This document discusses leadership and the research of Kouzes and Posner. It outlines their findings that exemplary leaders engage in five key practices: model the way, inspire a shared vision, challenge the process, enable others to act, and encourage the heart. The document also discusses the importance of credibility and how leaders build credibility through behaviors like practicing what they preach and ensuring actions are consistent with words. Leaders can develop these leadership skills through commitments in each practice area.

1. The Leadership Challenge

2. What Effective Leaders do?
 Leaders mobilize others to want to get extraordinary things
done in organizations.
 Leaders transform values into actions, visions into realities,
obstacles into innovations, separateness into solidarity, and
risks into rewards.
 Leaders create the climate in which people turn challenging
opportunities into remarkable successes.
Kouzes & Posner, 2007, p.xi

3. Leadership
Definition of Leadership
 Leadership is a relationship; it is about behavior not
personality. Leadership is everyone's business; it is an
ongoing process that can happen anywhere and at any time.
 Leadership is the skill of influencing people to work
enthusiastically for the common good.
Our Leadership Imperative
Great Leadership = Engaged Employees = Positive Business Outcome

4. Importance of Employee Engagement
 The world's top-performing organizations understand that
employee engagement is a force that drives business
outcomes. In the best organizations, engagement is more
than a human resources initiative -- it is a strategic
foundation for the way they do business.
 World-class organizations unleash their potential for
growth by optimizing their employee and customer
relationships. Organizations that have optimized
engagement have 2.6 times the earnings per share (EPS)
growth rate compared to organizations with lower
engagement in their same industry.
Employee Engagement, 2009, p.1

5. Leadership Research
 Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner conducted extensive research
on leadership. Kouzes and Posner collected thousands of
"Personal Best" stories. People were asked to recalled peak
leadership experiences. Despite differences in stories, a
pattern emerged. The “best leadership experiences”
revealed that when leaders are at their personal best, they
display key behaviors. Kouzes and Posner grouped these
behaviors into five key practices.
The Leadership Challenge : Approach, 2009

6. Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership
 When getting extraordinary things done in organizations,
leaders engage in Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership.
 Model the Way
 Inspire a Shared Vision
 Challenge the Process
 Enable Others to Act
 Encourage the Heart
Kouzes & Posner, 2007, p. 14

7. Ten Commitments of Leadership
The Commitments of Leadership are behaviors that provide structure
and can be used as a guide for learning to lead.
Model the Way
1. Clarify values by finding your voice and affirming shared ideals
2. Set the example by aligning actions with shared values.
Inspire a Shared Vision
3. Envision the future by imagining exciting and ennobling possibilities.
4. Enlist others in a common vision by appealing to shared aspirations.
Challenge the Process
5. Search for opportunities by seizing the initiative and by looking outward for innovative ways to
improve.
6. Experiment and take risks by constantly generating small wins and learning from experience.
Enable Others to Act
7. Foster collaboration by building trust and facilitating relationships.
8. Strengthen others by increasing self-determination and developing competence.
Encourage the Heart
9. Recognize contributions by showing appreciation for individual excellence.
10. Celebrate the values and victories by creating a spirit of community.
Kouzes & Posner, 2007

8. Foundation of Leadership
Credibility is the foundation of leadership
 Leadership is the relationship between the leader and the
followers. In order for people to want to follow, there must
be trust. Therefore, credibility is the foundation of
leadership. Without credibility the leader's message will
not be believed.
 Over 20 years of research by Kouzes and Posner continues
to validate that followers expect leaders to be honest,
forward-looking, competent and inspiring.
Kouzes & Posner, 2007

9. Foundation of Leadership
Credibility Matters
 If employees don’t trust and believe in their manager, they
will not believe the message.
 When employees perceive their manager has high
credibility, they are more likely to:
 Be promoters of the organization
 Have strong sense of team spirit
 Be attached and committed to the organization
 Have a sense of ownership
 See the alignment between their own personal values and the values
of the organization
Kouzes & Posner, 2007

10. Foundation of Leadership
Credibility Matters
 When employees perceive their manager as having
low credibility, they are more likely to:
 Produce only when they are being watched
 Be motivated primarily by money
 Promote the organization publicly but criticize the organization
privately
 Feel unsupported and unappreciated
Kouzes & Posner, 2007

11. Foundation of Leadership
Credibility Matters
 Employee know credibility when they hear and see it.
Around the globe people describe credibility as:
 They practice what they preach
 They walk the talk
 Their actions are consistent with their words
 They follow through on their promises
 They do what they say they will do
Kouzes & Posner, 2007

12. Leadership Practice: Model the Way
 Titles are labels, they do not give you credibility, it is your
behavior that will win you respect. Model the way by:
 Leading by example
 DWYSYWD (Do What You Say You Will Do)
 Ensuring your actions align with your values
“When people show you who they are, believe them.”
— Maya Angelou

13. Leadership in Action: Model the Way
Commitment Number 1 Commitment Number 2
 Essentials of:  Essentials of:
Clarifying Values Setting the Example
 Find your voice  Personify the shared values
 Affirm shared values  Teach others to model the
values
 Taking Action
 Taking Action
 Write a tribute to yourself
 Do a personal audit
 Write your credo
 Develop a routine for
 Engage in a credo dialogue questioning
 Put storytelling on your meeting
agenda

14. Leadership Practice: Inspire a Shared Vision
 Leaders awaken the passion in others by communicating a
compelling vision of their followers. Inspire a shared vision
by:
 Envisioning the future
 Finding a common purpose
 Listening to others
 Identifying what is important to others
“A leader has the vision and conviction that a dream can be
achieved. He inspires the power and energy to get it done.”
— Ralph Lauren

15. Leadership in Action: Inspire a Shared Vision
Commitment Number 3 Commitment Number 4
 Essentials of:  Essentials of:
Envisioning the Future Enlisting Others
 Imagine the possibilities  Appeal to common ideals
 Find a common purpose  Animate the vision
 Taking Action  Taking Action
 Determine the something you  Record you shared vision
want to do  Breathe life into your vision
 Picture what you will do next  Expand your communication
 Survey your constituents about and expressiveness skills
their aspirations

16. Leadership Practice: Challenge the Process
 Leaders are always looking for ways to innovate, grow and
improve. They are risk takers that recognize and support
good ideas and learn from their mistakes. Challenge the
Process by:
 Searching for opportunities
 Experimenting and taking risks
 Learning from your mistakes
 Encourage and promote good ideas
"Don't be afraid to challenge the pros, even in their own
backyard."
— Colin Powell

17. Leadership in Action: Challenge the Process
Commitment Number 5 Commitment Number 6
 Essentials of:  Essentials of:
Searching for Opportunities Experimenting and Taking Risks
 Seize the initiative  Generate small wins
 Exercise outsight  Learn from experience
 Taking Action  Taking Action
 Treat every job as an adventure  Conduct postmortems
 Question the status quo  Conduct pre-mortems
 Send everyone shopping for  Strengthen resilience
ideas

18. Leadership Practice: Enable Others to Act
 Leadership is a team effort. Great leaders can accomplish
remarkable things by enabling others. They reinforce and
support others, making each person feel talented and a vital
part of the team. Enable Others to Act by:
 Sharing power with others
 Offering support
 Knowing when to be a coach and when to be a team member
 Building a culture of collaboration
Good leaders make people feel that they’re at the very heart of
things, not at the periphery. Everyone feels that he or she makes a
difference to the success of the organization. When that happens
people feel centered and that gives their work meaning.
— Warren Bennis

19. Leadership in Action: Enable Others to Act
Commitment Number 7 Commitment Number 8
 Essentials of:  Essentials of:
Fostering Collaboration Strengthening Others
 Create a climate of trust  Enhance self-determination
 Facilitate relationships  Develop competence and
confidence
 Taking Action
 Show trust to build trust  Taking Action
 Say we, ask questions, listen and  Increase individual
take advice accountability
 Get people interacting  Offer visible support
 Conduct monthly coaching
conversations

20. Leadership Practice: Encourage the Heart
 Great leaders celebrate accomplishment and milestones,
show appreciation for excellence and build group esprit de
corps. Encourage the Heart by:
 Recognize contributions
 Link performance with rewards
 Celebrate the values and victories
 Personalizing recognition
“Leadership is not so much about technique and methods as it is
about opening the heart. Leadership is about inspiration of oneself
and of others. Great leadership is about human experiences, not
processes. Leadership is not a formula or a program, it is a human
activity that comes from the heart and considers the hearts of
others. It is an attitude, not a routine.”
— Lance Secretan

21. Leadership in Action: Encourage the Heart
Commitment Number 9 Commitment Number 10
 Essentials of:  Essentials of:
Recognizing Contributions Celebrating the Values and
 Expect the best Victories
 Personalize recognition  Create a spirit of community
 Be personally involved
 Taking Action
 Find out what is encouraging  Taking Action
 Stop by for a visit  Plan a celebration today
 Develop a winner’s attitude  Reinforce core values in your
celebrations
 Enjoy yourself

22. Summary
 During these tough times, it is critical to continue to
invest in building better leaders. An investment in
the development of exemplary leaders will enable the
organization to meet of the current and future
business environment.

23. References
 George, B. (2008, November 19). Failed leadership caused the
financial crisis. Retrieved September 21, 2009, from US News and
World Report website:
http://www.usnews.com/‌ obile/‌ rticles_mobile/‌ ailed-leadership-
m a f
caused-the-financial-crisis/‌ndex.html
i
 Kouzes, J. M., & Posner, B. Z. (2007). The leadership challenge (4th
ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Wiley Imprint. (Original work
published 1945)
 The leadership challenge: Approach. (n.d.). Retrieved September 21,
2009, from John Wiley & Sons Inc. website:
http://www.leadershipchallenge.com/‌ ileyCDA/‌ ection/‌d-
W S i
131055.html