Synopses & Reviews
A No-Nonsense, Battle-Tested Program for Developing Exceptional Leadership Skills - Both In Your Organization and YourselfThe ability to lead, far more than just a natural gift, is a concrete and learnable skill - one that can be acquired by studying and applying specific proficiencies and attitudes. The Extraordinary Leader draws on responses from 200,000 questionnaires to define the skills that comprise effective leadership, and then provides a systematic and innovative program for attaining, developing, and implementing those skills.
Praise for The Extraordinary Leader:
"The Extraordinary Leader attacks cherished but unsupportable assumptions, and does it persuasively, precisely, and professionally. Through their exceptional research the authors demonstrate and prove that leadership does make a difference, and that you can learn to lead." - James M. Kouzes, Chairman Emeritus, Tom Peters Company, Coauthor, The Leadership Challenge and Encouraging the Heart
"Extraordinarily readable! This book represents some of the best thinking on leadership I've seen in a long while." - E. David Spong, President, Military Aerospace Support, The Boeing Company
"This is a 'must read' for coaches, leaders, and those who develop them. The Extraordinary Leader goes beyond anecdotes or 'war stories,' it builds upon comprehensive research. It is destined to be a classic in our field." - Marshall Goldsmith, Named by Forbes as one of five top executive coaches and one of Wall Street Journal's "Top 10" executive educators
"Our objective is to provide the reader with an empirical analysis of leadership, a simple and practical conceptual model of what leadership is, and an actionable guide to helping leaders develop 'greatness.'" - From Chapter 1
For too long, the subject of effective leadership has been shrouded in fog and ambiguity. The Extraordinary Leader removes the shroud to reveal leadership as a skill, one that can be consciously learned and developed by anyone. This breakthrough book identifies the competencies necessary for effective leadership, not by guessing or postulating but by analyzing the responses of tens of thousands of workforce members as they describe, in effect, "What makes a great leader?"
Jack Zenger and Joseph Folkman - two of today's preeminent leadership expertsanalyze the answers and provide a broad and universal model for achieving exceptional results. They outline the five core competencies that form the basis for successful leadership and detail techniques that include:
- Methods that top organizations use to develop leaders from within their own ranks
- Key competencies that leaders must haveand techniques for mastering them
- Practical steps for developing your own leadership skills
A major weakness in most leadership development programs has been the tendency to aim low and strive for incremental improvements in individual areas of weakness. When the results inevitably fail to impact the bottom line, organizations abandon programs as unsuccessful and again resume their misguided focus on uncovering and eliminating leadership weaknesses instead of identifying and developing leadership strengths. The Extraordinary Leader instead focuses on the ability--in fact the necessity--for individuals to hone their leadership competencies in multiple areas, and organizations to develop great leaders in as many areas as possible. It provides research-based strategies for strengthening leadership both in individuals and in organizations and, in the process, delivers a solid yet flexible leadership development program that will provide long-term value to virtually any organization.
Synopsis
Secrets for developing leadership and competitive advantage in any organizationThe Extraordinary Leader is a research-based book about leadership. It analyzes 200,000 assessments from 20,000 managers and presents new insights that demystify this complex subject. It clearly establishes the importance of developing great leaders versus being satisfied with merely good ones, and highlights the link between leadership behavior and an organization's performance.
From the authors' research, a new model of leadership emerges that challenges long-held beliefs about leadership competencies. The authors identify 16 competencies that tower above all the others-the ones that separate great leaders from the average. One of the book's major breakthroughs is its focus on the importance of maximizing strengths as opposed to merely correcting weaknesses. Further, the importance of balanced strengths is introduced: when strengths are clustered in one area, the leader is less effective than he or she could be with strengths in different areas.
Synopsis
An Updated Edition of the Leadership Clasic! The Extraordinary Leader is a groundbreaking guide that helps you pinpoint and maximize the leadership qualities you already possess. This brand-new edition has been extensively updated to include the latest research into leadership psychology, case studies for leading in a global environment, and the necessary skills for guiding yourself, your team, and your organization to greatness.
Praise for the first edition of The Extraordinary Leader
“This is a ‘must read for coaches, leaders, and those who develop them. The Extraordinary Leader . . . is destined to be a classic in our field.”
Marshall Goldsmith, named by Forbes as one of five top executive coaches and by The Wall Street Journal as one of the “Top 10” executive educators
“The Zenger Folkman philosophy has its eye on the right goalreal, measurable results. The Zenger Folkman leadership model is distinguished from others in that it is backed up by research and data.”
Bill Blase, Senior Executive Vice President, Human Resources, AT&T Corp.
“Through their exceptional research, the authors demonstrate and prove that leadership does make a difference and that you can learn to lead.”
James M. Kouzes, Chairman Emeritus, Tom Peters Company, and coauthor of The Leadership Challenge and Encouraging the Heart
Synopsis
People can learn how to lead. This was the position John H. Zenger and Joseph R. Folkman took when they wrote their now-classic leadership book
The Extraordinary Leaderand its a fact they reinforce in this new, completely updated edition of their bestseller.
When it was first published, The Extraordinary Leader immediately attracted a wide audience of aspiring leaders drawn to its unique feature: the extensive use of scientific studies and hard data, which served to demystify the concept of leadership and get readers thinking about the subject in a pragmatic way.
Now, Zenger and Folkman revisit the subject to address leaders most pressing concerns today. The result is an up-to-date, essential leadership guide for the twenty-first century that includes:
- Late-breaking research on the psychology of leadership
- New information on leading in a global environment
- A breakthrough case study on measuring improved leadership behavior
- Studies revealing the importance of follow-through
The Extraordinary Leader is a remarkable combination of expert insight and extensive research. The authors analyzed more than 200,000 assessments describing 20,000 managersby far the most expansive research ever conducted for a leadership book.
Zenger and Folkman have created the leadership book of the ages. The Extraordinary Leader explains how to build leadership skills that will take you and your organization to unimagined success.
About the Author
John H. Zenger, D.B.A., is the CEO and co-founder of Zenger/Folkman, a firm that employes evidence-based, positive methods to strengthen organizations and those who lead them. In 1994 he was inducted into the Human Resource Development Hall of Fame. He is the author or co-author of seven books on leadership and teams and is considered one of the most authoritative voices on improving organizational performance and developing leadership.
Joseph Folkman, Ph.D., is the president and co-founder of Zenger/Folkman. He is a renowned expert in the field of survey design and data analysis. His passion to provide feedback and facilitate change is the source of his professional success. He is the author of four books: Turning Feedback Into Change, Making Feedback Work, Employee Surveys That Make a Difference andThe Power of Feedback.
Table of Contents
1. Demystifying Leadership
2. Great Leaders Make a Great Difference
3. Simplifying Leadership
4. The Competency Quest
5. Leaders Must Fit Their Organization
6. Great Leaders Possess Multiple Strengths
7. Fatal Flaws Must Be Fixed
8. New Insights into Leadership Development
9. A Case Study in Leadership DevelopmentThe U.S. Marine Corps
10. What Individuals Do to Become Great Leaders
11. The Organizations Role in Developing Leaders
Appendix: Research Methodology