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At the best of times leadership is messy. It’s about a way of being, not doing. It's nebulous, nuanced and elusive, as much to do with feeling and energy as thinking and planning. It's contextual and responsive and can never be one size fits all. When great leaders are in balance, they are both ferocious about the moral purpose and courageously making a stand, while warmly building strong and enduring relationships. This seeming paradox comes together in what Tracey Ezard calls Ferocious Warmth. Leading within the tension of both epitomises the daily dance of leadership.
When you meet a Ferocious Warmth leader, you know it. It is art and science in partnership, a constant flow between the head and the heart and an essential skill for leaders who seek to inspire and transform education.
In this book, Tracey Ezard unpacks the elements of the Ferocious Warmth leader. Through stories, discussions with leaders in the field and research, she uncovers a new approach that will help education leaders everywhere find the sweet spot of leading results and relationships, strategy and culture, task and people.
Ferocious Warmth is firmly and unashamedly a book to celebrate the humanness seen in educational leaders everywhere, to pose questions and seek to answer them. It is a crucial read for those seeking to elevate their leadership.
"Who would have thought you could be, or even needed to be, both Ferocious and Warm at the same time to be a transformative leader? Tracey's evocative descriptions of Ferociously Warm leaders will prompt us to reflect on our own leadership, and grapple with the paradox to become transformative in our actions."
- Sue Bell, President, VASSP (Victorian Association of State Secondary Principals) Australia
"Through her powerful use of story, Tracey illustrates how leaders in a wide variety of contexts have used the principles and skills of Ferocious Warmth leadership to better the lives of young people and adults working in ever increasingly complex circumstances. In an era where people are seeking not only direction but connectedness and purpose, this book is not only relevant but timely. The world needs more Ferocious Warmth!"
- Piet Langstraat, Former Superintendent of Red Deer, Alberta and Victoria, British Columbia
"Ferocious Warmth takes leadership from a theory or capability and gives it life. Ferocious warmth walks the line between conviction and curiosity, between courage and compassion, a line that defines the leadership experience."
- Matt Church, Author 'Rise Up; an evolution in leadership', Founder Thought Leaders
"Ferocious warmth leadership is relevant and needed now more than ever. This book not only inspires but successfully pokes and prods our thinking within a supportive framework, just like a ferocious warm leader would do. I 'dob in' Tracey for writing an uplifting and truly inspiring book. Priority reading for 2021!"
- Coralee Pratt, President, ACEL Victoria (Australian Council for Educational Leaders)
"Ferocious Warmth is an easy (very worthwhile) read and can be picked up and re visited a number of times, each occasion finding a new gem, an alternative perspective or just reminders of a very common sense approach to leadership. So many examples of real leadership in practice, through challenges and opportunities."
- Sandy Cartwright, Principal, Alawa Primary School Darwin, NT
"Tracey Ezard takes us on an important journey through the key elements of transformational leadership, inviting the reader to explore the necessary expansive (open minded and curious), connected (deep consciousness of self and the other), courageous (conviction and bravery) and authentic (keeping it real) character dispositions for ways to learn, live and work."
- Adriano Di Prato, Founding Partner, a School for Tomorrow
