The Leadership Challenge: How to Make Extraordinary Things Happen in Organizations

I am in an Organizational Leadership Masters program and this is one of the main textbooks for one of my classes. I find myself completely immersed while I am reading, and I look FORWARD to reading (which is rare with "textbooks!"). This book answers all every single question I have had about why my leadership was struggling or failing in the past - providing concrete examples and case studies of people who successfully applied the principles. The authors write well, they inject humor, and their enthusiasm is contagious. If you own a small business, if you are a teacher/facilitator of any kind, if you do project management, or if you lead any kind of team, YOU NEED TO READ THIS BOOK. There are a million books out there, but this one is so approachable, so practical, so fun and easy to read, and it's in its 6TH EDITION. That says a lot. Not only does it mean that people keep wanting to read this book, but it also means that the information is totally up to date, describing leadership scenarios we are all dealing with right now, in 2019. Thank you Kouzes and Posner. Amazing work. You have given me hope, reinvigorated my sense of purpose, and provided me with applicable practices I can use within my teams, projects, and organization.

This book is not your typical leadership fluff. It’s packed with practical wisdom, real-life examples, and enough inspiration to turn even the grumpiest office curmudgeon (yes, looking at you, Oscar the Grouch) into a mission-driven visionary. Kouzes and Posner lay it out clearly—leadership isn’t about a title, it’s about action. And this book gives you the exact actions to take. From modeling the way to encouraging the heart, every chapter is like a pep talk from a coach who also happens to read Harvard Business Review for fun. Sure, I laughed at some of the metaphors (and maybe pictured myself giving TED Talks in a cape), but the strategies are legit. I actually used a few ideas in a team meeting and people nodded so hard I thought someone was going to pull a neck muscle. If you want to inspire, empower, and maybe even get Oscar to stop yelling about trash for five minutes—this is the book. Buy it. Read it. Then go make something extraordinary happen (cape optional).

An inspiring reminder that anyone can be a "leader" and that it is a designation of how you act and what you do, not a level in a hierarchy. Five practices of exemplary leadership Model the Way - People see and key off what you do and how you role model behavior. In order to do this, you must clarify your values, understand how your values connect with the organization/group you're joining, and be humble and low-ego enough to not ask others to do work you wouldn't do yourself. Inspire a Shared Vision - Craft a future state that is clear and compelling. It should be detailed enough that others can start to see it for themselves. The best example of this is MLK's "I have a dream" speech. Since you can't achieve much on your own, you need others to join your cause and jointly share this vision. Challenge the Process - Every great leadership story requires overcoming some obstacles. While inertia is a strong force, you need to identify where changes in process are necessary and enact those changes. It helps to start small and build it through validation. Enable Others to Act - Great leaders empower others to step up and become leaders themselves. Encourage the Heart - There is an "inspiring" quality to leaders who can tap into a deep human motivation. People also being led by positive, encouraging people who make them feel valued and appreciated. What people look for in a leader Honesty - says what they believe to be true (not two faced), speaks the hard truths Future thinking - spend time thinking about and the future and have a stance on where things are going Competent - do what they say they will do Inspiring - evoke a higher purpose

This is a great book for anyone looking to gain some tips, tricks, and insights on management and leadership. I've been a manager for 20 years and it is a good reminder on how to get more from your direct reports, and help to make sure everyone's on the same page. Great resource for experienced managers and BSBA students alike!

One of the prides of my library is my copy of The Leadership Challenge: How to Get Extraordinary Things Done in Organizations by James M. Kouzes and Barry Z. Posner, which I bought back in 1987. It’s a 1st edition. Tom Peters wrote the foreword. My first underlinings are in the preface, and there are so many little post-it tabs stuck in the sides that it looks like a yellow forest. Each of those tabs represents one or more underlinings of a key idea. The Leadership Challenge is truly a business book classic. But as amazing as the book I own is, and as much value as I’ve gotten from it, it’s not the book I go to today when I’m looking for a comprehensive overview of how leaders work in organizations. For that, I go to the 6th edition of this same book. The 6th edition is a different book from the 1st edition, and it’s a better book. It’s the result of what the authors have learned along the way. Here’s the way they put it. “With each new edition, we get clearer about the leadership actions that make a difference. We reiterate what's still important, discard what's not, and add what's new. We contemporize the framework and freshen up the language and point of view so that the book is highly relevant to current circumstances and conditions. And, we are more authoritatively prescriptive about the best practices of leaders. The more we research and write about leadership, the more confident we become that leadership is within the grasp of everyone. The opportunities for leadership are boundless and boundaryless.” Most business book classics are written once, and then stay pretty much the same forever. They’re classics because they continue to deliver value. This book is different because the authors have taken the time, made the commitment, and done the work to make each edition better than the last. If there’s a 7th edition, I’ll buy it.

The Leadership Challenge by Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner is a true classic. It's been validated by case studies, assessments and leaders around the world. It is cited in most major studies of leadership. It is both simple and complex, revealing layers of depth for dedicated students and practitioners of leadership. The sixth edition brings the Kouzes/Posner evidence-based framework of leadership to life in all new ways. New stories, new research findings, and new 4-color graphics show the power of simple behavioral changes leaders at any level can make. The Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership, the author's model that is based on millions of actual leader assessments, have changed many lives around the world, including mine. Reading others' stories inspires readers to take the plunge and liberate the leader inside themselves. For those already steeped in this work, this edition is very shareable with clear and compelling illustrations to showcase important research. For those who are new to leadership development, there simply isn't a better starting point. It's impossible to read this book without recognizing yourself in it and being stirred to stretch toward your fullest potential.

Great book to add to your collection.

This is a 100 page book disguised as a 311 page book. The information in it is not bad, so the book is worth reading, but my goodness is it repetitive. Most of the 25 page chapters say everything they need to say in the first 8-10 pages. The rest of the chapter is them just repeating the same thing over and over. The authors must have had a minimum page count in their contract.

El libro presenta 5 practicas que un gran líder debe de seguir. Esto lo hace con ejemplos de personas que trabajan en diferentes empresas y en diferentes niveles de la organización. Disfrute mucho el libro. Aunque algunas cosas suenen lógicas, siempre es bueno tener una recapitulación de lo que cualquier persona que quiera ser líder debe de considerar hacer.

Amazing. Easy to read 📚. I really enjoy it.

informative. impactful. relevant. if leadership interests you - this is a must read.

A lire absolument !

One of the best books on the subject and the good thing is the constant updation by the authors.