Book Summary Preview :
Encouraging the Heart

The Big Idea

The heart of a leader must be a caring one. Without this heart, his leadership will be without purpose. This is the premise of James M. Kouzes and Barry Z. Posner’s new book, Encouraging the Heart, A Leader’s Guide to Rewarding and Recognizing Others.

Believing that a leader’s heart is the one that bridges the connection between him and his constituents, the authors invite leaders in all areas of business to live by and practice the principles of encouraging the heart which they unselfishly share in this new book. They argue that a leadership filled with values that encourage the heart speaks directly to people – to deeply held values and beliefs, to something beyond the material – and contributes to creating meaning in the workplace. Through this book, the authors aim to enrich the discussion of soul and spirit in the workplace.

Everything starts within you as a leader. Take the journey towards an organization that nurtures an encouraging heart among its members and create a workplace that gives new meaning and purpose to everyone involved.

Part One

Chapter 1: The Heart of Leadership

Encouragement for Best Performance

Knowing from their previous research that performance is higher when people have leaders who offer encouragement, the authors, in their leadership classes pose this question: Do I need encouragement to perform at my best? They expect that almost everyone would answer yes. In most of their classes, however, only about 60 percent reported that they needed encouragement to perform at their best.

Puzzled, the authors, probed deeper into the subject. Most people said they didn’t need encouragement. The majority believed themselves to be individuals who are responsible and take initiative in the workplace. Most of them perceived that needing encouragement implied they couldn’t perform well without someone cheering them on.

The authors then reframed the question: When you get encouragement, does it help you perform at a higher level? 98 percent responded positively. The response echoes the study by Kepner-Tregoe where the researchers found that 96 percent of North American workers agreed with the statement “I get a lot of satisfaction out of knowing I’ve done a good job. . . . . .”