The Leadership Challenge

The first edition of Leadership Challenge (1987) became one of the best-selling leadership books of all time and a modern classic on the subject. Now that the recent dot-com bust seems to have withered the entrepreneurial spirit of the late 1980s, and the innovative spirit of the mid-1990s (when the second edition was published), people are wondering if what was true about leadership then still applies today. As part of their extensive research for this third edition, Kouzes and Posner asked leaders: "What’s new, and what’s different?" They found that, though the context has changed, the content of leadership remains the same; thus, they offer The Leadership Challenge as a comprehensive, significantly revised and updated field guide-"a personal coach in a book."

Within this new context, they reaffirm what leaders do; reiterate the fundamental principles that support these leadership practices; provide examples of real people, demonstrating each practice; and offer specific recommendations on what anyone-executives, managers, employees, students, volunteers, parents, etc., can do to assimilate these practices and continually develop their capabilities as leaders.