ISBN9780787984915

I found The Leadership Challenge to be quite bland, and a repackaging of other texts on the subject. It was a book that could have been reduced to a pamphlet, and even then there would have been nothing original other than the anecdotal stories - ad nauseum - that were of little interest. Basically, any Fred, Tom or Katie that lifted a finger for a co-worker got inserted into the text, and enabled the authors to cite yet again the "thousands of case studies" they have conducted in the last 25 years. Save your money and photocopy the Table of Contents. You will still get the jist of the entire book. Trust me, you're only packing their wallets and this book will wind up in the landfill.

If you're looking for something a little more inspirational and original, try Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. Better yet, read a biography of someone you admire. Gandhi is a great choice.

This book is filled with real-life stories of leaders who met the challenge to lead. It gives practical steps to improving leadership and is actually an interesting read because of the stories that illustrate the points. It's well worth the read and can definitely help you become a better leader.

Perhaps it's me, but if you need 350 pages to make five points, something is wrong. Kouzes and Posner's five practices are neither groundbreaking nor difficult to comprehend, so there is little justification beyond hubristic self-indulgence for the girth of this book. The authors should show some respect for the time of their target audience and have an editor reduce this book to its essence.

Very easy read. Simple and practical information that is easy to apply. Can't go wrong with this book!

While the number of new titles on leadership grows disproportionately to the wisdom they contain, this one continues to stand out as a classic. While few of these titles deserve even a first print run, this book is now in its fourth edition, a rarity among books on leadership. I chose this one as a text for our one-week conference on leadership for principals of international seminaries, not only because of its continuing relevance and clarity, but also because this new edition has been "internationalised" by the judicious use of examples from outside the US.