An analysis of the way in which the changing nature of organizations gives individuals the need to manage by influence, negotiation, leadership and the softer skills but without power. R. Meredith Belbin reviews and contextualizes the biological, social and intellectual forces that have shaped the ways in which power, influence and the roles of men and women have evolved. Looking at the key moments in our long social development, Belbin draws out the underlying forces that explain: how very early human society was regulated not through power but organic balance; why the balance of power between the sexes was radically altered as organized societies grew; what roles the new forces of communications and technology create for men and women; and that the present third era of human evolution is one of confusion and uncertainty in terms of organizational roles.