Acknowledgements -- About the author -- Understanding leadership and its context -- The operating context, strategy execution, and capability requirement -- Propositions about organizations, leadership, people and work -- The role of a leader : creating the ace conditions for success -- Understanding leadership ability -- Communication : the lubricant of the leadership engine -- Leading transformation and change -- Developing the ace conditions for success -- Introduction to developing ability -- Understanding people, behaviour, and emotional intelligence -- Interpersonal communication : the currency of leadership -- Coaching -- Influence, persuasion, and conflict resolution -- Developing the ace conditions for success -- The leadership work of creating clarity and engagement : problems, decisions, and plans -- People, personality, and decision making -- Decision making : the appreciation -- Planning and briefing -- Cascade of planning and briefing -- The intelligence system to inform decision making -- Directing, coordinating, controlling and evaluating progress -- Introduction to shaping the environment -- Teams and groups -- The essential intangibles : morale, loyalty, and trust -- The role of organization and structure in leadership -- Organization ethos and culture : built to adapt and to last -- Conclusion -- Glossary.