Tales of Leadership is a collection of case studies created for anyone in a leadership position who is interested in genuine self-reflection and self-improvement that will lead to more positive and effective relationships and productivity within businesses and organizations of all types. These case studies in behavior may sound almost too bad or too good to be true, but they are all based on real people and actual events.

Some will read these vignettes and be startled by the egregious behavior exhibited by some of the main characters. Others will read them and deludedly only see themselves in the more positive examples in this series, such as The Architect or The Empowerer.

Very few will readily relate with and admit to The Serpent or The Bully within. …There is a lesson for those of us who tolerate or ignore problematic behavior in senior leaders or understate their negative impact on the organization until it’s too late.

The stories in this series are meant to stimulate conversations around self and organizational improvement and will be most beneficial for those who want to analyze the success or failure of processes and checks and balances that produce leadership behaviors and hold leaders accountable. At the end of each book, there are a series of questions designed to facilitate thoughtful conversation.

However, before you critique and analyze others within your organization, always first look within and ask what traits you see within yourself and, more importantly, what traits others see within you. …Do you have a serpent in your midst at work?DISCOVER WHAT DRIVES THEM AND HOW YOU CAN SPOT THE TELLTALESIGNS TO PROTECT YOUR OWN ORGANIZATION BEFORE THE DAMAGE IS DONE.

Sam Ael was seen as a safe pair of hands in the corporate world. He was an established VP who had managed multi-million-dollar departments with 300+ staff.

Senior management liked him because he never made waves and always delivered his projects on time and within budget. When Sam was offered a new role at Eden, Inc.

he was excited. The company’s mission was to “take care of employees so they can take care of the world.

” Employees seemed to work together in a spirit of true collaboration. Sam was intrigued, but unconvinced.

Everything in his experience taught him that the only way to get results was through constant management and supervision. It was also necessary to create a certain amount of fear, uncertainty and internal division to ensure staff didn’t get too many new ideas or start challenging management.

At Eden, Inc. , Sam reported to Micha, a truly inspirational leader.

Sam thought they made a good team, with Sam supplying the managerial support to Micha’s potentially unrealistic blue-sky thinking. But then Micha started ignoring Sam’s advice.

Sam found it essential to undermine Micha’s favorites and try to block some of his riskier initiatives to keep the department in line and on track. He planted seeds of doubt with Micha and his colleagues about who their true friends and supporters really were.

When Micha was promoted, Sam stepped into his role. And then things began to go seriously downhill….