Everyday People, Extraordinary Leadership

Learn how you can tackle everyday leadership challenges regardless of your title, position, or authority with this insightful resource

A book about leadership for people who are not in formal or hierarchical leadership positions, Everyday People, Extraordinary Leadership provides readers with a comprehensive and practical approach to addressing leadership challenges, no matter the setting or circumstance. Esteemed scholars and sought-after consultants Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner adapt their trademark The Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership^® framework to today’s more horizontal workplace, showing people that leadership is not about where you are in the organization; it’s about how you behave and what you do.

Everyday People, Extraordinary Leadership draws on the authors’ deep well of research and practical experience to cover key subjects:

• The essence of making a difference in any role, setting, or situation
• The difference between positions of authority and leadership
• The importance of self-development in leadership development

This book is perfectly applicable and accessible for anyone who wants to improve their own leadership potential and who isn’t yet in an official leadership role. Everyday People, Extraordinary Leadership offers authoritative new insights, original case studies and examples, and practical guidance for those individuals who want to make a difference. You supply the will, and this book will supply the way.

Preface: The Premise and the Promise xiii

Who Should Read This Book?

Research-Based Practices

A Guidebook on Leadership

The Future of Leadership

1 Leadership is Not a Position 1

Leadership is a Relationship

Credibility is the Foundation of Leadership

The Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership

Model the Way

Inspire a Shared Vision

Challenge the Process

Enable Others to Act

Encourage the Heart

You Are Already Leading

Leadership Makes a Difference

2 Model the Way 23

Clarify Your Values

Explore Your Inner Territory

Discover Your Voice

Build and Affirm Shared Values

Lead by Example

Spend Your Time and Attention Wisely

Turn Critical Incidents into Teachable Moments

Tell Stories to Reinforce Values and Connect with Actions

Watch Your Language

Ask Purposeful Questions

Seek Feedback

Take Action to Model the Way

3 Inspire a Shared Vision 51

Clarify Your Vision

Discover Your Theme

Explore Your Past

Immerse Yourself

Get Others on Board

Listen Deeply

Discover a Common Purpose

Take Pride in Being Unique

Create Images of the Future

Practice Positive Communication and Be Expressive

Take Action to Inspire a Shared Vision

4 Challenge the Process 77

Seize the Initiative to Improve

Make Something Happen

Make Challenge Meaningful

Look Outward for Fresh Ideas

Experiment and Take Risks

Make It Safe to Take Risks

Make Small Wins Work

Learn from Mistakes

Adopt a Learning Mindset

Be Resilient

Take Action to Challenge the Process

5 Enable Others to Act 105

Foster Collaboration and Build Trust

Show Concern for Others

Facilitate Positive Interdependence and Reciprocity

Be More Giving

Maintain Durable Social Connections

Strengthen Others

Provide Choices

Build Competence and Confidence

Foster Personal Responsibility and Accountability

Coach and Mentor

Take Action to Enable Others to Act

6 Encourage the Heart 133

Expect the Best

Adopt a Winning Attitude

Pay Attention to Provide Useful Feedback

Develop Friendships

Personalize Recognition

Use a Creative Mix of Recognitions

Create a Spirit of Community

Provide Social Support

Celebrate and Have Some Fun

Be Personally Involved

Take Action to Encourage the Heart

7 Leadership Development is Self-Development 161

Leadership Matters

Leadership Can Be Learned

Fundamentals for Learning Leadership

How People Learn to Lead

Experience: Learning by Doing

Example: Learning by Observing Others

Education: Learning Through Training and Coursework

Become Your Best Self

Our Aspiration for You

Appendix: The Research Basis for This Book 177

Endnotes 181

Acknowledgments 197

About the Authors 199

Index 203

JAMES M. KOUZES is a Fellow of the Doerr Institute for New Leaders, Rice University and lectures on leadership around the world to corporations, governments, and nonprofits.

BARRY Z. POSNER is an endowed Professor of Leadership and Chair of the Management & Entrepreneurship Department, Leavey School of Business, Santa Clara University. An accomplished scholar, he facilitates leadership workshops and seminars worldwide.

Kouzes and Posner are the authors of Learning Leadership, Credibility, The Truth About Leadership, A Leader's Legacy, Encouraging the Heart, and The Student Leadership Challenge, among many other works. They also developed the highly-acclaimed Leadership Practices Inventory (LPI).

Everyday People, Extraordinary Leadership delivers a powerful and engaging treatment of leadership from outside formal management or leadership roles within organizations. Esteemed scholars and authors James Kouzes and Barry Posner show readers how to tackle everyday leadership challenges without relying on position or authority. Drawing on their trademark TLC (The Leadership Challenge) framework, the authors show how their lessons on leadership can be adapted by anyone, no matter the setting or circumstance.

You'll learn about the essence of leadership and the important differences between positions of power and opportunities for leadership. You'll recognize the essential importance of discovering who you are and what you care about and how these insights guide you to exercise leadership. Relying on original data and established research, the authors have created a framework that adds up to more than just a collection of anecdotes. The book's transformational lessons rest upon a foundation of more than four decades of research.

Everyday People, Extraordinary Leadership argues convincingly for the proposition that leadership is not synonymous with having a managerial or executive role. Instead, the authors demonstrate that leadership involves the clarification and demonstration of one's own values. You'll find out how to use your own convictions to overcome resistance to change and inertia by sharing your vision and passion with those around you. Furthermore, you'll learn that leadership development is fundamentally self-development and that leading others requires striving to be the best version of yourself.

This book is perfect for anyone who wants to improve their own leadership potential and who isn't yet in a formal leadership role. Everyday People, Extraordinary Leadership offers authoritative new insights, case studies and examples, and practical guidance for those who want to make a difference. You supply the will, and this book will supply the way.

PRAISE FOR Everyday People, Extraordinary Leadership

"This book is a must-read for anyone who wants to strengthen their leadership capacity to make a positive difference irrespective of title, role, or position. Grounded in evidence-based research that is paired with real-world examples, the book provides five exemplary practices that we can use to guide our leadership journey. It inspires us to do the inner-work of leadership and invest in self-development, and also teaches us how to excel at everyday leadership through visionary thinking, risk-taking, and collaborative actions."
—LYNN WOOTEN, President, Simmons University

"Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner have discovered the recipe to becoming an exemplary leader. That recipe isn't built upon anecdotal information; it is based on real-world data and decades of research. Everyday People, Extraordinary Leadership tells the story about leaders who are all around us and are performing at their personal best every day. I highly recommend this book for all leaders, wherever you may be in your organization."
—DAVID BITTERMAN, Fellow, American College of Healthcare Executives

"For those of us coaching up-and-coming leaders, what a gift this is! Everyday People, Extraordinary Leadership shines a spotlight on the daily acts of courage by front-line workers. It makes it clear that they not only can be leaders, they are leaders. And their leadership journeys are not over. The tips for growing as a leader provide a good dose of challenge, a wealth of encouragement, and an endless supply of how-to's."
—GWEN VOELPEL, Deputy City Manager, City of SeaTac, WA

"In Everyday People, Extraordinary Leadership, Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner translate their enduring The Leadership Challenge into a powerful template for anyone, anywhere, who seeks to create positive impact by leading well. Grounded in research and illuminated by compelling stories, Everyday People, Extraordinary Leadership underscores ground truths for all who would seek to lead right where they already are."
—LARRY McEVOY, MD, Founder, Epidemic Leadership

"Leadership is a set of skills that anyone can learn, and over the past few decades, no one has taught those skills better than Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner. In their new book, they offer fresh research and actionable guidance on the keys to bringing the best out of others."
—ADAM GRANT, New York Times bestselling author of Think Again and Give and Take