required to deal with Generation Y people in a networked and mobile age will welcome this introduction to the world of third generation leadership.