3 CHAPTER SUMMARIES Essay

Submitted By Mood-Shake
Words: 7845
Pages: 32

CHAPTER SUMMARIES

PART 1. WHAT LEADERS DO AND WHAT CONSTITUENTS EXPECT

Chapters 1 and 2 introduce readers to the author’s point of view about leadership.

Chapter 1. The Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership.

Using the stories of two people who each took advantage of an opportunity to lead their organization to excellence, the authors introduce their leadership model, The Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership.

The Five Practices

Ordinary people who guide others along pioneering journeys follow similar paths, marked by common patterns of action. When getting extraordinary things done in organizations, leaders engage in Five Practices that are available to anyone who accepts the leadership challenge:

Model the Way
Inspire a Shared Vision
Challenge the Practice
Enable Others to Act
Encourage the Heart

This model has stood the test of time—research confirms that it’s just as relevant now as when Kouzes and Posner first began their investigation.

Leadership is a Relationship

Leadership is a relationship between those who aspire to lead and those who choose to follow. Success in leadership, business and life is a function of how well people work and play together, and success in leading depends on the capacity to build and sustain the human relationships that enable people to extraordinary things done

Ten Commitments of Leadership

The behaviors that serve as the basis for learning to lead are embedded in The Five Practices:

Model the Way

Find your voice by clarifying your personal values

Set the example by aligning actions with shared values

Inspire a Shared Vision

Envision the future by imagining exciting and ennobling possibilities.

Enlist others in a common vision by appealing to shared aspirations.

Challenge the Process

Search for opportunities by seeking innovative ways to change, grow, and improve.

Experiment and take risks by constantly generating small wins and learning from mistakes.

Enable Others to Act

Foster collaboration by promoting cooperative goals and building trust.

Strengthen others by sharing power and discretion.

Encourage the Heart

Recognize contributions by showing appreciation for individual excellence.

Celebrate the values and victories by creating a spirit of community.

Chapter 2. Credibility is the Foundation of Leadership

The authors discuss the research into the four qualities that people believe are essential to exemplary leadership, on which all great leadership is built.

What People Look for and Admire in Their Leaders

Over a period of more than 20 years, the authors asked more than 75,000 people around the globe what values they most looked for and admired in a leader, someone “whose direction they would willingly follow.”

Only four out of 20 qualities have continuously received more than 50 per cent of the respondents’ votes: the majority of people believe a leader must be honest, forward-looking, competent, and inspiring.

Honesty is the single most important leadership characteristic for nearly 90 percent of constituents. People expect leaders to be truthful and ethical, be consistent between word and deed, and take a stand on important principles.

The ability to look ahead is one of the most important characteristics for more than 70 per cent of constituents. Being forward-looking is more important to senior people in an organization than to those on the front line, but no matter what their positions, people expect leaders to be able to envision the future—to have a sense of direction and a concern for the future of the organization.

According to more than two-thirds of all constituents, leaders must be able to inspire others, to communicate their vision and encourage others to sign on. When leaders breathe life into their constituents’ dreams and aspirations, they’re more willing to work towards that future. Leaders must lift constituents’ spirits and give them hope if constituents are to engage voluntarily in challenging pursuits.