In their own words, Kouzes and Posner effectively convey the message of this enlightening book: The fundamental purpose of The Leadership Challenge is to assist people- managers and individual contributors alike – in furthering their abilities to lead others to get extraordinary things done. The Leadership Challenge is written both to strengthen your abilities and uplift your spirits. We intend it to be practical and inspirational.
I very much agree and the authors have accomplished this goal – I have enjoyed reading this book and over years will continue to quote from the exemplary tangible wisdom this book shares on the very basic framework of essential leadership qualities.
The indispensable strength which defines a good leader are very logically presented, right from practical wisdom of managing people to fostering collaborations.
The Leadership Challenge, 4th Edition by James M. Kouzes and Barry Z. Posner presents numerous examples of how successfully some leaders in their organizations have implemented the fundamental leadership qualities such as setting an example for the constituents, inspiring and communicating their vision to the employees and so forth.
Kouzes and Posner emphasize the need for effectively communicating the vision of your company to your constituents. I was quite impressed with the sections: Envision the Future and Strengthen Others. Most often as employees of a large organizations employees understand only what their particular division is doing and the implementation of the present project and planning of the next one. What they miss out is on the bigger picture, the vision of the company, how do they feel part of the organization and how are they valued for their work towards achieving the larger vision.
On this topic the authors say: Your constituents can’t act like owners and provide leadership if they fundamentally don’t understand how your business, agency, company, product or program operates. This goes way beyond clear visions and goals into the interior domains of operations. To really understand the critical organizational issues and tasks, they need to be able to answer such questions as; Who are our most important customers, clients, suppliers and stakeholders? How do they perceive us? How do we measure success? What has out track record been over the past five years? What new products or services will we initiate in the next six years?
It is a book that is to be revisited periodically by one and all. The ideas and thoughts are communicated quite simply and they are very basic to any leadership role, but at times what is most evident and simple slips off our practice. A must read for someone who is at the managerial position or a CEO or founder of a company or someone who wishes to excel and hone their leadership skills.
Read more about the book at: http://www.leadershipchallenge.com/