In the best organizations, everyone, regardless of title or position, is encouraged to act like a leader. How do you lead?

1. How Do You Lead?

2. The best leaders are the best learners.
You have to believe that you (and others)
can learn to lead, and that you can
become a better leader tomorrow than
you are today. Leaders are constant
improvement fanatics, and learning is
the master skill of leadership.
–Jim Kouzes, coauthor of The Leadership Challenge
and The Student Leadership Challenge
”
“
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3. In the best organizations,
everyone, regardless of their
title or position, is encouraged
to act like a leader.
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4. Follow The Five Practices of
Exemplary Leadership®
and
improve your leadership skills.
Take people and organizations to
places they’ve never been before.
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5. Model the Way
1Leaders establish how
people should be treated
and goals pursued.
They create standards and
set the example.
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6. Model the Way by keeping these in mind:
• Titles are granted, but your
behavior earns you respect.
• Words and deeds must
be consistent.
• You must affirm the shared
values of the group.
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7. Inspire a
Shared Vision2
Leaders envision the future,
see what the organization
can become, and get others
to see those possibilities.
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8. Inspire a Shared Vision by remembering:
• You have to inspire commitment,
not command it.
• Visions seen only by leaders are
insufficient to create change in
a company.
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9. Challenge
the Process3
Look for innovative ways to
improve organizations and
accept disappointments as
learning opportunities.
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10. Challenging the Process involves thinking
about the following:
• Leaders venture out; they don’t sit
idly by.
• Create a climate where good ideas
are supported.
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11. Enable Others
to Act4
Leaders foster collaboration
and build spirited teams by
actively involving others.
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12. Enable Others to Act by bearing in mind
the following:
• Giving power to mentees grants
them ownership, making them
more capable.
• Seeking opinions of others builds up
their capabilities.
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13. Encourage
the Heart5
To keep hope and
determination alive, leaders
recognize contributions
that individuals make.
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14. Encourage the Heart by thinking about
the following:
• Create a culture of celebrating values
and victories.
• Celebrations and rituals can carry a
group through tough times.
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15. No leader ever got anything extraordinary
done without the talent and support of others.
Leadership is a team sport, and you need to
engage others in the cause. What strengthens
and sustains the relationship between leader
and constituent is that leaders are obsessed
with what is best for others, not what is best
for the leader.
–Barry Posner, coauthor of The Leadership Challenge
and The Student Leadership Challenge
”
“
www.leadershipchallenge.com

16. People want to know what you stand for
and believe in. They want to know what
you value. And leaders need to know what
others value, if they are going to be able
to forge alignment between personal
values and organizational demands.
–Jim Kouzes, coauthor of The Leadership Challenge
and The Student Leadership Challenge
”
“
www.leadershipchallenge.com

17. www.leadershipchallenge.com
Learn more about
The Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership.
The Leadership Challenge®
and The Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership®
are registered trademarks of John Wiley Sons, Inc. The associated icons are copyright ©2011 John Wiley Sons, Inc. www.leadershipchallenge.com
Cover photo © Ren?? Mansi/iStockphoto