Kouzes and Posner (2012) discuss results of a study conducted on effective leadership in The Leadership Challenge. In this study, it is revealed that there are five practices of exemplary leadership. These practices find that exemplary leaders model the way, inspire a shared vision, challenge the process, enable others to act, and encourage the heart. In order to illustrate these practices various real life case studies are included.
Overview and Summary
Before explaining these practices in detail, the authors laid out two important laws of leadership that are the foundation for the five practices to be successful. This first law states that subordinates must believe in their messenger in order to believe the message being conveyed. This law summarizes the concept that people tend desire to work for leaders who exhibit a high degree of credibility. The second law states that leaders must “DWYSYWD—Do What You Say You Will Do” (p. 40). Following this law grants leaders the moral authority to lead their organizations.
The first practice referred to as model the way, according to the authors, encompass two factors (p. 42). The first factor is clarifying values and the second is setting the example. Clarifying values includes two key elements which are finding your voice and affirming shared values. Finding your voice is refers to the leader being able to communicate his or her leadership philosophy while affirming shared values centers around “building alignments around values that everyone can share” (p. 57). The second factor to “model the way” is setting the example. Setting the example starts with living out the shared values and ends with teaching others to model the values. Leaders are their “organizations’ am...
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...e have to lead teachers, but we must also lead students, parents, and community members. Part of exercising the firs practice will be constantly bringing back to my teachers, students, parents, and community members our shared value of educating students. The last practice, encouraging the heart, is also something that I apply in my setting daily. Most stakeholders in the educational process contribute so much to the process and it is imparitive to continue to recognize the work that they do. With continued reflection, it is clear that great educational leaders do, in fact, model the way, inspire a shared vision, challenge the process, enable others to act, and encourage the heart.
Reference
Kouzes, J., & Posner, B. (2012). The Leadership Challenge How to Make Extraordinary Things Happen in Organizations Fifth Edition. San Francisco: The Leadership Challenge.
The topic of leadership has been explored and written about by thousands of authors who are considerably more qualified than I am to write about the subject. However, I’ve always maintained that developing, evolving and articulating one’s own leadership philosophy is an essential part of a professional’s growth. Through academics and experience, I’ve concluded that leadership is a “soft” skill, more art than science, and that leadership principles can be universally applied. As a topic of discussion, leadership can be ambiguous and seldom does everyone agree on a single definition. Organizations and the people they consist of crave leadership, even if not overtly. Undeniably, strong leadership is essential to achieving
1. There are numerous methods, characteristics, and motives for proper leadership. In my opinion, leadership is the overall process of unifying a team toward completing a common goal. Several key people in my life influenced this definition and how I lead.
Throughout the novel, The Student Leadership Challenge: Five Practices for Exemplary Leaders, authors James M. Kouzes and Barry Z. Posner share with young student leaders the skills they have found for effective leadership. The authors wrote The Student Leadership Challenge hoping to strengthen the abilities and uplift the spirits of leaders by introducing the five principles: modeling the way, inspiring a shared vision, challenging the process, enabling others to act, and encouraging the heart (Kouzes and Posner 3).
The Leadership Challenge by Kouzes and Posner (2007) is the result of twenty years of research on the factors that influence and create great leadership. Through studies and stories from leaders with various backgrounds throughout the world, the practices and characteristics that create great leadership are delineated. Leadership is viewed not as a group of inherent characteristics, but as learned behavior that anyone can achieve. The goal of Kouzes and Posner’s book is to inspire and educate leaders through transformational leadership. As such, leadership is about mobilizing others to become and do extraordinary things.
Leaders is an effective tool for summarizing and inspiring leadership, not in that it teaches tough strategies and manipulations, but that when looking at an overview of its content, Bennis and Nanus are essentially teaching human relations and human decency. All in all, this book highlights strategies for us all to be better in our lives and our everyday interactions.
Model the way- “leading by example”, and demonstrate the concepts regarding the manner in which individuals should be treated and the way our aspirations should be followed.
There are several ways to define leadership, but what sets effective leaders apart from commonplace managers are their extraordinary actions and the successes that result. In The Leadership Challenge, James Kouzes and Barry Posner claim leaders that employ The Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership are much more effective than those who do not (2012, p. 25). This paper will be reviewing my assessment findings, exploring my strengths and weaknesses, examining my personal-best leadership story, and detailing a specific area of development.
Exemplary leaders have a profound and positive influence on the commitment and performance of their followers. In order to achieve and sustain success exemplary leaders have to effectively communicate a clear vision, cultivate a team environment and establish cooperative goals. Coach Boone displayed several actions and behaviors that represent The Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership.
Kouzes, J., & Posner, B. (2007). The Leadership Challenge (4th ed.). San Francisco, CA 94103-1741: Jossey-Bass.
The leadership is a privilege and it is such a privilege and an honor which will carry the tremendous responsibility which will inspire others to direct them to accomplish goals and vision of the organization. Leadership is about influencing the people, by producing direction, purpose and motivating in order to accomplish the mission, vision and improving the organization. The leadership philosophy is evolved based on the experiences, both positive and negative, in most of the initiatives and activities that we undertake. It is also one among the collaboration and teamwork within which the team members can utilize each other’s strengths to counter the weaknesses of the individuals. By observing, introspecting and experimenting we can developed a leadership paradigm which is inclusive, collaborative and proactive. We can develop the ability to recognize which will approach in order to reach the productive conclusion. The great leaders know their limitations and are capable at utilize their strengths and also the strengths of others to compensate.
Effective use of leadership styles and models can foster organizational success by increasing motivation, enhancing cooperation, and giving sense of direction to the staff and executives. Building awareness of the various leadership models and styles can help leaders develop their approach to enable them become more effective leader. In this article, six video clips will be examined for the leaderships styles used and their effectiveness for the specific situation.
The Model the Way principle is the first and the most fundamental action that enables leaders gain and preserve credibility. In other words, leaders must do what they say they will do. There are two parts to this practice. First, you must be able to find your own voice to clarify your values. As a leader we must be able to effectively express our values to everyone we work within our organization. The values you express must be applied to represent what the whole institution and department can believe in. Next, as a leader you must apply actions that represent the values you want to express. Set the example by letting your actions affirm your beliefs. My actions will show my coworkers how committed you are to the institution and the vision for the future.
Northouse, P. (2010). Leadership: Theory and practice (5th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.
“Model the Way” is the first of the five practices. It is about achieving small wins to help complex change happen. To find your voice in Model the Way, values are your guides that are used for motivation and focus. The personal values of others are taken into account
With the proper guidance and support, teachers can achieve academic excellence in the classroom. They follow their principal’s vision and share their goals. Teachers also serve as leaders in their classroom. They share their vision and goals with their students promoting positive attitudes in the classroom. Just like it is important for principals to respect and understand what their teachers need, students also need the support, understanding, respect and empathy from their teachers. When teachers demonstrate commitment in the classroom and set high expectations they raise the level of learning in the classroom. Teachers that work with the students and their parents to understand and meet their needs will achieve positive academic outcomes. Students engage in learning with positive attitudes and strive for high achievements. Teachers work together with their leaders to improve their teaching