The Leadership Challenge Workbook

by James M. Kouzes and Barry Z. Posner

Book Overview

Essential, practical tools for implementing evidence-based leadership development The Leadership Challenge Workbook offers practical tools for applying The Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership? in... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0787968218
• ISBN13: 9780787968212
• Release Date: July 2003
• Publisher: Jossey-Bass
• Length: 129 Pages
• Weight: 0.85 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 8.0" x 9.4"

Customer Reviews

Well Written and Easy to Follow

This is a well designed workbook for use in the classroom with other leadership materials developed by Kouzes and Posner.

Leadership Challenge Workbook

Product arrived in great time and In great condition. Now I just need to make time to review material and put it to work for me.

"One hop at a time."

Although there has been a more recent edition of The Leadership Challenge published (in 2007) since this Workbook appeared (in 2003), the core concepts remain the same, guiding and informing the series of exercises provided in it. Specifically what James Kouzes and Barry Posner characterize as "The Five Practices" of exemplary leadership, requires two commitments. For example, Challenge the Process by searching for opportunities (i.e. seek innovative ways to change, grow, and improve) and experimenting with calculated risks (i.e. constantly generate "small wins" and learn from every mistake). As Kouzes and Posner have by now clearly indicated in their collaborations, they are relentless empiricists and diehard pragmatists. Their observations and suggestions are driven by more then 30 years of rigorous research that includes hundreds of interviews of leaders and several million responses to various surveys. After briefly identifying the "what" of effective leadership, they devote most of their attention to its "how." How did Don Bennett, the first amputee to climb Mt. Rainier (elevation 14,410 feet), get to the top on one leg and two crutches? "One hop at a time." Kouzes and Posner suggest that the same process be followed by those who aspire to be exemplary leaders. They note that work tends to be organized in terms of projects because projects "create the context for our goals, determine with whom we work, and set our schedules." That said, on pages 6 and 7, they offer several guidelines for completing this workbook. Depending on the reader's given project or situation, 1. "If you're just starting, we recommend that you begin with Chapter 4...and work your way through Chapter 8." 2. "If your project has been underway for some time, we recommend that your first step be to read through this Workbook quickly, without completing all the activities. Then go back and start with those worksheets that address immediate concerns." Digression: Why are so few workbooks and field guides based on business bestsellers designed to include space within the narrative on which to complete exercises, record notes, etc.? Credit someone (the authors, their publisher, or both) with enabling the reader to do so in this workbook. As a result, each person who accepts "the leadership challenge" will want to have her or his own copy. Also, many more copies will be sold. I appreciate the fact that, from the beginning, Kouzes and Posner establish a direct, personal rapport with their reader. The tone is informal, in fact cordially conversational. In effect, they seem to be saying "After all these years of research, here's what we've learned about exemplary leadership. We want you to focus on specific issues and we will explore them with you. We realize that not everything in this workbook is directly relevant to your current or imminent circumstances. That's OK. Let's proceed through the material together and then you decide which activities will be most helpful t

Great workbook for MBA leadership class

We're using Kouzes & Posner's "The Leadership Challenge" book (among others) in our MBA Leadership and Management Processes class. This workbook, although not required, should be. There are lots of checklists, worksheets, questionaires, etc. that lead you through applying the concepts presented in the book.