Product Description

When it was initially written in 1987, few could have predicted that The Leadership Challenge would become one of the best-selling leadership books of all time. Now, faced with the new challenges of our unpredictable global business environment, Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner--two of the country's premier leadership experts--have completely revised and updated their classic book. Building on the knowledge base of their previous books, the third edition of The Leadership Challenge is grounded in extensive research and based on interviews with all kinds of leaders at all levels in public and private organizations from around the world. In this edition, the authors emphasize that the fundamentals of leadership are the same today as they were in the 1980s, and as they've probably been for centuries. In that sense, nothing's new. Leadership is not a fad. While the content of leadership has not changed, the context has-and in some cases, changed dramatically.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #118559 in Books
• Published on: 2003-08-07
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 496 pages

Amazon.com Review
In the 1980s and again in the '90s, James M. Kouzes and Barry Z. Posner published The Leadership Challenge to address issues they uncovered in research on ordinary people achieving "individual leadership standards of excellence." The keys they identified--model the way, inspire a shared vision, challenge the process, enable others to act, encourage the heart--have now been reexamined in the context of the post-millennium world and updated in a third edition. "What we have discovered, and rediscovered, is that leadership is not the private reserve of a few charismatic men and women," write Kouzes, chairman emeritus of the Tom Peters Company, and Posner, dean of the Leavey School of Business at Santa Clara University. "People make extraordinary things happen by liberating the leader within everyone." After explaining their concept and methodology, the authors detail the five essentials noted above in a pair of chapters apiece that bring clarity to their theories with case studies and recommended actions. The specificity of each (motivating through "the meaningfulness of the challenge, not the material rewards of success," for example, and being able to "accept the mistakes that result from experimentation") is enhanced by advice on sustaining the commitment and making leadership skills accessible to all. The results remain as relevant as when they were first published. --Howard Rothman

From Publishers Weekly
An inspirational and practical handbook, this expanded revision of a bestselling manual originally published in 1987 offers sound advice to corporate leaders and entrepreneurs, to managers and employees and to aspiring leaders in retail, manufacturing, government, community, church and school settings. Drawing on interviews and a questionnaire survey of more than 3000 leaders, the authors identify five fundamental practices of exemplary leadership: challenge the status quo; inspire a shared vision; enable others to act; model the way forward by setting an example; tap individuals' inner drives by linking rewards and performance. Kouzes, chairman and CEO of TPG/Learning Systems, and Posner, managing partner of Santa Clara University's Executive Development Center in California, write insightful, down-to-earth, jargon-free prose. This new edition has been substantially updated to reflect the challenges of shrinking work forces, rising cynicism and expanded telecommunications. An appendix includes the author's Leadership Practices Inventory, a tool for assessing leadership behavior. 75,000 first printing; Executive Program Book Club main selection; author tour.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review
"At a time when words like 'inspiration' or 'spirit' are sometimes used with embarrassment, the authors restore those lofty concepts to their rightful place at the core of successful business.'' (Norman Lear, chairman and CEO, Act III Communications)

"A vital resource for all leaders and managers preparing themselves for the demands of 21st century leadership." (Kathryn E. Johnson, president and CEO, The Healthcare Forum)

"I not only enjoyed it... found myself constantly nodding and saying to myself, 'That's right! That's how it's done! That's what it feels like!' You certainly captured the essence of what I've found is at the heart of transforming leadership.'' (Robert Haas, chairman and CEO, Levi Strauss & Co.)

"The Leadership Challenge changed the direction of Motorola Semiconductor's World Marketing Organization." (Charles E. Thompson, senior vice president, director world marketing, Semiconductor Products Sector, Motorola Inc.)

"Kouzes and Posner demonstrate that when ordinary business people aspire to extraordinary achievements they can expand the realm of what's possible.'' (Kathy Meyer, executive director, The Business Enterprise Trust)

"The Leadership Challenge is a book that should be read and worked through by every member of every organization. It makes real and accessible the practices of leadership. If it is not in the workplace of all your people you are missing the plot." (David Clancy, manager, Culture Development, Westpac Banking Corporation)

"This book has heart. . . . I highly recommended The Leadership Challenge in 1987. I do so even more in 1995.'' (from the foreword by Tom Peters)

Customer Reviews

Guidelines and Parameters for the Perilous Journey Within

Note: The review which follows was written on March 2, 2002. Recently, the 4th edition of this book was published and I have read it but see no reason to change any of my original review. This latest edition has some new material, notably the inclusion of more cases from outside the United States. Also, as Kouzes and Posner explain in their Preface, "we did decide we needed to go on a diet. Each succeeding edition tended to put on a little weight -- feature creep, as they say in the technology business." For those who are curious to know, nothing in the co-authors' continuing research since the first edition has as yet revealed a "magical sixth practice that will revolutionize the practice of leadership."

* * * * *

I recently re-read this brilliant book before proceeding to Kouzes and Posner's more recently published Encouraging the Heart. I highly recommend both and suggest that they be read in the order in which they were written. Those of us who presume to review books such as this one can merely indicate their breadth and depth of substance as well as their stimulation of thought about the material presented. For example, Kouzes and Posner identify what they call "five leadership practices common to successful leaders" and then suggest ten "behavioral commitments" among those leaders studied. Here they are:

Practice: Challenge the process
Commitments: (1) Search for opportunities and (2) Experiment and take risks

Practice: Inspire a shared vision
Commitments: (3) Envision the future and (4) Enlist others

Practice: Enable others to act
Commitments: (5) Foster collaboration and (6) Strengthen others

Practice: Model the way to the desired objectives
Commitments: (7) Set the example and (8) Plan small wins

Practice: Encourage the heart of everyone involved
Commitments: (9) Recognize individual contribution and (10) Celebrate accomplishments

Those who conduct "360 Feedback" programs could do much worse than to base evaluations on criteria suggested by these practices and commitments. They provide the thematic infrastructure of the material which Kouzes and Posner present within seven Parts. The first introduces key concepts and terms: "Knowing What Leadership Is Really All About." Each of Parts Two-Six is devoted to one of the five Practices. Kouzes and Posner conclude with Part Seven, "The Beginning of Leadership', followed by two appendices which enable the reader to complete "The Personal Best Questionnaire" before reviewing "The Leadership Practices Inventory."

There are dozens of outstanding books on leadership and this is one of the best. I am especially impressed by the balance Kouzes and Posner maintain throughout between theory and practice. More specifically, they introduce and explain various core concepts and then draw upon real-world situations to illustrate those concepts. Obviously, "Encouraging the Heart" (Part Six) introduces ideas which Kouzes and Posner develop in much greater depth in a sequel volume which bears the same name. They conclude this book as follows: "We have said that leaders take us to places we have never been before. But there are no freeways to the future, no paved highways to unknown, unexplored destinations. There is only wilderness. If you are to step into the unknown, the place to begin is with the exploration of the inner territory." Those who agree (as do I) with these final remarks are urged to check out David Maister's Practice What You Preach, Tim Sanders' Love Is the Killer App, David Whyte's The Heart Aroused, and Larry Davis' Pioneering Organizations.

one of the very best leader books
Thanks to my coursework, I'm reading lots of books on leadership. I just finished this one which I'd rate the most helpful in terms of hands-on leadership of all the ones I've read so far (about 10). The style is easy to read and quick, and the points very direct, well-explained and easy to follow. Not only that, the content is CRUCIAL for any leader. It's only too easy to see from the examples they give how many seemingly easy things (like remembering to thank your co-workers and recognize their accomplishments) are NOT followed by current leaders. In case you every wondered to yourself, "But how would I do that?" enough examples are provided (very specific ones) that any leader could manage it if they WANTED to. What I liked about this book is that it recognized many facets of leadership that have been ignored like leading with your heart and not asking others to do what you yourself would not. It's not about having the nicest office -- it's about getting out on the factory floor and talking to those you lead. A terrific book both in theory and content. If you only read one, read this one.

Best leadership study I've read yet! Outstanding!!
For leaders who have been in that vocation for some time, this book serves as a refresher, and perhaps the acknowledgment of the methods leaders choose. Focused on long-term organizational growth and health, it reminds one that short term gains are the province of managers, while leaders continually challenge and motivate people to achieve the extraordinary. For the new leader, this is an in-depth primer, broken down into chunks small enough to digest, but full of insight and inspiration. It is not a how-to book per se, but does outline a path towards better leadership, and challenges one to develop themselves with a purpose. I loved it! My copy is note-ridden, earmarked, annotated, and continually referred to for anecdotes and ideas. Buy a copy for every developing leader beneath you, and start a development plan for them all.