5 Leadership Practices
Throughout the ELP, participants will be exposed to the five leadership practices set forth in The Leadership Challenge, written by James M. Kouzes and Barry Z. Posner, Ph.D.
Challenging the Process
Challenge is the opportunity for greatness. People do their best when there is an opportunity to change how things currently stand. Maintaining the status quo facilitates mediocrity. Those who embrace this practice do not wish to rest on their laurels. They motivate others to exceed their limits and look for innovative ways to improve the organization. Leaders experiment and take risks, listening to those around them.
Inspiring a Shared Vision
Pioneering leaders rely on a vision and a dream to communicate their aspirations to others. Leaders look forward to the future and hold in their minds visions of what can be. They have a sense of what is possible if everyone works together toward a common goal. They are positive about the future and believe that people can make a difference. Leaders are able to help others see this vision and its possibilities. They communicate their vision in a way that others can picture the future and show how their values and interests will lead others to what could be.
Enabling Others to Act
Leaders know that they cannot do it alone. Leaders build teams that feel like a family and actively involve others in planning. Leaders make others feel like owners, not hired hands.
Leaders develop collaborative goals and cooperative relationships with colleagues. They know that these relationships are the keys that unlock support for their projects. They make sure that when they win, everyone wins. Leaders create an environment of trust and human dignity.
Modeling the Way
A leader needs a philosophy, a set of high standards by which the organization is measured, a set of values about how members, officers, and alumni ought to be treated; a set of principles that make the organization unique and distinctive. Leaders stand up for their beliefs and practice what they preach. They show others by their own example that they live by the values they profess. Leaders know that, while their position gives them authority, their behavior earns them respect.
Encouraging the Heart
Leaders encourage others to continue the quest and inspire others through courage and hope. Leaders give heart by visibly recognizing others' contributions to the common vision. With a thank-you note, a smile, an award, and public praise, the leader lets others know how much they mean to the organization.
The Leadership Challenge
Leadership Challenge Summary [PDF, 1MB]