Meet Jeffrey Sugerman, Mark Scullard and Emma Wilhelm, co-authors of
The 8 Dimensions of Leadership:
DiSC Strategies for Becoming a Better Leader
Nobody is really prepared to be a leader, In fact, many leaders never even planned on becoming one--it was just the next logical step in their careers. That's why there are so many books on leadership. So why one more? Because too many books take too narrow a view. They tell you to focus on your particular strength, which is only a part of the story. What you really need is a broad perspective on all behaviors needed to be an effective leader.
The 8 Dimensions of Leadership offers both. Based on the recently developed third generation of the DiSC personality assessment--one of the oldest, most widely used, and most scientifically validated tools available--it identifies eight individual leadership styles. By taking a basic version of this assessment online, you can find out if you are a Pioneering, Energizing, Affirming, Inclusive, Humble, Deliberate, Resolute, or Commanding leader. The authors help you understand the psychological drivers, motivations, and "blind spot" characteristic of each style.
But no one style will take you all the way. A Humble leader may have a hard time making tough decisions. A Commanding leader may run roughshod over people who could be allies. After another assessment to point out the specific areas you need to work on, the authors detail the lessons all leaders can learn from each style. You may always be essentially a Deliberate leader, but to succeed you need to know when you should be a little more Pioneering. This book shows you how to develop a truly multidimensional leadership approach.
After reading The 8 Dimensions of Leadership, you will be able to craft your own approach to leadership--exploring the strengths and challenges of all eight leadership styles--to become the leader you aspire to be.
Who are the authors?
Jeffrey Sugerman, Ph.D., is the president and CEO of Inscape Publishing, a leading provider of training materials for the corporate market. Sugerman brings 20 years of experience in senior management, marketing and business development in the technology, training, and publishing industries. He joined Inscape Publishing in 2001 to lead its transformation into an independent company afte Carlson Companies sold the Carlson learning Company to Riverside Company, a New York-based private equity firm.
Sugerman received his Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Washington University in St. Louis and his B.A. from Northwestern University. He was an Assistant Professor at Fairleigh Dickinson University, before joining Sirota and Alper Associates, a consulting firm that provided organizational development consulting services to Fortune 500 companies. Sugerman has worked in corporate publishing since 1988, when he joined a subsidiary of Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. From 1992 to 1999, he served in various senior executive roles in the Assessments Division of National Computer Systems, now a subsidiary of Pearson PLC.
Sugerman is past-President of ISA, the trade association for training and development industry suppliers. He is the 2009 recipient of ISA's prestigious Broomfield Award.
Sugerman currently serves as a Board member for Coffee House Press, an independent, not-for profit literary press based in Minneapolis. He serves on the Advisory Boards of Experiencepoint, a creator of computer-based leadership development simulation systems, and Management Concepts, a leading provider of training services to the federal government. Jeffrey's non-work interests include playing upright bass in a jazz quartet and practicing yoga.
Mark Scullard, Ph.D., is the director of research at Inscape Publishing. At Inscape, Scullard is responsible for product development, research strategies, and data analysis. He has over a decade of research and data analysis experience developing psychological evaluation tools and methods.
Scullard has provided industrial organizational research and development consultation to a variety of organizations within the Twin Cities area, most recently at Martin-McAllister Consulting Psychologists. Project areas have included a range of topics, such as development of client satisfaction measures, the design of personnel selection instruments and structured interview protocols, the assessment of employee attitudes and employee performance, the evaluation of personnel selection procedures, validation of psychological instruments, and the development of return on investment calculators. His research has been published in both academic and trade journals. He has also given research presentations at national and local professional conferences.
He has also provided personal and group psychotherapy in a variety of settings. His experience as a therapist includes conducting mental health workshops and seminars. Although he no longer counsels, he is still very passionate about helping people to understand the cognitive and emotional patterns behind their behavior, particularly in the area of leadership.
Scullard received his doctorate in psychology from the University of Minnesota, with a supporting program in statistics. He has also been an instructor at the University of Minnesota. At the university, Scullard's teaching curriculum has included general psychology, experimental psychology, and research methods and statistics.
Emma Wilhelm, M.S., joined Inscape Publishing in 2008 as New Product Developer. Wilhelm has a passion for product development and human development, so her current role provides the perfect opportunity to help develop innovative corporate training and development products that, in turn, help develop people. Her publishing career has included work at several niche publishers, with responsibilities ranging from research, to content development, to acquisitions.
Wilhelm left publishing for several years to pursue a career in collegiate coaching and teaching. She enjoyed her time on small college campuses teaching undergraduate courses, leading cross country and track and field teams, and advising student leadership groups through NCAA and YMCA programs. She coached at St. Olaf College, Smith College, and North Park University, and she served as an instructor at Smith College, North Park University, and the University of Minnesota.
Wilhelm holds a B.A. in English Literature with a Concentration in Media Studies from Carleton College, as well as a M.S. in Exercise and Sport Studies from Smith College. In her graduate studies, she was particularly interested in the sociology of sport and wrote a qualitative thesis, "Competitive Weightlifting for High School Females as a Platform for Identity Formation." When she isn't developing new products for Inscape, she enjoys motherhood, fitness, and writing creative nonfiction.
Listen in as Susan Stamm interviews
Sugerman, Scullard and Wilhelm on Bookends