The Leadership Challenge

JAMES M. KOUZES AND BARRY Z. POSNER

Reviewed by Todd

To begin their research for The Leadership Challenge, Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner asked people of all backgrounds this open-ended question: “‘What values, personality traits, or characteristics do you look for and admire in a leader?’” Twenty characteristics captured the wide range of responses, and four of them came up consistently: honest, forward-looking, inspiring, and competent. The findings correspond to what communication experts call “source credibility.” Successful newscasters, salespeople, and politicians all exhibit these qualities, but it is particularly the ability to be forward-looking that lifts someone from being credible to being a leader.

The authors continued their research, studying individual leaders to determine how they work when they are performing at their best. After gathering several hundred case studies (now several thousand) on personal-best leadership moments and searching for common themes in those experiences, Kouzes and Posner developed five governing practices: Model the Way, Inspire a Shared Vision, Challenge the Process, Enable Others to Act, and Encourage the Heart. When they found parallels between their initial research into what followers valued in a leader and the common themes underlying leadership’s best, the authors knew they were on to something. They further tested the validity of their research by correlating those leadership behaviors with external measurements such as increased financial performance and team satisfaction.

To see how Kouzes and Posner’s copious research was then applied, consider the leadership characteristic forward-looking aligned with the authors’ second leadership principle, “Inspire a Shared Vision.” Leaders imagine what is possible; as one interviewee said, “‘I’m my organization’s futures department.’” Yet senior managers say they spend only 3 percent of their time looking forward. Those who operate on the front lines, the authors claim, should be spending five times that, and even more time with each step they take closer to the executive suite. The authors suggest reading publications to spur inspiration; The Futurist and Popular Science come to mind.

Another trick the authors recommend, labeled the “Janus Effect,” is to widen your time horizon. Start with the past, thinking about where you and your company have been . . . and then think about the future. Professor Omar El Sawy is referenced here, having found that starting with history allows prognosticators to see twice as far into the future. Then, to truly bring vision to life, the vision must be “shared,” enlisting others in the process.

Due in part to the appeal of the authors’ extensive research and to their practical approach, The Leadership Challenge has sold over 1.5 million copies since 1987 and was recently published in its fourth edition. But the book is not the end of the road for readers interested in applying the authors’ lessons. A unique variety of supplements gives The Leadership Challenge added depth. For example, three million people have taken the thirty-question Leadership Practices Inventory and helped evaluate the hundreds of thousands of leaders they work with. The Leadership Challenge Workshop provides a kit which gives corporate trainers and independent facilitators the tools to share the principles with groups of all sizes. Workbooks, videos, and worldwide seminars further emphasize that leadership is a skill set that anyone can learn.

“Leadership is not a gene and it’s not an inheritance. Leadership is an identifiable set of skills and abilities that are available to all of us.”

The book and its additional resources provide a framework for seeing how leadership fits together with all aspects of business. Jim Kouzes refers to The Leadership Challenge as a Christmas tree: businesspeople have all sorts of thoughts and ideas about how they and their companies should operate, much like shiny ornaments and strings of bright lights just waiting for a tree on which to be hung. TS

The Leadership Challenge, Jossey-Bass, Hardcover fourth edition 2007, ISBN 9780787984915

WHERE TO NEXT? Here for a strategy on getting organized Here for a strategy on making ideas “sticky” Here for a strategy on strategy | EVEN MORE: The Offsite by Robert H. Thompson; The Leadership Challenge Workbook by James M. Kouzes and Barry Z. Posner; Christian Reflection on The Leadership Challenge by John C. Maxwell, James M. Kouzes, and Barry Z. Posner

The 100 Best Business Books of All Time
001_COVER.xhtml
002_ABOUT_THE_AUTHORS.xhtml
003_TITLE_PAGE.xhtml
004_COPYRIGHT.xhtml
005_DEDICATION.xhtml
006_CONTENTS.xhtml
007_PREFACE.xhtml
008_INTRODUCTION.xhtml
009_YOU.xhtml
010_Chapter_1.xhtml
011_Chapter_2.xhtml
012_Jack_Covert_Selects.xhtml
013_Chapter_3.xhtml
014_Chapter_4.xhtml
015_Chapter_5.xhtml
016_Chapter_6.xhtml
017_EXPANDING_THE_CONVERSATION.xhtml
018_Chapter_7.xhtml
019_Chapter_8.xhtml
020_Chapter_9.xhtml
021_Chapter_10.xhtml
022_Chapter_11.xhtml
023_Business_Books_for_Kids.xhtml
024_Chapter_12.xhtml
025_LEADERSHIP.xhtml
026_Chapter_13.xhtml
027_Chapter_14.xhtml
028_Chapter_15.xhtml
029_Leadership_in_Movies.xhtml
030_Chapter_16.xhtml
031_Chapter_17.xhtml
032_Chapter_18.xhtml
033_Chapter_19.xhtml
034_Chapter_20.xhtml
035_THE_ECONOMIST.xhtml
036_Chapter_21.xhtml
037_Chapter_22.xhtml
038_Chapter_23.xhtml
039_STRATEGY.xhtml
040_Chapter_24.xhtml
041_Chapter_25.xhtml
042_The_Best_Route_to_an_Idea.xhtml
043_Chapter_26.xhtml
044_Learn_From_Experience.xhtml
045_Chapter_27.xhtml
046_Chapter_28.xhtml
047_Chapter_29.xhtml
048_Chapter_30.xhtml
049_Chapter_31.xhtml
050_Chapter_32.xhtml
051_SALES_AND_MARKETING.xhtml
052_Chapter_33.xhtml
053_Chapter_34.xhtml
054_Chapter_35.xhtml
054_Chapter_35b.xhtml
055_Chapter_36.xhtml
056_Chapter_37.xhtml
057_Chapter_38.xhtml
058_Chapter_39.xhtml
059_Selling_on_the_Silver_Screen.xhtml
060_Chapter_40.xhtml
061_Chapter_41.xhtml
062_Chapter_42.xhtml
063_1000_Words.xhtml
064_Chapter_43.xhtml
065_Chapter_44.xhtml
065_Chapter_44b.xhtml
066_Chapter_45.xhtml
067_RULES_AND_SCOREKEEPING.xhtml
068_Chapter_46.xhtml
069_Chapter_47.xhtml
069_Chapter_47b.xhtml
070_Chapter_48.xhtml
071_Chapter_49.xhtml
072_MANAGEMENT.xhtml
073_Chapter_50.xhtml
074_PETER_DRUCKER_SAID.xhtml
075_Chapter_51.xhtml
076_Demings_14_Points_of_Management.xhtml
077_Chapter_52.xhtml
078_Chapter_53.xhtml
079_Chapter_54.xhtml
080_Chapter_55.xhtml
081_Chapter_56.xhtml
082_Chapter_57.xhtml
083_Chapter_58.xhtml
084_Chapter_59.xhtml
084_Chapter_59b.xhtml
085_Chapter_60.xhtml
086_Chapter_61.xhtml
087_BIOGRAPHIES.xhtml
088_Chapter_62.xhtml
089_Chapter_63.xhtml
090_Classics.xhtml
091_Chapter_64.xhtml
092_Chapter_65.xhtml
093_Chapter_66.xhtml
094_Chapter_67.xhtml
095_Chapter_68.xhtml
096_Chapter_69.xhtml
097_ENTREPRENEURSHIP.xhtml
098_Chapter_70.xhtml
099_Chapter_71.xhtml
100_Chapter_72.xhtml
101_Chapter_73.xhtml
102_Chapter_74.xhtml
102_Chapter_74b.xhtml
103_Chapter_75.xhtml
104_Chapter_76.xhtml
105_Chapter_77.xhtml
106_NARRATIVES.xhtml
107_Chapter_78.xhtml
108_Chapter_79.xhtml
109_Found_in_Fiction.xhtml
110_Chapter_80.xhtml
111_Chapter_81.xhtml
112_Chapter_82.xhtml
113_Chapter_83.xhtml
114_Chapter_84.xhtml
114_Chapter_84b.xhtml
115_INNOVATION_AND_CREATIVITY.xhtml
116_Chapter_85.xhtml
117_Chapter_86.xhtml
118_Chapter_87.xhtml
118_Chapter_87b.xhtml
119_Chapter_88.xhtml
120_Chapter_89.xhtml
121_Chapter_90.xhtml
122_Fresh_Perspectives.xhtml
123_Chapter_91.xhtml
124_BIG_IDEAS.xhtml
125_Chapter_92.xhtml
126_Chapter_93.xhtml
126_Chapter_93b.xhtml
127_Chapter_94.xhtml
128_Chapter_95.xhtml
129_Chapter_96.xhtml
130_Chapter_97.xhtml
131_Chapter_98.xhtml
131_Chapter_98b.xhtml
132_Chapter_99.xhtml
133_Chapter_100.xhtml
134_THE_LAST_WORD.xhtml
135_How_to_Read_a_Business_Book_1.xhtml
136_How_to_Read_a_Business_Book_2.xhtml
137_ACKNOWLEDGMENTS.xhtml
138_INDEX.xhtml
139_Post-Copyright.xhtml
140_FOR_MORE_ON_THE_100_BEST_BOOKS.xhtml
141_READING_CHECKLIST.xhtml
GlobalBackad.xhtml