Meredith Belbin, best known for his work on teams, now considers the way in which continuing evolution has produced distinct patterns of behaviour for men and women.

    Examination of the key stages in the history of homo sapiens reveals
    * how very early human society was regulated not through power but by organic balance, so allowing women to play a vital role in the community
    * why women lost their hold over men as more populous and structured societies became dominated by aggressive warriors seeking territorial expansion
    * how natural selection within competing empires favoured the survival of able professionals and compliant slaves, so diversifying the behavioural roles to which humans were genetically disposed
    * how, in the present era, power has lost its biological utility as human evolution slowed, and technological evolution favoured the emancipation of women with its premium on communication skills
    *how in this changing scenario, as women have recovered their status and influence, social progress has brought in its wake a new set of cross-gender problems.
    Penetrating, original and provocative this book offers suggestions on how men and women can come to terms with their genetic heritage, so restoring much needed balance to business organizations and to the community at large.

    Preface; Introduction; The age of respect - In the beginning; Echoes of the past; The great migration; The age of power - The fall of Eve; Advance the conqueror; Problems for rulers; The inefficiencies of power; The age of accommodation - A change of focus; The resurrection of Eve; The genetic legacy; Gender relationships; A changing culture; A question of leadership; Two modes of management; Appendices - Commentary on cartoon themes; Icons of the prime genetic archetypes; From equality to mutuality.

    Biography

    R. Meredith Belbin

    'I enjoyed its broad sweep, stimulating ideas and nuggets of prehistory information'
    John Adair

    'The 21st century need for radically new approaches to management and leadership is painfully clear. Meredith Belbin brilliantly links this need with basic human psychology to arrive at a powerfully convincing picture of the shape of things that must come.'
    Robert Heller

    'This book offers an intensely personal but intelligent view on where society has come from and where it might be headed. Belbin has consulted many academic sources and has managed to produce an authoritative, yet accessible book that will provoke discussion of an important, but neglected topic. Every reader may not agree with what he writes, but this polymath is always interesting and readable.'
    Hadyn Ingram - International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management

    Dr Meredith Belbin has to be the best-known name in research into team dynamics overs the last decade or so.
    Stephanie Phillips, TrainingZONE,

    Managing with Power is an original & provocative book with a useful message for our society and for those in management.
    Business Executive

    Well known management guru R Meredith Belbin, breaks new ground with this book. Typically, Belbin writes in a precise, scholarly, yet interesting manner, not only identifying problems, but also postulating solutions.
    Modern Management