Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

The latest edition of the gold-standard guide for leadership development

In the new seventh edition of The Leadership Challenge: How to Make Extraordinary Things Happen in Organizations , best-selling leadership authors and business scholars James Kouzes and Barry Posner deliver an essential strategic playbook for effective leadership. The book's actionable advice is grounded in robust research and deep insights into the complex interpersonal dynamics of the workplace.

Premier authorities in the field, the authors frame leadership as both a skill to be learned and as a relationship to be nurtured. They demonstrate how to achieve extraordinary results in the face of contemporary business challenges with engaging stories, current case studies, and straightforward frameworks for those who seek continuous, incremental improvement.

The book also offers:

Incisive commentary on the shift toward team-oriented and hybrid work relationships Key insights into how to break through a new and pervasive level of cynicism amongst the modern workforce Strategies for leveraging the electronic global village to deliver better results within your team, in your department, and across your organization

Perfect for every practicing and aspiring leader who wants to stay current, relevant, and effective in a rapidly evolving business environment, The Leadership Challenge will help you remain impactful and capable of inspiring and motivating your constituents at every level.

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

• Introduction (xv)
• 1 When Leaders Are at Their Best (1)
• The Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership
• The Five Practices Make a Difference
• Leadership Is a Relationship
• Putting It All Together: Credibility Is the Foundation
• Practice 1 Model the Way (29)
• 2 Clarify Values (31)
• Find Your Voice
• Affirm Shared Values
• 3 Set the Example (59)
• Live the Shared Values
• Teach Others to Model the Values
• Practice 2 Inspire a Shared Vision (85)
• 4 Envision the Future (87)
• Imagine the Possibilities
• Identify a Common Purpose
• 5 Enlist Others (111)
• Appeal to Common Ideals
• Animate the Vision
• Practice 3 Challenge the Process (137)
• 6 Search for Opportunities (139)
• Seize the Initiative
• Exercise Outsight
• 7 Experiment and Take Risks (165)
• Generate Small Wins
• Learn from Experience
• Practice 4 Enable Others to Act (191)
• 8 Foster Collaboration (193)
• Create a Climate of Trust
• Facilitate Relationships
• 9 Strengthen Others (219)
• Enhance Self-Determination
• Develop Competence and Confidence
• Practice 5 Encourage the Heart (247)
• 10 Recognize Contributions (249)
• Expect the Best
• Personalize Recognition
• 11 Celebrate the Values and Victories (275)
• Create a Spirit of Community
• Be Personally Involved
• 12 Treat Challenge as an Opportunity (303)
• Your Leadership Matters
• Liberate the Leader Within Everyone
• Everyone Can Learn to Lead
• Become Your Best Self
• You Wont Always Get It Right
• Make Becoming a Better Leader a Daily Habit
• Remember the Secret to Success in Life
• Endnotes (325)
• Acknowledgments (367)
• About the Authors (371)
• Index (375)

Reviews provided by Syndetics

CHOICE Review

In The Leadership Challenge, Kouzes and Posner (both, Santa Clara Univ.), recognized experts on leadership, demonstrate how leaders are able to encourage themselves and others to accomplish extraordinary things for the betterment of an organization. This 5th edition (4th ed., CH, Mar'08, 45-3877) commemorates the 25th anniversary of this popular publication. Each edition reflects the period in which it was written, with updated research, examples, stories, and cases. This new work is organized into six sections. Following an introduction, each of the remaining five sections deals with one of the five practices of exemplary leadership the authors espouse. They suggest reading chapter 1 first and then reading the remaining chapters in any order. Each chapter concludes with a Take Action section, which allows readers to put into practice the leadership ideas of the chapter. The entire premise of the book is that leadership is a relationship; people will not follow a leader until a relationship is established. A mobile app is available to enhance learning and put into practice the concepts discussed in the book; a "lite" version is free, and one offering more tools and features may be purchased. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduate through professional collections. W. A. Garrett Troy University

Author notes provided by Syndetics

JAMES KOUZES is a fellow at the Doerr Institute for New Leaders at Rice University and formerly the Dean's Executive Fellow of Leadership, Leavey School of Business at Santa Clara University.

BARRY POSNER holds the Michael J. Accolti, S.J., Chair at Santa Clara University and is Professor of Leadership with the Leavey School of Business. He is Chair of the Department of Management and Entrepreneurship and previously served as Associate Dean for Graduate Programs, as well as Executive Education, and as Dean of the Leavey School.