The document outlines four pillars that are necessary to support a leadership culture within an organization: trust, opportunities for learning, support for risk and failure, and models of exemplary leadership. A survey of 225 leadership professionals identified these pillars. Organizations with strong leadership cultures foster trust among leaders, provide developmental opportunities, support taking risks and learning from failures, and showcase exemplary leadership models for others to follow.

1. Develop a
Leadership Culture
in Your Organization
Jim Kouzes & Barry Posner

2. Leaders emerge, grow,
and succeed in organizations with
a rich culture of leadership.

3. A survey of 225 leadership professionals
1
revealed the four pillars necessary to
support a leadership culture:
• Trust
• Opportunities for Learning
• Support for Risk and Failure
• Models of Exemplary Leadership
1
Survey conducted at The Leadership Challenge Forum, June 18, 2015, and involved 225 leadership educators, trainers, and coaches.

4. TRUST

5. Leaders must trust one another to
grow and thrive. They need to feel safe to
be open and honest. They need to support
people’s growth, have one another’s backs,
and be there to lift others up when
they fall or stumble.

6. A collaborative culture is more hospitable
to leadership development than one that is
competitive with a winner-take-all approach
to selecting and promoting leaders.

7. OPPORTUNITIES
FOR LEARNING

8. Organizations with a strong
leadership culture offer many
opportunities for development, such as
classroom-based programs, online learning,
international assignments, as well as
mentoring and coaching.

9. Leadership cultures recognize
and reward learning, which incentivizes
self-improvement and development.

10. SUPPORT FOR RISK
AND FAILURE

11. Learning requires risk—doing things you’ve
never done, challenging yourself with new
assignments, addressing weaknesses, and
stretching beyond your comfort zone.

12. Venturing into the unknown requires courage
and support. It’s a lot easier to take risks
when you know there’s a safety net.

13. MODELS OF
EXEMPLARY LEADERSHIP

14. People become the leaders they observe.
You have to see exemplary leadership
in action in order to do it yourself.
Watch and study positive role models
inside and outside your organization.

15. You need access to leaders with
experience and expertise. You need to
hear stories about how leaders who
lived their espoused values were
successful and rewarded.

16. When an environment provides
these essential conditions,
leaders are born.
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Learn more about the five fundamentals of becoming a better leader.