Product Description

What qualities make a leader succeed in business or politics? In an era when the information revolution has dramatically changed the playing field, when old organizational hierarchies have given way to fluid networks of contacts, and when mistrust of leaders is on the rise, our ideas about leadership are clearly due for redefinition.
With The Powers to Lead, Joseph S. Nye, Jr. offers a sweeping look at the nature of leadership in today's world, in an illuminating blend of history, business case studies, psychological research, and more. As he observes, many now believe that the more authoritarian and coercive forms of leadership--the hard power approaches of earlier military-industrial eras--have been largely supplanted in postindustrial societies by soft power approaches that seek to attract, inspire, and persuade rather than dictate. Nye argues, however, that the most effective leaders are actually those who combine hard and soft power skills in proportions that vary with different situations. He calls this smart power. Drawing examples from the careers of leaders as disparate as Gandhi, Churchill, Lee Iacocca, and George W. Bush, Nye uses the concept of smart power to shed light on such topics as leadership types and skills, the needs and demands of followers, and the nature of good and bad leadership in terms of both ethics and effectiveness. In one particularly instructive chapter, he looks in depth at contextual intelligence--the ability to understand changing environments, capitalize on trends, and use the flow of events to implement strategies.
Thoroughly grounded in the real world, rich in both analysis and anecdote, The Powers to Lead is sure to become a modern classic, a concise and lucid work applicable to every field, from small businesses and nonprofit organizations to nations on the world stage.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #46334 in Books
• Published on: 2008-03-03
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 240 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Leadership gurus since Machiavelli have argued over whether a leader should be loved or feared. In this evenhanded primer, Nye, a professor at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government and soft power theorist, takes a resolute stand in between the two sides. Modern leadership, he contends, requires smart power, a judicious situational balance of hard power (getting people to do what you want, with carrots, sticks and bullying) and soft power (getting people to want what you want, with inspiration, charisma and propaganda). Nye embeds his argument in a lucid, if somewhat dry, survey of leadership studies, touching on everything from bonobo behavior to Freudian psychology, and illustrates it with references to noted leaders like former General Electric CEO Jack Welch, Lincoln, Hitler and Subcomandante Marcos. (George Bush's presidency provides a recurring object lesson in bad leadership.) The author takes a skeptical, down-to-earth view of leadership fads and hype. But he can't quite break free of mystical notions like vision or vague buzz concepts like contextual intelligence (a head-scratcher that boils down to judgment and wisdom); his smart power formula is therefore more truism than concrete guide to action. Nye's is a useful introduction to the theory, but not the practice, of leadership. (Mar.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

"Mr. Nye has performed a valuable service in rounding up and summarizing the various academic studies and theories of leadership into a single, slim volume. He examines different approaches to leadership, the morality of leadership and how the wider context can determine the effectiveness of a particular leader. There are plenty of anecdotes and examples, both historical and contemporary, political and corporate."--The Economist
"This excellent book offers important insight into leadership with valuable analysis and anecdotes for leaders and aspiring leaders."--Booklist
"The Powers to Lead at once ranges broadly and is concise. Anecdotes run from Lyndon Johnson and Jack Welch to Mahatma Gandhi...and the book treats the latest "leadership as process" theories alongside Machiavellian realism and Lao Tzu's self-effacing style. All these, together with many sensible suggestions for advancing oneself, are presented with a clear focus on power and group needs."--New York Sun
"A lucid...survey of leadership studies, touching on everything from bonobo behavior to Freudian psychology... with references to noted leaders like former General Electric CEO Jack Welch, Lincoln, Hitler and Subcomandante Marcos."--Publishers Weekly
"Finally, a book that analyzes what leadership really means and how it relates to power. It will be invaluable for both political and business leaders alike. Nye developed the concept of hard and soft power, and now he shows how the best leaders use both in a smart way."--Walter Isaacson, author of Einstein: His Life and Universe, and President, the Aspen Institute
"The Powers to Lead is an outstanding primer on leadership and all its dimensions. Nye cuts through the many bromides surrounding the subject to present a sharp, gracefully written introduction to leadership that will benefit anyone from Washington to Wall Street."--General Brent Scowcroft, former U.S. National Security Advisor
"Nye has written better and more creatively on the importance of soft power as a political and diplomatic weapon than anyone else. Now he brings this knowledge and all his governmental and academic experience to bear on the oldest question in politics-how do leaders emerge and what distinguishes the good ones from the bad? There couldn't be a better primer for a presidential election year, in which all of us, whether or not we are American citizens, have such a big stake."--Chris Patten, Chancellor of Oxford University
"This book will change not only the way leaders think about how they themselves should use power-but also how they can respond more creatively and effectively to others' power moves. This book will-and should-find a permanent place on the bookshelves of academics and practitioners alike."--Roderick M. Kramer, William R. Kimball Professor of Organizational Behavior, Stanford Graduate School of Business
"This book represents an important intellectual odyssey. Nye has long been acclaimed as one of the world's foremost thinkers about international affairs, helping us understand, for example, the differences between soft and hard power. Now, to our great good fortune, he has turned his mind to the vexing questions of how power relates to leadership. The result is a conceptual tour de force-one of the best works on leadership since James MacGregor Burns wrote his breakthrough book three decades ago. What a splendid journey!"--David Gergen, Professor of Public Service and Director, Center for Public Leadership, Harvard's Kennedy School of Government

About the Author

Joseph S. Nye Jr. is University Distinguished Service Professor at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government, where he was formerly Dean. In government, he served as Chairman of the National Intelligence Council, Assistant Secretary of Defense, and Deputy Undersecretary of State. A frequent contributor to The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Wall Street Journal, he is the author of several books, including The Paradox of American Power: Why the World's Only Superpower Can't Go It Alone (Oxford, 2003) and Soft Power: The Means to Success in World Politics.

Customer Reviews

Can leaders be manufactured?
Joseph Nye's latest book on the leadership question seems superfluous and perhaps time wasting. It is not wise to tread a domain where the unknown and uncertain factors preponderate and things are less deterministic. Good leaders can be created in the areas of business management but not in the domain of politics. Alexander the Great or Caesar hardly had any theoretical knowledge of soft and hard power and a theoretical knowledge of diplomacy. Coming to the question of his modern leadership where Dr. Nye attributes leadership qualities to role of being a mediator rather than a 'dictator', it must be remembered that leadership means leading those who are to be led. Ironically, common people alike understand the language of force and coercion to a greater extent than pursuasion and moral appeals. This is more so in the modern era because both the stakes and gains are higher now. Joseph Nye's suggestions may throttle creativity.

Gautam Maitra
Author of 'Tracing the eagle's Orbit: Illuminating Insights into Major US Foreign Policies since Independence.'

Apt Analysis
Joseph Nye's newest book, The Powers to Lead, is as crucial to the application of leadership in the twenty-first century as an understanding of the technical and social evolution of the last ten years is to its success. This compound simile is more than a poignant summary of his work; it's a framing of the very research question Nye articulates as his motives for writing it: What is required of leaders within the context of our new information-based and network-oriented society?
Using history as relevant parameters, his personal and professional experiences as an intuitive guide, and the evolving realities of the day as an oracle to bet on, Nye submits that the era of paradigm leadership is over, and now is a time for leaders to recognize that the balance of "soft and hard power" has shifted toward the relations-fostering, personally empowering side of soft power; though, the key, in the end is to produce the right combination of the two, which he deems "smart power", for the optimal outcome to the situation at hand.
With the spread of information becoming so prevalent not only in society in general but in the workplace specifically, Nye conveys the role of a leader as no longer being the arbiter of that information but, instead, being the mediator of it, influencing its purpose and value. While some authors have tried--unsuccessfully--to articulate a similar message, their abstract and detached approach often overshadowing the virtue of their points and rue the day. Nye's method, however, of thoughtful and hyper-relevant examples satiates the common reader's need for correlation and illustration. Nye's constant analytical inclusions of both historical and contemporary figures is neither haphazard nor frivolous; perfectly placed within the context of his discussion, he knows that using these specific examples will allow him to not only further define the concept at hand but also draw in years of history to truly accentuate his point.
As he encourages aspiring leaders to do when refining their own approaches, he does in methodologically evaluating the balance of soft and hard power: observe what has worked and use it; avoid past failures. Nye's many references to various points within today's comprehensive literature on leadership reflects this point well--he acknowledges these are points that will foster the skills necessary to thrive under the conditions of the twenty-first century.
The organization of The Powers to Lead is what differentiates it from other volumes on leadership. Nye's constant and clear demarcation between the leader, his style, and his objectives--what I would consider the true "leadership triad"--ensures the reader will never miss the point at hand. Leadership, as he would advance, must be understood, and likewise employed, within the context of the objective and the person, and the chronology of his piece is designed to flow from one context to the next to subliminally substantiate his claim. In doing so, Nye is constantly building the repertoire necessary to reach the final goal: striking the balance between soft and hard power within the context of the situation.
While still articulating definition between distinctive forms of leadership, Nye's message is not lost among the jargon and rhetoric that plague so many other authors of the topic. The reason is found in his style. He is both poignant and persuasive. Masterfully crafting a very logical chain of progression, he lays a proven record of skill sets, denotes their successful and unsuccessful employment throughout history, and articulates how their use in the context of today's society will prove to be effective in discerning the power balance. Leadership is a highly personal matter for many, and by not speaking at, but rather with, the reader, Nye is able to accomplish the two major goals of any writer: captivate and persuade.

The skills effective and ethical leaders need to attract followers and achieve a group's objectives

The last time I checked, Amazon offers more than 56,000 books on subject of leadership in business. So, what does Joseph Nye offer in this book that makes a significant, indeed unique contribution to our understanding of why some leaders are so successful and many others aren't? Responding to that is the focus of the remarks that follow in this review.

In Nye's opinion, insufficient attention has been paid to "the questions of power and leadership in a context broader than that of modern organizations." He goes on to assert that effective leadership requires "a mixture [and balance] of soft and hard power skills that I call [begin italics] smart power [end italics]. The proportions differ with contexts." To Nye, a leader can be - but need not be only a single -- individual that "helps a group create and achieve shared goals." Moreover, a leader is not only "who you are but what you do" and what a leader does frequently is determined by the given circumstances. If "context is more important than traits," the most effective leaders are those who help to achieve goals in (to borrow a phrase from Robert Bolt) "all seasons." Nye therefore views leadership as a process with three key components: leaders, followers, and context.

With regard to "soft" and "hard" power skills, they can be learned and they can be mastered. They enable a leader to respond most effectively to a given situation. "Soft power is not merely the same as influence, though it is one source of influence. After all, influence can also rest on the hard power of threats or payments. Nor is soft power just persuasion or the ability to move people by argument, though that is an important part of it. It is also the ability to entice and attract. Attraction often leads to acquiescence. In behavioral terms, soft power is attractive power. In terms of resources, soft power resources are assets - tangible and intangible - that produce such attraction." Nye acknowledges that leaders also rely on "hard power" in certain situations to help achieve the given objectives with threats, intimidation, and perhaps even punishment. "Hard and soft power sometimes reinforce and sometimes interfere with each other." In this context, I recalled numerous situations in films and television shows when the "good cop, bad cop" strategy was used to obtain information.

"Almost every leader needs a certain degree of soft power" and a leader and a tyrant are polar opposites. Neither soft nor hard power is either good or bad, per se, nor is one always better than the other. To repeat, the ability to combine hard power and soft power into an effective strategy is "smart power." As Nye explains, "Leadership, like power, is a relationship, and followers also have power both to resist and to lead. Followers empower leaders as well as vice versa." There are no leaders without followers but, that said, "the power of leaders depends on the followers' objectives that are embedded in their culture." These are among Nye's core concepts and they will encourage those who read his book to re-consider (if not revise) their own ideas about leaders, followers, and contexts.

After I read Nye's book, I re-read two written by Howard Gardner, Creating Minds: An Anatomy of Creativity as Seen Through the Lives of Freud, Einstein, Picasso, Stravinsky, Eliot, Graham, and Gandhi and Leading Minds in which Gardner discusses Margaret Mead, J. Robert Oppenheimer, Robert Maynard Hutchins, Alfred P. Sloan, Jr., George C. Marshall, Pope John XXIII, Eleanor Roosevelt, Martin Luther King, Jr., Margaret Thatcher, Jean Monnet, and Mahatma Gandhi. All but Gandhi among those in the first volume are generally viewed only as thought leaders, not as social or political activists as are the subjects in the second volume. Their relationships with followers are also quite different. What can be said of all the leaders whom Gardner discusses is that each mastered both hard and soft skills but applied them in quite different contexts to achieve quite different objectives.

I am grateful, to Joseph Nye for his thought-provoking, at times counterintuitive perspectives on leaders, followers, and contexts. As a result, I have not only reconsidered my own opinions about those components in the power relationship, I have also reconsidered my perspectives on leaders throughout history, notably Julius Caesar, Joan of Ark, Abraham Lincoln, and Harry Truman.