The End of Leadership

Kellerman, Barbara.  The End of Leadership.  New York, NY: Harper Business.

Recommended by:  Renae Chesnut, Drake University CoP

Star Rating (1-5): 4

Review: This book provides a history of leadership theories and the rise of the “leadership industry”, along with a critical assessment of the leadership courses, development programs, etc.  I found it thought-provoking as Barbara Kellerman stresses that as a society, we are spending more than ever before (~50 billion) on leadership yet, we seem to have more leadership collapses and failures than we have ever had before.

My ‘take-aways’ from the book include:

1)  The potential collapse of Leaders (note the big L) is greater today than ever before due to social media and other communication technologies. One mistake today can spread like wildfire and brand the leader as “inept or corrupt.”

2)  In our society today, the balance of power between leaders and followers has shifted, with leaders becoming weaker and followers becoming stronger. As such, we need to teach and develop followership skills in our students.

3)  The importance of including ethical foundations in any leadership course or development program are more important than ever before.

I was a bit disappointed that Kellerman did not provide more recommendations on what we as leadership educators should do to solve these issues…my guess is that those answers will be forthcoming in her next book!

Switch: How to Change Things When Change is Hard

Heath C, Heath D.  Switch:  How to Change Things When Change is Hard.  New York, NY; Random House, 2010.

Recommended by:  Tom Munyer, U of FL  CoP

 Star Rating: 5 (It’s Great)

Review:  New York Times Best Seller, authors of MADE TO STICK, another Best Seller.  Easy read, “story-driven narrative” where they address both the rational and emotional parts of our minds. They show how to effect transformative change… how successful changes follows a pattern, that can be used to make changes that matter.

The Practice of Adaptive Leadership

Heifetz R, Grashow A, and Linsky M.  The Practice of Adaptive Leadership.  Boston, MA:  Harvard Business School Publishing, 2009.

Recommended by:  Todd Sorensen, U of MN CoP

Star Rating: 4 (Really Liked It)

Review:  ”The Practice of Adaptive Leadership” is the applied version of Heifetz and Linsky’s book “Leadership on the Line.”  While many audiences can take away important lessons from this book, it is most specifically written to positional leaders in large organizations.

The book is sequenced across 5 themes:  1) Introduction to Adaptive Leadership,  2) Diagnosing the System,  3) Mobilizing the System,  4) See Yourself as a System and 5) Deploy Yourself.  Each section moves into concepts and strategies focused on addressing the difficult work of leading adaptive change in organizations.

Most of the book operates at level that would be well beyond what would typically be covered in leadership development coursework for pharmacy students.  At the University of Minnesota, our work with Adaptive Leadership has been primarily to ensure that students can recognize the difference between adaptive challenges and technical problems.  We also highlight the importance of perspective (concept of “Getting on the Balcony”).  From this book, we are currently only using the second chapter (“The Theory Behind the Practice”) as a “just in time” reading for senior students enrolled in a leadership emphasis program while they are engaged in an effort where they have assumed responsibility for leading change.

Primal Leadership: Learning to Lead with Emotional Intelligence

Goleman D, Boyatzis R, McKee A.  Primal Leadership:  Learning to Lead with Emotional Intelligence.  Harvard Boston, MA:  Business Review Press, 2004.

Recommended by:  Susanna Wu-Pong, VCU SoP

Star Rating: 4 (Really Liked It)

Review:  This book is a helpful addition to an EQ assessment.

On Becoming a Leader

Bennis W. On Becoming a Leader. Basic Books: New York, 2009.

Recommended by:  Alan Spies, U of OK CoP

Star Rating:  5 (It was great!)

Review:  This may be the finest leadership book I have read. Not only is this book a classic but it also provides inspiration for any leader. I have used many quotes from this book and each time I go back and re-read this book, I gain additional insight. In discussing this book with students, I have found that each student really enjoyed reading this classic.

Strengthsfinder 2.0

Rath, T.  Strengthsfinder 2.0.  New York, NY:  Gallup Press, 2007.

Recommended By:  Kristin Janke, U of MN, CoP

Star Rating: 5 (It’s Great)

Review:  This book is perfect for its intended purpose.  It’s an affordable way to access the Strengthsfinder instrument.   In addition to access, it provides 30 brief pages of introduction to a positive psychology approach to focusing on and building our talents.  Students can read this quickly and then use the access number (provided in new copies of the book) to take the online assessment.  We use this with our entire student body and then use Now, Discover Your Strengths and Strengths-Based Leadership with students in leadership electives.  We’ve been using strengths in our pharmacy curriculum since 2002.  An AJPE article provides an overview and an Innovations article provides more details about the levels of learning our students can progress through.  I’d love to hear from folks that are using the Strengthsfinder!

Our Iceberg Is Melting

Kotter, J.  Rathgerber, H.  Our Iceberg Is Melting:  Changing and Succeeding Under Any Conditions.  New York, NY: St. Martin’s Press, 2005.

Recommended by: Kristin Janke, U of MN, CoP

Star Rating: 5 (It’s Great)

Review:  We’ve used this book with pharmacists and pharmacy students since 2007.  It’s a fable that illustrates the process of successful organizational change.  It’s readily available at any bookstore/online vendor and it can be read in 1 to 1-1/2 hours.   Any reader can relate to the penguin characters, which we have all experienced (e.g. The Professor, No-No, Buddy).  We can also relate to the anxiety experienced by the colony as their life is about to change dramatically.  Keep in mind that the principles are illustrated; they’ll need to be discussed, reinforced and expanded upon.  But, this book serves as a great introduction.