Kouzes and Posner - The Leadership Challenge

This book has been acclaimed as one of the better books on leadership out there. And indeed it is. There is so much information and anecdotes inside there that I couldn't quite remember even more than half of them after I was done with the book.

What impressed me about the book was that it gave very practical advice. Instead of just airy-fairy concepts on leadership, the authors took pains to translate almost every single idea into an anecdote or example. Most of which are real cases.

The main ideas can be distilled into five categories:

• Model the Way
• Inspire a Shared Vision
• Challenge the Process
• Enable Others to Act
• Encourage the Heart

Actually, there is little point in me trying to expand on any of these points! It would take up too many pages. And I think I missed out on alot of the points because I was speedreading. So any attempt to elaborate won't do the book justice.

But if I could just say one impt lesson learnt. The whole book is very very very very people-centric. Alot of it is centred on the person that is being led. How do you motivate him, serve him and groom him. I really do like this idea of servant leadership. It brings leadership back to earth, to what it is all about - the people.