Synopses & Reviews
Positive leaders are able to dramatically expand their people’s—and their own—capacity for excellence. And they accomplish this without enormous expenditures or huge heroic gestures. Here leading scholars—including Adam Grant, author of the bestselling Give and Take; positive organizational scholarship movement cofounders Kim Cameron and Robert Quinn; and thirteen more—describe how this is being done at companies such as Wells Fargo, Ford, Kelly Services, Burt’s Bees, Connecticut’s Griffin Hospital, the Michigan-based Zingerman’s Community of Businesses, and many others. They show that, like the butterfly in Brazil whose flapping wings create a typhoon in Texas, you can create profound positive change in your organization through simple actions and attitude shifts.
Synopsis
This is a book about how to lead people and organizations in ways that unlock their greatness. It offers a potent assembly of ideas about how small actions leaders take can make a difference in changing the trajectory of individuals and organizations, moving them more rapidly and effectively toward being their best. The book is built on a foundation of cutting-edge research and transformational insights from the field of positive organizational scholarship.
How to Be a Positive Leader captures and clusters these transformational insights into four leadership action domains—tapping into the good, unlocking valuable resources, fostering positive relationships, and facilitating generative change—that encompass the full range of leadership abilities, from negotiating to inspiring to leading the ethics charge. Above all, each domain focuses on human relationships as the basis of any effective leadership. Proof that positive models of leading are the most productive means to lasting change, this book will give every leader the courage to make a positive difference in the workday.
About the Author
Jane E. Dutton is the Robert L. Kahn Distinguished University Professor of Business Administration and Psychology at the Ross School of Business, University of Michigan.Gretchen M. Spreitzer is the Keith E. and Valerie J. Alessi Professor of Business Administration at the Ross School of Business, where she is codirector of the Center for Positive Organizations.
Table of Contents
Invitation (Dutton and Spreitzer)
PART I: Tapping into the Good
1. Activate Virtuousness (Kim Cameron)
2. Lead an Ethical Organization (David Mayer)
3. Create Organizations of Higher Purpose (Robert Quinn and Anjan Thakor)
PART II: Unlocking Valuable Resources
4. Cultivate Positive Identities (Laura Morgan Roberts)
5. Foster Energy to Enable Thriving at Work (Gretchen Spreitzer)
6. Engage in Job Crafting (Amy Wrzesniewski)
PART III: Fostering Positive Relationships
7. Build High Quality Connections (Jane Dutton)
8. Outsource Inspiration (Adam Grant )
9. Negotiate Mindfully (Shirli Kopelman)
PART IV: Facilitating Generative Change
10. Lost and Found: Cultivate Hope as Positive Leadership Practice (Oana Branzei)
11. Create Micromoves that Matter (Karen Golden-Biddle )
12. Foster Resourcefulness During Implementation of Major Change (Scott Sonenshein)
13. Learn from Crises (Lynn Wooten and Erica James)
CONCLUSION: Future Possibilities (Spreitzer and Dutton)