Praise for Leadership is Everyone's Business

This workshop provided an important step along the path of improving the personal leadership skills of our managers, supervisors and individual contributors. The attendees reported a significant increase in trust and reliability among members of the store teams who attended. By gaining a better understanding of their own leadership strengths and areas needing improvement, those who attended the session then gained an understanding of the importance and value of individual leadership on achieving business results. This session also had a tremendous impact on the group's ability to work together in a more positive way. The attendees were enthusiastic and optimistic about the long-term positive effects on the total store team. Often the critical difference between an average operation and one that achieves extraordinary results is a leader who believes that excellence can be achieved through others.

Attendee comments:

"It gave us an opportunity to learn more about each other and inspire us to improve our roles in leadership and teamwork in our store."

"Teamwork is achievable if you make it your goal to reach everyone you can. It is important to set goals and communicate these goals to others."

"Communication is the first step in the accomplishment of any important mission. This is the first program I've attended that I can honestly say that I've learned a great deal about myself and my fellow co-workers, and how we can work more effectively as a team."

Suzanne Gaker, Director of Training and Development at The Kroger Co., has had significant experience with Leadership is Everyone’s Business.

Accolades in the Press for A Leader's Legacy (Book)

Globe and Mail (Toronto)
In Leadership Lurks a Deeper Meaning
By Harvey Schachter
November 8, 2006

Harvey Schachter reviews A Leader's Legacy in Canada's most dominant newspaper with an average of 1,325,000 readers each weekday. In his article, he praises Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner for their tell-it-like-it-is approach:

"Many leaders these days say they don't care if people like them—they just want to be respected. But the authors dismiss that approach as utter nonsense, contrary to everything known about effective leadership. It's not a binary choice—followers can like and respect you."

Mr. Schachter concludes his article by writing:
"The book is a series of essays revolving around the theme of legacy, and is a savvy guide to modern leadership. It's practical and inspirational, smoothly written, and can be of value reading a chapter at a time or speeding through the book in one sitting."

Read the entire article online

Financial Times (London)
Sometimes It Is Best to Know When To Quit
By Richard Donkin
November 16 2006

Richard Donkin highlights some of the latest leadership books on the market and puts A Leader's Legacy at the top of the heap:

"The Kouzes and Posner book, easily the best of the bunch, is written with a strong sense of realism. As a chapter heading points out "failure is always an option". But most of that chapter is about learning from mistakes. What if your failure is cumulative, where disastrous consequences of earlier decisions only begin to emerge towards the end of your career? What then for your leadership legacy? One of the distinguishing features of those who choose to lead is their resilience."

Read the entire article online

Praise for A LEADER'S LEGACY (Book)

"Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner have done it again! In a brilliant follow-up to The Leadership Challenge, they offer the combined wisdom of decades of studying and working with leaders. In twenty-two thoughtful essays they summarize with depth and clarity what is really important for you as a leader: your courage, your relationships and the legacy you leave behind."
—Bill George, author of Authentic Leadership and former CEO of Medtronic

"This superb book defies conventional wisdom in favor of being truly wise. In chapters such as 'Leaders Should Want to be Liked' and 'Failure is Always an Option,' Kouzes and Posner portray leaders on human scale, opening leadership to anyone who is willing to be fully human. That, of course, is a challenge! And yet the style of this book-with its stories of well-grounded leaders and its engaging conversational prose-encourages the reader to live into and up to that challenge. A Leader's Legacy will surely become key to the literary legacy that its authors have been leaving in their wake over the past twenty-five years."
—Parker J. Palmer

"In their new book, Kouzes and Posner provide a badly needed supplement to all those other books on leadership. First, they don't just say that everyone can be a leader-that oft-repeated bromide is little more than a cliché now. They demonstrate (with good examples) how true and important the idea is. And second (again with effective examples) they make leadership something that will interest not just 'organizational' types, but anyone who hopes to make a difference in the world."
—William Bridges Author, Transitions: Making Sense of Life's Changes and Managing Transition: Making The Most of Change

"A Leader's Legacy is an indispensable daily reference for leaders at every level of every enterprise. Legacy is a gift to leaders of today, to leaders of the future."
Frances Hesselbein, Chairman Leader to Leader Institute

Praise for The Encouraging the Heart Workbook

"Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner once again provide us with a collector's item. You'll not only want to do the exercises in their workbook, but you'll also redo them as your circumstances change."
—Beverly Kaye, founder and CEO, Career Systems International; coauthor, Love 'Em or Lose 'Em: Getting Good People to Stay

"This is the Swiss Army Knife of management tools."
—Debra Sikanas, cofounder, Baudville, Inc.; past president, National Association for Employee Recognition

"Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner have hit another homerun by turning their groundbreaking research into a practical 'how to' guide that truly brings these compelling principles to life. This inspirational 'journey guide' will help readers build leadership capacity in all aspects of life-personal, family, vocationally, and community-by lifting and growing others along the way to reach their full potential."
—Jim "Gus" Gustafson, strategic leadership research and development, U.S. Cellular

"Brilliant! In The Encouraging the Heart Workbook, Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner show why they are today's preeminent thinkers on practical leadership, giving managers real tools to engage the hearts of their people and create extraordinary results. The highly relevant activities will challenge you to set better standards, personalize recognition, and celebrate more effectively."
—Adrian Gostick, author, The Invisible Employee

"After twenty years as an executive search consultant, I have no doubt that Encouraging the Heart is a key practice for leadership success and development. This powerful workbook will help you achieve both."
—Claudio Fernandez-Araoz, partner and executive committee member, Egon Zehnder International

"The best workbook on recognition ever published!"
—Marshall Goldsmith, university professor, Alliant International University's Marshall Goldsmith School of Management

"The Encouraging the Heart Workbook is more valuable than any workshop I have attended. Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner provide a guided learning experience that will help you unleash your leadership power for engaging individuals in committing themselves fully to their work."
—Leslie A. Yerkes, president, Catalyst Consulting Group, Inc.; author, Fun Works: Creating Places Where People Love to Work

The Leadership Challenge (Book)

"The first edition was seminal and totally original. It became a modern classic on leadership practically overnight. With this new edition, with new cases and concepts and action steps that are even riper and more important, Kouzes and Posner go way beyond their earlier work and have made yet another brilliant contribution to leadership studies. This new book, a product of an unusual collaboration, is essential reading for everyone involved or concerned with leading."
—Warren Bennis, distinguished professor of business administration, University of Southern California, and coauthor, Geeks and Geezers: How Era, Values, and Defining Moments Shape Leaders

"From the ten commitments of leadership to the emphasis on actions and relationships, this valuable book is full of enduring wisdom and practical insights essential for success in challenging times."
—Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Harvard Business School, best-selling author of Evolve! Succeeding in the Digital Culture of Tomorrow

"For twenty-five years I have written about and taught leadership. The Leadership Challenge is one of the five best books I have ever read. I continually recommend it to others."
—John C. Maxwell, founder, The INJOY Group, and author, The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership

The Leadership Challenge® Workshop

"I would unconditionally recommend this training to any internal or external facilitator looking for world-class curriculum on leadership development."
—John S. Lybarger, MBA, Ph.D.

"The Leadership Challenge® Workshop is the best and most relevant leadership workshop I've ever experienced. Be prepared to be 'Wowed!'"
—Jeff Kozyra, Center for Character Development, United States Air Force Academy

"This had been an excellent growth opportunity and if implemented world-wide, would make a big positive difference."
—Michael Lloyd, Leica Geosystems

"The Leadership Challenge gives vocabulary to the innate heartbeats of leadership."
—Camille Funk, The Waterford School

"It was an outstanding few days and I firmly believe in what it can do for the team."
—Erna Grasz, Vice President of Research and Development, Tyco Health Care

"This workshop provided a way to look at meaningful leadership in a fresh and comprehensive way. I look forward to applying the concepts in my organization."
—David Troupe, Boeing

"This workshop gave me the confidence and skills to put together a first class training program."
—Joe Seaton, Allstate Insurance Company

"Thanks to The Leadership Challenge, I feel empowered to return to my organization and wake-up the 'sleeping leaders.'"
—Sgt. Steve Oliviera, Sierra Conservation Center, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation

The Leadership Practices Inventory (LPI)

"Leadership development tools come and go, but for two decades the 360-degree LPI from Kouzes and Posner endures, and for good reason. When implemented with their development and organization culture building system, it’s simply the best!"
—Brent Green, Ph.D., director, organization effectiveness, McKesson Corporation

"Growing companies need more leaders. The Leadership Practices Inventory helps identify specific strengths and opportunities which allows our organization to develop our future leaders today."
—Andrew Albrinck, education and career development, Fifth Third Bank

The LPI has provided valuable insights on leadership skills for a significant number of our group—from individual contributors to senior management. It’s a tool whose concepts are referred to often in communications and as a basis for a common language regarding leadership, as well as a tool for future development."
—Joan Bargholz, director, human resources, Agri Beef Co.

"If you want to be certain you are becoming the leader you need and want to be, the Leadership Practices Inventory is the best tool to propel you forward. It is clear, concise and targets the leadership competencies to be a great leader."
—Karen Colligan, organizational consulting and coaching, PeopleThink

"I have been using the LPI with clients for over a decade. It is elegantly simple, yet profoundly powerful. Most importantly, people that embrace it in their leadership development, actually become better leaders. The LPI is an absolute must for people aspiring to further develop their leadership abilities. It provides truly meaningful feedback that is simple to understand, very specific, and extremely useful. Bottom line: the LPI works."
—Steve Coats, managing partner, International Leadership Associates

LPI Online

"The new LPI Online—WOW! It is literally as easy to distribute as it is to send an email. Once my clients completed the surveys on-line, the results were immediately available to me, the consultant/coach. I had complete ability to track and print out the reports. In a world of virtual companies and dispersed work forces, the on-line version of the LPI is a wonderful use of technology to support what I think to be most thoroughly researched and elegantly succinct leadership behavioral assessment available."
—Peter Alduino, President Bridge Group Communications, LLC