Includes bibliographical references and index.

Preface: Everyone's Business--Leadership for Today and Tomorrow -- What Leaders Do and What Constituents Expect -- The Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership -- Leadership for Today and Tomorrow -- Introducing the Five Practices -- Leadership Is a Relationship -- The Ten Commitments of Leadership -- Credibility Is the Foundation of Leadership -- What People Look For and Admire in Their Leaders -- Putting It All Together: Credibility Is the Foundation -- Model the Way -- Find Your Voice -- Clarify Your Values -- Express Your Self -- A Brief Word About Competence -- Commitment Number 1: Find Your Voice by Clarifying Your Personal Values -- Set the Example -- Build and Affirm Shared Values -- Align Actions with Values -- Commitment Number 2: Set the Example by Aligning Actions with Shared Values -- Inspire a Shared Vision -- Envision the Future -- Being Forward-Looking Differentiates Leaders -- The Importance of Having a Vision -- Being Forward-Looking in Times of Rapid Change -- Commitment Number 3: Envision the Future by Imagining Exciting and Ennobling Possibilities -- Enlist Others -- Develop a Shared Sense of Destiny -- Give Life to a Vision -- Commitment Number 4: Enlist Others in a Common Vision by Appealing to Shared Aspirations -- Challenge the Process -- Search for Opportunities -- Seize the Initiative -- Make Challenge Meaningful -- Innovate and Create -- Look Outward for Fresh Ideas -- Commitment Number 5: Search for Opportunities by Seeking Innovative Ways to Change, Grow, and Improve -- Experiment and Take Risks -- Initiate Incremental Steps and Small Wins -- Learn from Mistakes -- Promote Psychological Hardiness -- Commitment Number 6: Experiment and Take Risks by Constantly Generating Small Wins and Learning from Mistakes -- Enable Others to Act -- Foster Collaboration -- Collaboration Improves Performance -- Create a Climate of Trust -- Facilitate Positive Interdependence -- Support Face-to-Face Interactions -- Commitment Number 7: Foster Collaboration by Promoting Cooperative Goals and Building Trust -- Strengthen Others -- Generate Power All Around -- Ensure Self-Leadership -- Provide Choice -- Develop Competence and Confidence -- Foster Accountability -- Commitment Number 8: Strengthen Others by Sharing Power and Discretion -- Encourage the Heart -- Recognize Contributions -- Focus On Clear Standards -- Expect the Best -- Pay Attention -- Personalize Recognition -- Commitment Number 9: Recognize Contributions by Showing Appreciation for Individual Excellence -- Celebrate the Values and Victories -- Create a Spirit of Community -- Tell the Story -- Set the Example -- Commitment Number 10: Celebrate the Values and Victories by Creating a Spirit of Community -- Leadership for Everyone -- Leadership Is Everyone's Business -- Leadership Is Learned -- Leaders Make a Difference -- First Lead Yourself -- Leading Questions -- Moral Leadership -- Contrasts and Contradictions -- The Secret to Success in Life.

When it was initially written in 1987, few could have predicted that The Leadership Challenge would become one of the best-selling leadership books of all time. Now, faced with the new challenges of our unpredictable global business environment, Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner -- two of the country's premier leadership experts -- have completely revised and updated their classic book. Building on the knowledge base of their previous books, the third edition of The Leadership Challenge is grounded in extensive research and based on interviews with all kinds of leaders at all levels in public and private organizations from around the world. In this edition, the authors emphasize that the fundamentals of leadership are the same today as they were in the 1980s, and as they've probably been for centuries. In that sense, nothing's new. Leadership is not a fad. While the content of leadership has not changed, the context has -- and in some cases, changed dramatically.

With more than fifty percent new material and a resoundingly inspiring message, The Leadership Challenge is a "personal coach in a book" -- guiding readers through the Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership. When leaders understand that leadership is a relationship and they begin to engage in the Five Practices -- Model the Way, Inspire a Shared Vision, Challenge the Process, Enable Others to Act, and Encourage the Heart -- they are better able to perform at their personal best. Success is sure to follow.