The Leadership Challenge, Sixth Edition: How to Make Extraordinary Things Happen in Organizations | James M. Kouzes - Barry Z. Posner

The most trusted source of leadership wisdom, updated to address today's realities

The Leadership Challenge is the gold-standard manual for effective leadership, grounded in research and written by the premier authorities in the field. With deep insight into the complex interpersonal dynamics of the workplace, this book positions leadership both as a skill to be learned, and as a relationship that must be nurtured to reach its full potential. This new seventh edition has been revised to address current challenges, and includes more international examples and a laser focus on business issues; you'll learn how extraordinary leaders accomplish extraordinary things, and how to develop your leadership skills and style to deliver quality results every time. Engaging stories delve into the fundamental roles that great leaders fulfill, and simple frameworks provide a primer for those who seek continuous improvement; by internalizing key insights and putting concepts into action, you'll become a more effective, more impactful leader.

A good leader gets things done; a great leader aspires, inspires, and achieves more. This book highlights the differences between good and great, and shows you how to bridge the chasm between getting things done and making things happen.

• Gain deep insight into leadership's critical role in organizational health
• Navigate the shift toward team-oriented work relationships
• Motivate and inspire to break through the pervasive new cynicism
• Leverage the electronic global village to deliver better results

Business is evolving at an increasingly rapid rate, and leaders must keep pace with the changes or risk stagnation. People work differently, are motivated differently, and have different expectations today—business as usual is quickly losing its effectiveness. The Leadership Challenge helps you stay current, relevant, and effective in the modern workplace.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"For anyone who wants to improve their leadership, The Leadership Challenge is the perfect book for you."  (The association of MBA's, June 2017)
 

“…this book is a well written piece of art, which gives the reader practical skills and tips on how to start and maintain conversations in any situation.” (Nursing Times, April 2018)

From the Inside Flap

Since it was first published in 1987, The Leadership Challenge has become the gold-standard on becoming an exemplary leader. Well-grounded in research and written by James M. Kouzes and Barry Z. Posner, the premier authorities in the field, this essential resource has sold over 2.5 million copies and has been translated into more than 20 languages. Filled with deep insight into the complex interpersonal dynamics of mobilizing others to achieve shared aspirations, the sixth edition of the classic bestseller describes the practices that individuals must learn and the relationships that they must cultivate in order to engage constituents and create great workplaces.

Revised to address current challenges with updated cases, this edition includes numerous international examples and perspectives from a variety of disciplines and industries. The Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership^®—the model that Jim and Barry derived from studying personal-best leadership experiences—continues to prove its validity as a clear, evidence-based path to achieving the extraordinary for individuals, teams, organizations, and communities. Real-life examples of the behaviors that all leaders at all levels demonstrate when they are at their personal best are provided, and the book clearly shows that leadership is not about personality; it's about an observable and learnable set of skills and abilities. The Leadership Challenge, Sixth Edition, turns the abstract concept of leadership into easy-to-grasp actions and behaviors that can be learned by anyone willing to step up and accept the challenge to lead.

From the Back Cover

PRAISE FOR THE LEADERSHIP CHALLENGE

"This is a classic—one of the few books on leadership that's actually worth reading. The Leadership Challenge is more relevant than ever: a practical, evidence-based resource on how to mobilize people around a common goal."
—Adam Grant, New York Times bestselling author of Originals and Give and Take

"The Leadership Challenge sets the standard for leadership and is a must read at any stage of your career. 'The Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership' provide a comprehensive road map to help us understand what it takes to inspire those we are privileged to lead, and also teaches us to lead with empathy, conviction, and authenticity."
—Mike Selfridge, Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Banking Officer, First Republic Bank

"Up-to-date, superbly compelling, and full of heart, the sixth edition of Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner's classic draws on an unmatched trove of new data to offer fresh context to the fundamentals of great leadership. The Leadership Challenge remains the essential text for leaders who want to achieve the extraordinary in today's hypercompetitive environment."
—Sally Helgesen, author, The Female Vision, The Web of Inclusion, and The Female Advantage

"The Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership are the foundation and road map for developing leadership skills that are needed today more than ever. The Leadership Challenge, Sixth Edition shares real world examples of how putting the practices to work makes great companies and leaders. This book should be on every leader's desk and have lots of bookmarks."
—Garry Ridge, President and CEO, WD-40 Company, coauthor of Helping People Win at Work

About the Author

JAMES M. KOUZES is the Dean's Executive Fellow of Leadership, Leavey School of Business at Santa Clara University, and lectures on leadership around the world to corporations, governments, and nonprofits.

BARRY Z. POSNER is Accolti Professor of Leadership and former Dean of the Leavey School of Business, Santa Clara University. An accomplished scholar, he also provides leadership workshops and seminars worldwide.

Kouzes and Posner are the authors of Learning Leadership, Credibility, The Truth About Leadership, A Leader's Legacy, Encouraging the Heart, and The Student Leadership Challenge, among many other works. They also developed the highly-acclaimed Leadership Practices Inventory (LPI)^®.