The Leadership Challenge, 4th Edition (Hardcover)

~ (Author), Barry Z. Posner (Author)
Key Phrases: exemplary leaders, psychological hardiness, getting extraordinary things, Taking Action, United States, Model the Way (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Guest Reviewer: Marshall Goldsmith
Marshall Goldsmith has been recognized by almost every major business publication as one of America's leading executive educators and coaches. He is the author or co-editor of 22 books, including What Got You Here Won't Get You There--a New York Times bestseller and Wall Street Journal #1 business book.

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I consider Leadership Challenge by Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner to be the best research-based book ever written in the field of leadership.

What I love about this book is that it is actually written for its readers!

Let's face it--very few readers of business books are CEO's of multi-billion corporations. Yet many business books follow the same over-used formula--interviewing CEOs--talking about what they are doing so well--and suggesting that you do the same thing.

Leadership Challenge is based upon learnings from leaders at all levels--and shows how "regular people" can make a huge, positive difference in their organizations. It is written in a way that can help executives, mid-managers, first-line supervisors, project leaders--and even individual contributors--better understand how they can lead--and be able to immediately apply what they have learned in their work.

My favorite movie is The Wizard of Oz. Three of the movie's main characters are seekers: the scarecrow--who is searching for a brain--or wisdom, the tin man--who is searching for a heart--or compassion, and the lion--who is searching for the nerve--or courage. Leadership Challenge helps its readers, who are also seekers, find all three. It shows how real leaders can demonstrate the wisdom--needed to build a vision and show the way, the courage--needed to the challenge the system and do what is right, and the compassion--needed to care for and inspire others.

Although my Ph.D. is in Organizational Behavior, my undergraduate background is in mathematics. I respect people who gather real facts and don't just "shoot from the hip." Jim and Barry have developed the "Leadership Practices Inventory"--which is possibly the world's most widely-respected tool for 360° leadership feedback. They have thoroughly reviewed input from tens of thousands of respondents and used this data to form sound conclusions about what works--and what doesn’t work--in terms of leadership behavior.

My recent book, What Got You Here Won't Get You There, talks about why it can be so challenging for successful people to make the changes that they need to "go to the next level." Jim and Barry have not fallen into the classic "successful author's trap." Given the tremendous success of the first edition of Leadership Challenge, they could have easily thought, "Why change this? It is a huge winner!" Instead they have put in countless hours to make each new edition of this classic better than the previous editions. They have worked to incorporate both what they have learned, through their ongoing research--and what they have observed, through their observations of the changing world of work--to make this edition the best--and most relevant--for today's readers.

My final comment for you as a reader: don't just learn from this book--do something with what you learn. This is a practical guide that can help you lead in a way that makes your organization a better place. Take advantage of this opportunity to make a positive difference in your own life--and in the lives of the people that you lead. --Marshall Goldsmith

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More to Explore
This leadership classic continues to be a bestseller after three editions and 20 years in print. It is the gold standard for research-based leadership, and the premier resource on becoming a leader. This new edition, with streamlined text, more international and business examples, and a graphic redesign, is more readable and accessible to business readers than ever before, and will prove to be the best edition yet.

FAQs About the Five Practices Model from The Leadership Challenge

Learn More About The Leadership Challenge Approach

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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. --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 416 pages
• Publisher: Jossey-Bass; 4 edition (August 3, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0787984914
• ISBN-13: 978-0787984915
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.2 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (92 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #6,705 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

120 of 126 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Guidelines and Parameters for the Perilous Journey Within, March 1, 2002

By	Robert Morris (Dallas, Texas) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Leadership Challenge: How to Keep Getting Extraordinary Things Done in Organizations (Jossey-Bass Management) (Hardcover)

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.

54 of 59 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars one of the very best leader books, January 2, 2001

By	M. H. Bayliss "book queen" - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Leadership Challenge: How to Keep Getting Extraordinary Things Done in Organizations (Paperback)

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.

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best leadership study I've read yet! Outstanding!!, August 11, 1999

By	D. Baden "dabaden" (California) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Leadership Challenge: How to Keep Getting Extraordinary Things Done in Organizations (Paperback)

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.