5 Practices of Exemplary Leadership

In Chapter 1 of Kouzes& Posner’s The Leadership Challenge we are introduced to their “Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership”. These five tips actually make up one theory which was established after research on various leaders. The practices basically break down what leaders must commit to in order to relate to their workers, build relationships with them, increase the morale and productivity of the company, and essentially keep the company moving towards its goal . The chapter also, well in essence the entire book, is good with giving pertinent information and yet making it applicable to the everyday lives of others. Chapter 1, especially the Five Practices, set the tone for the following chapters. *Something that stood out to me was the quote, “Leadership is a Relationship”. (p. 24) The cases found throughout the chapter had this idea in common. Chapter 3 of the book immediately introduced readers to the ideas of faith and principles. It is crucial that a leader have a strong hold on both. These are underlying factors that will eventually establish how efficient, willing, dedicated, and able a “leader” is able to actually lead. Besides this, a leader must make sure that the goals between oneself and the employers are parallel. They must be working toward a common goal and not just the goal of the one leading. Lastly, an idea that really spoke to me was the concept of picking values that you want to lead the company in following. This idea made me think of one pasturing a church- especially in regard to domination. This is because a person will worship, interact, work, where they feel comfortable, included, and the principles of the place are aligned with theirs. All in all, this Chapter somewhat served as a “go to” guide for a leader once he is past the theoretical and planning stages (Ch.1 and Ch. 2) and ready to actually turn thoughts into