Product Description

Heartened by the positive response to previous editions of Leadership: Theory and Practice, this Fourth Edition is written with the same objective to bridge the gap between the often simplistic popular approaches to leadership and the more abstract theoretical approaches.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #11798 in Books
• Published on: 2006-10-26
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 416 pages

Review

"Peter G. Northouse provides a structured opportunity to view leadership through various lenses. . . . the research is reviewed in a way that is user-friendly to scholars and practitioners. Northouse?s writing is crisp, direct, and explicit." 

Review
"Love the analysis of theories and end of chapter exercises." (Gary Williams )

"Excellent review of major concepts and theories; applications at close of chapter is a perfect ending!" (Jeany Gonzalez )

"The book seems to have been sprung from the author's experiences of teaching and consulting on leadership issues. This is evident from the way in which the approaches and theories to leadership are structured for easy application and practice in active scenarios. A clear positive aspect of the book is the Summary at the end of each chapter with serves the purpose of integrating several dimensions that the chapter deals with." (Venkatesh Pamu Book Reviews )

"After reading many current educational leadership books which seem less about leadership and more about the ‘evils’ of government reform and ‘commodification’ it is a real delight to read such a splendid book as this. Peter Northouse has combined an academically robust account of the major themes and approaches with an accessible style and approach that makes the book very readable. This book is a major source of insights and perspectives for all those studying on leadership courses in both the business and education sectors. It is also an excellent source for school leaders and educators who want to go deepen their understanding of leadership.

The book is divided into fourteen chapters which cover all the key aspects in the leadership field: defining leadership; trait approaches; skills approaches; style approaches; situational approach; contingency theory; path-goal theory; leader-member exchange theory; transformational leadership; team leadership; psychodynamic approach; women and leadership; culture and leadership and leadership ethics. It is unusual to get such a comprehensive coverage of leadership, with such a perceptive and engaging account.

The layout of the book is excellent making it very reader friendly with great use of colour display of models and tables. This is a major improvement on earlier editions of the book. It has outstandingly good case examples and questions for reflection and very useful leadership instruments and questionnaires. These instruments, case studies and questionnaires provide practical applications and reflection tools and add a significant reality check to theory as the reader can apply the leadership analysis to themselves or their situation. For anyone starting out as a student of leadership or an experienced leader reviewing their leadership style and approach this book would be an essential starting place.

After reviewing leadership books for over twenty years this book is by far one of the best I have come across. It provides an excellent leadership account and discussion for those working in the education and business field."

-INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL MANAGEMENT (Brent Davies International Journal of Educational Management )

"Leadership: Theory and Practice provides excellent analyses of a number of leadership theories and research findings in considerable detail...The book succeeds in advancing our understanding of the different approaches to leadership and the methods by which it can be practiced more effectively." (Ravindra Nath Saxena )

From the Inside Flap
"The third edition of Leadership by Northouse provides students with powerful introduction to the strengths and limits of what the social science strand of research in leadership. It provides application for undergraduates while for graduate students, it provides the context needed to plunge into reading research and developing research questions. At the same time, the book raises significant questions about the link between leadership and ethics and values."
--Roger Smitter, Ph.D., Director, Leadership, Ethics and Values Program, North Central College "Peter Northouse has produced a leadership textbook that is accessible to students, but solidly grounded in theory and research. He avoids the ‘trap’ of making leadership appear too easy or trite, keeping his book serious and scholarly, but still interesting and enjoyable to read. I would feel confident that a student assigned Leadership: Theory and Practice is getting a sound introduction to the field."
--Ronald E. Riggio, Ph.D., Kravis Leadership Institute, Claremont McKenna College "I have used Leadership: Theory and Practice for the past four years as the primary text for an undergraduate leadership course that I teach. The comprehensive nature of the chapters, critiques, exercises, self-assessment instruments, and case studies make it very user-friendly for students and faculty."
-- Lynn Hertrick Leavitt, Director, Center for Service and Leadership, George Mason University "In his Third Edition, Northouse continues to update and enhance his leadership book. As a textbook for college students, the author provides an outstanding bridge between the research developments and the practical uses for leadership theory. His case study examples are contemporary, intriguing, and enticing to students and teachers who seek enhancement to their study of leadership."
--Christine D. Townsend, Professor, Leadership Education, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas

Customer Reviews

Finally! A user-friendly theory book
For those seeking a crisp, clearly written book summarizing all the major leadership theories without being numbed into sleep, this book is it. Beginning with trait approaches, Northouse covers all the major leadership theories--style, situational, contingency, path-goal, leader-member, transformational, team, psychodynamics, gender, and ethics. Northouse clearly explains each theory, discusses the strengths and weaknesses of each, and provides case studies and samples of each leadership instrument. Although slightly more simplistic than other leadership texts, references are provided to allow readers to explore each theory in greater depth.

Theory and Practice at a Very Good Price
Now in it's fourth edition, this book is written to attempt to bridge the gap between the simplistic popular literature and the more abstract theoretical approaches. It does this with a layout approach I have not seen before. It uses two color printing throughout and usually the theory about a situation is printed on the white pages and then a case study is printed with a blue background. The case study directly relates to the problems addressed by the theory. There are no answers to the case studies as in real life there are often no answers. This gives the instructor ample room to open discussions and provide guidance.

The new edition of the book includes two new chapers:

Culture and Leadership - examines the latest research on culture, its dimensions, and ways in which culture affects the leadership process.

Women and Leadership - examines the styles of female and male leaders and their effectiveness, the causes of the glass ceiling and how it is being broken.

Finally, various changes have been made throughout the book to clarify some issues, expand on some others, include new research and so on.

A High Quality Book

According to Kurt Lewin, "There is nothing as practical as a good theory". This is an apt comment in reference to Peter Northouse's book "Leadership: Theory and Practice". The author methodically and clearly explained the major theories and concepts of leadership in a readable and easily understandable manner, in a way that readers can easily implement them.

Northouse stresses the need to link leadership with ethics and values and how to apply the leadership concepts and approaches in practical real-life situations in organisations. When leadership theory and concepts are spelled out as clearly and cogently as they are in this book, their application in organisations becomes self-evident. The author does a good job of presenting the leadership process in an easy to read and understand manner that is both useful and practical to all those that are interested in running successful and effective organisations. Novices will be provided a path whilst the seasoned practitioners will find affirmation.