Transforming Leadership [Paperback]

James MacGregor Burns (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 30, 2004

In Transforming Leadership, Burns illuminates the evolution of leadership structures, from the chieftains of tribal African societies, through Europe's absolute monarchies, to the blossoming of the Enlightenment's ideals of liberty and happiness during the American Revolution. Along the way he looks at key breakthroughs in leadership and the towering leaders who attempted to transform their worlds—Elizabeth I, Washington, Jefferson, Gandhi, Eleanor Roosevelt, Gorbachev, and others. Culminating in a bold and innovative plan to address the greatest global leadership challenge of the twenty-first century, the long-intractable problem of global poverty, Transforming Leadership will arouse discussion and controversy in classrooms and boardrooms throughout the country.

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Grove Press (January 30, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0802141188
• ISBN-13: 978-0802141187
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #38,910 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Walk Down Memory Lane, March 28, 2007

By 

Mark F. Bear "Standards for Excellence" (Baton Rouge, LA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Transforming Leadership (Paperback)

Burns has a unique way of weaving the events of History and Leadership Theory by presenting a logical praxis. It is in this unique capability that the reader will find him or herself finding not only a fair and balanced articulation of the events as they occurred but the leadership ramifications incurred as a result. Not shy being a professed liberal he makes the strong argument that the Democratic Party has drastically missed the leadership boat due to the party representative's purpsoseful diluting the message of the liberal stance by having Presidential Leadership for the Democratic Party run alone, basically severing ties with party affiliation while maintaining a clear centrist positon not only through the campaign cycle but throughout the President's Administration.

This should come as no surprise as many Americans sense a leadership void in our country which is the result of nothing less than centrist politicians attempting to appease all parties simply in an effort to clinch their respective nominations.

Still Burns makes the compelling argument in this volume that transactional leadership (Leading by Dealing: the phrase being mine) is simply not enough to carry through the transformation so needed in our current political landscape.

The book is dead on and exposes the dangers involved in this practice while Burns argues the essentiality of leading at a higher level and how these changes take place only through transformational leadership.

A caveat pre-emptor is in order here: For those of you seekig a formula for leading at this higher level you simply will not find it. Perhaps this is because Burns believes in the empowerment of people by providing hard core examples throughout the entire landscape of history and perhaps it is for other reasons. However, the end result is the reader comes away with the clear distinctions between transactional and transformation leadership, those in power who utilized such a leaderhip style and the net effect of such leadership.

Finally, I found Burns'insistence on conflict being an essential component to real lasting change coupled with this transformational leadership to be quite persuasive and helpful. In addition, Burns consistent focus on the essential interplay berween leaders and followers demonstrates how one as a leader can supercede simplistic and standardized methodologies all pointing to the clear difference between transactional and transformational leadership. One final thought: Be prepared to make a change if your main operating belief is to be a simple broker, horesetrader, or anything of the sort and be prepared to become acquainted with the path least travelled which is longer lasting and influenttial in leader-follower dyadic interactions.

Mark Bear

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Transforming Leadership, January 19, 2010

By 

J. Hull "Casual Observer" - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Transforming Leadership (Paperback)

With not a lot of political background but a love for reading leadership, I thought this book was excellent. I came away from the book understanding political leadership and the dynamics that are at play. I was really inspired by the call to creative leadership but more so reading the development of the American documents and the leadership that went into it. Great foundational book for political leadership.

1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Book cover persons, March 18, 2009

By 

D. Valeri (Vancouver, B.C.) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Transforming Leadership (Paperback)

Does anyone know who the woman pictured on the cover of this book, directly above the picture of George Washington, and to the left of Woodrow Wilson? Someone really curious. PS. By the way, this is an excellent book on leadership and well worth the time it takes to read it.