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Title: Leadership Without Easy Answers by Ronald A. Heifetz ISBN: 0-674-51858-6 Publisher: Belknap Pr Pub. Date: July, 1998 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $27.50 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.09 (11 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: A great theory, well written...
Comment: Heifetz creates a psychological-social-political theory of leadership, which he defines as "an activity" that allows for "adaptive work." Leadership is the work that points out discrepancies beetween what we say we do, and what we actually do; or between our values (democracy, inclusion) and our actions. Leadership ultimately involves reconciling our values to our behavior. Leadership is not merely finding "technical" solutions to "adaptive problems," but, instead, is about finding more congruence (for both leaders and followers) between what they say and hope, and what they do.
The author's writing is very clear.
I most liked his simple phrasing of complex issues; how the threads through the incomplete theories of leadership (Carlyle, James MacGregor Burns); his practical orientation; his emphasis on followers' responsibility; his way of describing how leadership fails; and his notions of leadership succession. I also liked that this is not a "how to do" leadership book (the "ten best ways to be a leader" genre) aimed at a particular audience (business leaders, educational leaders), but, instead, is a thought-provoking discussion of ideas about leadership.
Rating: 5
Summary: The best book on leadership theory around...
Comment: I do not want to repeat what the above Amazon reviewers have already said. Nevertheless, I think Heifetz's Leadership Without Easy Answers is the best book on the modern theory of leadership around.
Heifetz integrates "great man/great woman" (trait) theories of leadership with "great times" (situational) theories, and defines "leadership" as "an activity that fosters adaptive work and addresses the value conflicts that people hold." He distinguishes "technical" problems that may not require leadership (adaptive work) from "adaptive problems" which people experience as threatening to themselves or their group. (The conflict over abortion, for instance, can be seen as an adaptive problem, because it represents a value conflict that provokes work-avoidance--scapegoating, dishonesty, polarizing conversations, etc.)
Heifetz sees leadership as being "practical" and "authentic", and the leader is always working towards using authority (formal and informal) to help members of contesting groups arrive at solutions that promote fundamental values (such as democracy, equality before the law, freedom).
This book is not a "how-to" book and does not promote charismatic leadership (which the author would view as largely work-avoidance and dependency-fostering). Heifetz is an excellent writer and communicates well with both academics and interested citizens.
Rating: 1
Summary: not for people who like to think for themselves
Comment: It may work for folks that like being spoonfed a mishmash of catchphrases, anecdotes, and simplistic conclusions. But are those the people you really want in charge? I think not.
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Title: Leadership on the Line: Staying Alive Through the Dangers of Leading by Martin Linsky, Ronald A. Heifetz ISBN: 1578514371 Publisher: Harvard Business School Press Pub. Date: 18 April, 2002 List Price(USD): $27.50 |
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Title: Reframing Organizations : Artistry, Choice, and Leadership by Lee G. Bolman, Terrence E. Deal ISBN: 0787908215 Publisher: Jossey-Bass Pub. Date: 24 March, 1997 List Price(USD): $34.00 |
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Title: Leading Change by John P. Kotter ISBN: 0875847471 Publisher: Harvard Business School Press Pub. Date: 15 January, 1996 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
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Title: The Fifth Discipline by Peter M. Senge ISBN: 0385260954 Publisher: Currency Pub. Date: 01 October, 1994 List Price(USD): $18.95 |
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Title: Leadership : Theory and Practice by Peter G. Northouse ISBN: 076192566X Publisher: Sage Publications Pub. Date: 07 May, 2003 List Price(USD): $42.95 |
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