In the Leadership Challenge, 4th edition, it is Kouzes & Posner (2007) intention to present a road map for individuals to follow on their leadership journey. The authors stress that “leadership is not a gene and it’s not an inheritance.” Leadership they assert is “an identifiable set of skills and abilities that are available to all of us” (p. 23). They make clear that the “great person” theory of leadership is “plain wrong.” Leaders are our everyday heroes who do extraordinary things on a regular basis (p. 23).
Empirically based, the writers begin the book by offering five practices of exemplary leadership: Model the Way, Inspire a Shared Vision, Challenge the Process, Enable Others to Act and Encourage the Heart (p. 14). In their survey of Characteristics of Admired Leaders, the authors asked respondents to select the seven qualities that they most look for and admire in a leader. Although they do not present the actual statistical data, the results showed that followers believe that a leader must be honest, forward-looking, inspiring and competent (p. 29). Leaders cannot model the way, for example, without being honest.
The authors then described these five practices throughout the book by presenting real life experiences of leaders. The authors take it a step further adding ten commitments of leadership (p. 26) as an extension to the five practices. The leaders must model the behaviors they expect of others (p. 15). Kouzes & Posner suggest that a leader must first know who they are (p. 50). They must know what they stand for by finding their voice. Leaders must know what they believe and what they care about because it helps them when faced with tough decisions (p. 51 and p. 72). In order to understand their role as lea...
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...tion. These examples vary from providing 401(k) to health and dental insurance benefits, to stock ownership, to assisting employees purchase new homes. The owner does not push their employees to sell. Instead he pushes workers towards being knowledgeable of the product and presenting a pleasant atmosphere. Convinced that the product will sell itself, the leader of Starbucks focuses his bottom line on his followers. Organizations which focus on the production and annual sales often only view labor (followers) in terms of a commodity. Therefore, in the long-run they may not be as successful. My recommendation is for an organization to focus on their labor force (followers) by recognizing contributions and talents, etc. By also adopting practices that help improve workers satisfaction and in the long run this will help them improve or maintain a healthy bottom line.
The Leadership Challenge by Kouzes and Posner (2007) is the result of twenty years of research on the factors that influence and create great leadership. Through studies and stories from leaders with various backgrounds throughout the world, the practices and characteristics that create great leadership are delineated. Leadership is viewed not as a group of inherent characteristics, but as learned behavior that anyone can achieve. The goal of Kouzes and Posner’s book is to inspire and educate leaders through transformational leadership. As such, leadership is about mobilizing others to become and do extraordinary things.
They have profound convictions for for their leadership; Their behavior always reflect their core values and they view themselves as individuals that “lead with their hearts as well as their heads while also building enduring organizations” (George 2003). Leaders are encouraged to maintain the perception of authenticity but making sure that their words are consistent and reflect their action or intentions. They should not be so pompous and arrogant that they cannot relate to or find mutual and common ground with their staff. (Goffee & Jones 2005)
In many formal and informal settings, we have often heard the word “leadership”. Although this term is found in many textbooks, writings, news clippings, college level courses and papers, leadership is a concept that is consistently evolving. Leadership isn’t an attribute that individuals are born with. Although individuals are born with certain characteristics and traits of a leader, those traits are honed throughout the course of a lifetime.
This opens the floodgates to leadership development, as opposed to simple psychometric assessment that sorts those with leadership potential from those who will never have the chance.” This theory does not seek inborn traits or capabilities; rather they look at what leaders actually do.(Changing minds). Behavioural theory suggests that leadership requires a strong personality with a well-developed positive ego; self-confidence is essential.(Boundless,
The emphasis on leaders being not just executives and managers, and that not all executives and managers are leaders, is extremely vital. Anyone can strive to be a leader in whatever organization in which they are involved. Bennis and Nanus claim that leadership is about character, setting the example for how team members treat one other (and in a corporate setting, their clients as well), being truthful and sustaining organizational trust, and encouraging themselves and others to learn. On one hand, it can be easy to see how many people in leadership positions do no match up to these standards of leadership. On the other, it seems a bit like common sense to be truthful to others and to effectively communicate with people who work together everyday. Leaders is an effective tool for summarizing and inspiring leadership not in that it teaches tough strategies and manipulations, but that when looking at an overview of its content, Bennis and Nanus are essentially teaching human relations and human decency. All in all, this book highlights strategies for us all to be better in our lives and our everyday
Leadership at times can be a complex topic to delve into and may appear to be a simple and graspable concept for a certain few. Leadership skills are not simply acquired through position, seniority, pay scale, or the amount of titles an individual holds but is a characteristic acquired or is an innate trait for the fortunate few who possess it. Leadership can be misconstrued with management; a manager “manages” the daily operations of a company’s work while a leader envisions, influences, and empowers the individuals around them.
Kouzes and Posner (2007) have defined the following five leadership practices as necessary to achieving great things in organisations;
Although there are many outstanding, albeit necessary qualities of a good leader, it is the leader’s beliefs in which greatness is given its first breath, fostered by action, and spread throughout the institution. A great leader believes in encouraging, not destroying; in setting the precedence instead of yielding to prominence ; in collaboration, not division; in giving, not taking; and in having high standards and volunteering to be the first of many to be held to them. A great leader does not take advantage of the people being lead, but instead, creates an advantage for the people by giving them the opportunities to lead. Only when people take ownership of an institution will passion be cultivated, action be taken, and greatness be achieved.
The book On becoming A Leader was written by Warren Bennis who was an American scholar, author and widely known pioneer of leadership studies. This book was published in 1989 by basic books but revised in 2003 by Perseus Publishing in Cambridge, MA. This book states the many traits, qualities and factors of becoming a leader. Bennis showcases the depths and heights of how leaders drive their followers in different situations. This book emphasizes on theories of becoming a leader, it is not a “how to” book by any means. Bennis states how leaders contribute to society and how crucial they are along with the characteristics that come along with being a leader. He provides intriguing insight about leaders and emphasizes the integrity and authenticity such people carry.
Kouzes, J. M., & Posner, B. Z. (2012). The leadership challenge: How to make extraordinary
Kouzes, J., & Posner, B. (2007). The Leadership Challenge (4th ed.). San Francisco, CA 94103-1741: Jossey-Bass.
Great leadership is not achieved over night, and it is not something that one achieves and stops. Great leaders spend entire lives building and growing their leadership skills. It is not likely that a leader will one day wake up with all of the vision, influence, knowledge, respect, and momentum necessary to be great; these take time to develop. “It is the capacity to develop and improve their skills that distinguishes leaders from their followers.”
There are several ways to define leadership, but what sets effective leaders apart from commonplace managers are their extraordinary actions and the successes that result. In The Leadership Challenge, James Kouzes and Barry Posner claim leaders that employ The Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership are much more effective than those who do not (2012, p. 25). This paper will be reviewing my assessment findings, exploring my strengths and weaknesses, examining my personal-best leadership story, and detailing a specific area of development.
As a growing debate, the question at hand is whether great leaders are born with specific leadership traits, or if one can be taught certain traits over time. According to (Wikipedia.com) the approach of listing leadership qualities, often termed "trait theory of leadership", assumes certain traits or characteristics will tend to lead to effective leadership. I believe that leadership traits such as honest, competent, initiative, inspiring, hardworking, intelligent, and the ability to lead the masses, are some of the leadership traits one should possess. Within this paper, I will examine the overall concept of leadership traits, while observing the traits that were, or can be associated with successful leaders.
Leaders will no matter what have an influence on our world. They have missions, dreams and ambition, and with these things they are bound to go far. For leaders, what makes these dreams come true is having strong qualities such as leadership practices, values and strengths. If developed and learned how to use correctly, these are what take leaders to the next level and accomplish great things. In the following paper I will talk about leadership in our ever-changing world, explore my leadership practices, values and strengths as well as elaborate on the goals I have made to challenge myself as a leader.