Leadership in Unknown Waters
Liminality as Threshold to the Future
by Lisa Withrow
Paperback (No longer our product)
(October 2020)
ISBN: 9780718895518
6.1 x 9.17 inches
Price: $37.00
On back order
An imaginative exploration of how an understanding of liminality aids those in leadership roles in adapting creatively to change.
Leadership in Unknown Waters invites organizational leaders and their teams to engage powerful questions amidst ambiguity and uncertainty as they move from the-way-things-were to an emerging future. This liminality, a threshold in space and time allowing for transition from something old to something new, is fraught with both difficulty and opportunity. Leaders, teams, and individuals who navigate this space skillfully will land in surprisingly dynamic places, encountering stories, metaphors, and inspiration for traversing the threshold not only competently, but with curiosity and confidence. In this way, futures are created that are not possible with fear-based planning or “quick fixes”. Withrow’s method intersects the human imagination through a visual, living metaphor (water), with attention to space (liminality, or transitional space), and focus on role (leadership development) for powerful engagement with what organizational learning theorists call “the emerging future”. Here, the theoretical meets the practical and research informs the “how to” and “why”. Diving into unknown waters with tools and wisdom can create a better future for all who face change, whether within corporations, not-for-profit organizations, faith communities, family systems, or interpersonal relationships.
Lisa Withrow is the Dewire Professor of Christian Leadership at the Methodist theological School in Ohio, and has published work on Church Leadership, pastoral care and women’s studies.
- By (author) Lisa Withrow
"Lisa Withrow has created an authoritative addition to the growing canon of liminality studies. Leadership in Unknown Waters is unrivalled in its unique combination of the two disciplines of liminality and leadership. Withrow leads the reader to some of the great thresholds of life, suggesting a way forward through the guiding symbol of water. Refreshing in its avoidance of checklists and quick fixes, this landmark contribution will help form the next generation of transformative leaders."Dr Timothy Carson, author of Liminal Reality and Transformational Power, editor of Neither Here nor There: The Many Voices of Liminality"Lisa Withrow's model for transformation calls us to value the disruptions and in-between spaces where possibility and creativity arise from chaos. Grounded in decades of research, teaching, practice, and personal experience, she brings wisdom for moving through the wilderness. Refreshingly human-centred, open-ended, trusting, and authentic; Withrow doesn't just give directions, she teaches us to navigate."Mark Miller-McLemore, Associate Professor of the Practice of Ministry, Vanderbilt Divinity School"The uncertainty and disruption of liminal space can paralyze individuals and organizations. Leadership in Unknown Waters is required reading for leaders wishing to move beyond 'checklists' aimed at immediate survival. Instead, Withrow offers theoretically-grounded, unique practices that co-create transformative futures for groups, teams, organizations, and stakeholders in the twenty-first century."Rev. Dr. Sandra Selby, Senior Community Chaplain, Tough Work Outreach
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