Santa Clara UniversityScholar Commons

Management Leavey School of Business

1995

Leadership is Everyone's Business & Other Lessonsfrom Over a Dozen Years of Leadership ResearchBarry Z. PosnerSanta Clara University, bposner@scu.edu

James M. Kouzes

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Copyright © 1995 by authors. This article first appeared in OD Practitioner 27:1 (1995) 25-34. Reprinted with permission.

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Recommended CitationPosner, Barry Z. and Kouzes, James M. (1995) Leadership is Everyone's Business & Other Lessons from Over a Dozen Years ofLeadership Research, OD Practitioner, 27(1):25-34.

THE ORGANIZATION DEVELOPMENT NETWORK

Leadership Is Everyone'sBusiness and Other Lessonsfrom Over a Dozen Years ofLeadership ResearchJames M, Kouzes and Barry Z Posner

eyond the horizon of time is achanged world, very different fromtoday's world. Some people seeacross that horizon and into thefuture. They believe that dreams canbecome reality. They open our eyesand lift our spirits. They build trustand strengthen our relationships.They stand firm against the winds of

resistance and give us the courage to continue thequest. We call these people leaders.

In the early 1980'swe set upon a quest to discoverwhat it took to become one of these leaders. We want-ed to know the common practices of ordinary men andwomen when they were at their leadership best-whenthey were able to take people to places they had neverbeen before. But knowing that the portrait emergingfrom the study of personal-best leadership cases wasonly a partial picture, we also explored the expecta-

Portions of this article are adapted from The Leadership Challenge:How to Keep Getting Extraordinary Things Done in Organizations bylames M Kouzes and Barry Z Posner (San Francisco: lossey-Bass,1995). Other portions adapted from an article by the authors to appearin The Leader of the Future edited by Marshall Goldsmith,Richard Beckhard, and Frances Hesselbein (San Francisco: lossey-Bass,1996). Copyright © 1995 lames M Kouzes and Barry Z Posner.All rights reserved Reproduced by permission.

tions that constituents have of leaders. Strategies, tac-tics, skills, and practices are empty unless we under-stand the fundamental human aspirations that con-nect leaders and constituents. Our analysis ofthousands of cases and surveys from over a dozenyears of research has revealed a consistent pattern ofexemplary leadership practices and fundamental con-stituent expectations (Kouzes and Posner, 1995).

In this article we discuss several lessons we'velearned from thousands of venturers about what ittakes to get extraordinary things done in organiza-tions, and we examine some implications for the prac-tice of organization development.Lesson 1. Credibility Is theFoundation of Leadership.

The cynics are winning. People are fed up, angry,disgusted, and pessimistic about their future.Alienation is higher than it has been in a quarter cen-tury, so says an article entitled "That Shut -OutFeeling" in a 1993 issue of Business Week. Loyalty toinstitutions, and institutions' loyalty to people is sink-ing like a stone. No longer would we rather fight thanswitch; we just switch. Nearly half the population iscynical, and cynics don't participate in improvingthings (Kanter and Mirvis, 1989).

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Credibility isthe foundation

on whichleaders andconstituents

build thegrand dreamsof the future.

In such a climate, how can a leader possibly mobi-lize a seemingly unwilling constituency toward someunknown and even more uncertain future? For theanswer to this question, we turned to the con-stituents, the followers. We have asked thousands ofpeople what they "look for and admire in a leader, in aperson whose direction they would willingly follow."The consistent winners: honest, forward-looking,inspiring, competent leaders.

Three of these characteristics-honest, compe-tent, and inspiring-comprise what communicationexperts refer to as "source credibility." In assessingthe believability of sources of information, whetherthey are newscasters, salespeople, managers, physi-cians, politicians, or priests, researchers typicallyuse the three criteria of trustworthiness,expertise, and dynamism. Those who ratemore highly on these dimensions areconsidered to be more credible sourcesof information. What we found in ourinvestigation of admired leadershipqualities is that, more than anything,people want leaders who are credible.

People want to believe in leaders.People want to have faith and confidencein them. People want to believe that theirword can be trusted, that they are personallyexcited and enthusiastic about the direction in whichthey are headed, and that they have the knowledge andskill to lead. Credibility is the foundation on whichleaders and constituents build the grand dreams ofthe future. Without credibility, visions will fade andrelationships will wither. We call this the "first law ofleadership." If people don't believe in the messenger,they won't believe the message.

At the core of personal credibility are one'sbeliefs. (Credibility derives from the Latin wordcredo, meaning "I believe.") People expect their lead-ers to stand for something and to have the courage ofconviction. If leaders are not clear about what theybelieve in, they are much more likely to change theirpositions with every fad or opinion poll. The first mile-stone on the journey to leadership credibility, there-fore, is clarity of personal values.

What are the implications fororganization development practitioners?

The capacity to win the personal credibility jackpotdepends on how well people know themselves. To becredible, leaders must know who they are and whatthey stand for. Early in an intervention, 00 practition-ers can engage leaders in a process of self-discovery.Byinvolving them in developing and articulating a clearset of guiding principles-a leadership philosophy-thebetter they know themselves and the better they canalign words and deeds.

The efficacy of any change initiative is inextricablylinked to the credibility of the person (s) leading theeffort. Constituents will become willingly involved to

the extent that they believe in those sponsoring thechange. It is wise, then, to begin every engage-

ment with a "credit check" of the leaders.Lesson 2. Leaders Don't Wait.When Dr. Charlie Mae Knight wasappointed the new superintendent forthe Ravenswood School District in EastPalo Alto, California, she was thetwelfth superintendent in ten years. She

encountered a district in which 50 per-cent of the schools were closed and 98 per-

cent of the children were performing in thelowest percentile for academic achievement inCalifornia. The district had the state's lowest revenuerate. There were buckets in classrooms to catch therain leaking through decrepit roofs, the stench fromthe rest rooms was overwhelming, homeless organiza-tions were operating out of the school sites, and pil-fering was rampant. Gophers and rats had begun totake over the facilities. As if this weren't challengingenough, Knight had to wrestle with a lawsuit that hadgone on for ten years, whose intent was to dissolve thedistrict for its poor educational quality and force thechildren to transfer to schools outside of their com-munity.

These challenges would discourage almost any-one. But not Knight. After assuming the post, sheimmediately enlisted support from BayArea compa-nies and community foundations to get the badlyneeded resources. The first project she undertookwas refurbishing the Garden Oaks School. Volunteerengineers from nearby Raychem Corporation repaired

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the electrical wiring and phone systems. Avolunteerrat patrol used pellet guns to eliminate the peskyrodents from the site. The community helped paintthe building inside and out, and hardware storesdonated supplies.

Before too long, local residents begancalling to find out what color paint wasused for the school so they could painttheir houses in a matching shade. Theywent out and bought trees and sod andplanted them in front of their homes.New leadership came forth from par-ents who began to demand more of asay. In response, an "Effort Hours" pro-gram for parents was set up so that theycould volunteer time at the school. Teachersbegan to notice that something was happening, andthey wanted to be part of it too. The district was on aroll.

Within two years of Knight's arrival, the childrenexceeded the goal of performing in the fifty-first per-centile on academic achievement scores. (Today oneof the district's schools has climbed to the sixty-eighth percentile, miles above the first percentilewhere they had started.) The district was one of thefirst schools in the state to use technology in everydiscipline, outdistancing every school in Californiatechnologically, and it was the first elementary schoolto join the Internet. The lawsuit has been dropped.Revenues went up from $1,900 per student to $3,500.And for the first time ever, East Palo Alto received thestate's Distinguished School Award, based on itsimproved test scores and innovative programs.If we are going to have a future, let alone thrive in

one, we learn from Knight that leaders don't wait (infact they can't wait) for grand strategic plans to be com-pleted, new legislation to be passed, or consensus tobe built. Like other leaders who achieve extraordinaryresults, Knight knew she had to produce some early vic-tories. "It's hard to just get anybody excited about avision. You must show something happening." She fur-ther said, "Winning at the beginning was so important,because winning provided some indication of move-ment. I had to show some visible signs that change wastaking place in order to keep up the momentum, and inorder to restore confidence in the people that we couldprovide quality education."

Leaders seize the initiative. Starting a new organiza-tion, turning around a losing operation, greatly improv-ing the social condition, enhancing the quality of peo-

ple's lives demands spirit and action. Waiting forpermission to begin is not characteristic of

leaders, but acting with a sense of urgency is.If you're going to lead now or in the future,the first thing you've got to do is launch avoyage of discovery.What are the implications forOD practitioners?Make something happen. In our well-

intended efforts to thoroughly diagnosethe situation, to craft artful change pro-

grams, and to build broad consensus we stallprogress. Byall means, be true to intervention theoryand practice, but also get things moving. Focus onsmall wins-things like fresh paint and clean schoolyards. Set up little experiments instead of grand trans-formations. Transformation is a scary word. It mayeven discourage people. It may also fuel cynicism.Little successive victories earn the leaders a lot ofcredit, and they inspire confidence.Lesson 3. Leaders Focuson the Future Possibilities.

At 3:29 p.m. on October 15, 1978, a team of tenwomen accomplished something that no other grouphad ever done. The American Women s HimalayanExpedition was the first American climbing team toreach the summit of Annapurna I, the tenth-highestmountain in the world. Arlene Blum was the leader ofthe expedition. Her stirring account of that adventure,Annapurna: A Woman s Place, is a highly acclaimedadventure story (Blum, 1980). But why should some-one, whether man or woman, want to do something likethat?

"For us, the answer was much more than 'becauseit is there,''' said Blum. "We all had experienced theexhilaration, the joy, and the warm camaraderie of theheights, and now we were on our way to an ultimateobjective for a climber-the world's tenth-highest peak.But as women, we faced a challenge even greater thanthe mountain. We had to believe in ourselves enough tomake the attempt in spite of social convention and twohundred years of climbing history inwhich women wereusually relegated to the sidelines." Blum talked about

If you're goingto lead now orin the future,the first thingyou've got todo is launch a

voyage ofdiscovery.

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Littlesuccessive

victories earnthe leaders alot of credit,and theyinspire

confidence~

how women had been told for years that they were notstrong enough to carry heavy loads, that they didn't havethe leaders hip experience and emotional stability nec-essary to climb the highest mountains. After a climb ofMount McKinleyin 1970, her personal faith in the abili-ties of women climbers was confirmed.

"Our expedition would give ten women the chanceto attempt one of the world's highest and most chal-lenging peaks, as well as the experience necessary toplan future Himalayan climbs. If we succeeded, wewould be the first Americans to climb Annapurna andthe first American women to reach eight thousandmeters (26,200 feet)."

Not only do constituents demand that leaders becredible, they also demand that leaders be forward-looking: that they have a sense of direction, a vision forthe future. Credibility is the foundation of lead-ership, but the capacity to paint an upliftingand ennobling picture of the future differ-entiates leaders from other crediblesources.

Blum saw what others had not seen.She imagined something for her groupthat went far beyond the ordinary, farbeyond what others thought possible.For Blum, it was proving that women arecapable of doing things that others hadthought impossible. She, and the other leadersin our study, shared the characteristic of "envisioningthe future," of gazing across the horizon of time andimagining that greater things were ahead. They foresawsomething out there, vague as it might appear from thedistance, that others did not. They imagined that extra-ordinary feats were possible, or that the ordinary couldbe transformed into something noble.

The overwhelming consensus is that without vision,little can happen. All enterprises or projects, big andsmall, begin in the mind's eye. They begin with imagina-tion and with the belief that what is merely an image canone day be made real.What are the implications for ODPractitioners?

Climbing a mountain is a wonderful metaphor forleading organizational change. The summit is thevision. You always keep that pinnacle in mind as youprepare for and make the ascent. Don Bennett, thefirst amputee to climb Mt. Ranier, said that he imag-

ined being on top of the mountain 1,000 times a day.But how he got to the top, he said, "was one hop at atime." Vision and action are the yin and yang of leader-ship. 00 practitioners can support leaders in makingsomething happen, by helping them to constantly clar-ify and communicate an inspiring common vision.Without a clear view of the future, constituents will beas nervous as tourists driving the Pacific Coast high-way in the fog.Lesson 4. Leaders Affirm Shared Values.

As important as it is for leaders to articulate theirvision and values, what they say must be consistent withthe aspirations of their constituents. Constituents alsohave needs, interests, dreams and beliefs of their own.If leaders advocate values that are not representative

of the collective will, then they will not be able tomobilize people to act as one. Leaders must

be able to gain consensus on a commoncause and a common set of principles.They must be able to build a communityof shared values.We have examined carefully the relation-ship between personal and organization-al values, and our studies show that

shared values:• Foster strong feelings of personal effec-

tiveness.• Promote high levels of loyalty to the

organization.• Facilitate consensus about key organization

goals and stakeholders.• Encourage ethical behavior.• Promote strong norms about working hard

and caring.• Reduce levels of job stress and tension.• Foster pride in the organization.• Facilitate understanding about job expectations.• Foster teamwork and esprit de corps.People tend to drift when they are unsure or con-

fused about how they ought to be operating. The ener-gy that goes into coping with, and repeatedly debating,incompatible values takes its toll on both personaleffectiveness and organizational productivity.Consensus about long-and short-term values createscommitment to the organization's vision and strategy,

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If leaders.advocate

values that arenot represen-tative of the

collective will,then they willnot be able to

mobilizepeople to act

as one.

i.e., where it is going and how it's going to get there.Although leaders do not wait for anyone, if they don'tbuild consensus on vision and values then they will beall alone!

This dynamic tension between building consensusand creating forward momentum constantly pulls atleaders. We have learned that constituents expectleaders to be able to clearly articulate a vision of thefuture and to take a firm stand on principles. We havealso learned that shared visions and values producemore successful organizations and healthier people.To turn this tension into action, exemplary leadershave to have their heads in the clouds and their feet onthe ground. They know how to maintain the focus onexciting future possibilities while finding the commonground among constituents' diverse aspirations.What are the Implicationsfor OD Practitioners?

In order to take that first step toward renewedorganizations-and a second, and a third-people mustagree on some fundamentals. A helpful interventionrequires coming to agreement on a desired culture,i.e., a common set of operating principles abouthow things will get accomplished. It alsomeans skillful management of conflict.Helping your clients pool their abilities toachieve "wholeness incorporating diver-sity," as scholar and Common Causefounder, John Gardner, calls it. andensure that their stated valuesgo beyond the poster-on-the-wall,laminated-wallet-card stage. RoseAnnStevenson (1995), organization and man-agement development manager at Boeing,analyzed a set of values statements from sev-enty-seven different companies and foundnineteen commonly identified values. But she alsofound little agreement on the meaning of each of thesevalues statements. She found, for example, that therewere 185different behavioral expectations around thevalue of integrity alone. Acommon understanding of val-ues comes about through dialogue; it emerges from aprocess of dialogue, not a pronouncement.

Lesson 5. Leaders Can't Do It Alone.Early in our research we asked Bill Flanagan, vice-

president of operations for Amdahl Corporation, todescribe his personal best. After a few moments,Flanagan said that he couldn't do it. Startled, we askedhim why. Flanagan replied, "Because it wasn't my per-sonal best. It was our personal best. It wasn't me. Itwas us."

Leadership is not a solo act. In the thousands ofpersonal-best leadership cases that we have studiedwe have yet to encounter a single example of extraor-dinary achievement that occurred without the activeinvolvement and support of many people. We don'texpect to find any in the future either.

Creating competition between group members isnot the route to high-performance; fostering collabo-ration is-particularly if the conditions are extremelychallenging and urgent. Author and university lecturerAlfie Kohn (1986) explains it this way: "The simplestway to understand why competition generally does notpromote excellence is to realize that trying to do welland trying to beat others are two different things."

One is about accomplishing the superior whilethe other is about making another inferior.

One is about achievement while the otheris about subordination. Rather than focus-ing on stomping the competition into theground, true leaders focus on creatingvalue for their customers, intelligenceand skill in their students, wellness intheir patients, and pride in their citi-zens. In a more complex, wired worldthe winning strategies will always be

based upon the "we" not "I" philosophy.Exemplary leaders make other people feel

strong. They enable others to take ownershipand responsibility for their group's success. Long

before "empowerment" was written into the popularvocabulary, credible leaders knew that onlywhen theirconstituents felt strong, capable, and efficaciouscould they ever hope to get extraordinary things done.Constituents who felt weak, incompetent, and insignif-icant consistently under performed, wanted to fleethe organization, and were ripe for disenchantment,even revolution.

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When we examine the times when people feelpowerless and the times when they feel powerful, weare struck by the clear and consistent message: feel-ing powerful, literally feeling "able," comes from adeep sense of being in control of our own lives.When we feel able to determine our owndestiny, when we believe we are able tomobilize the resources and support nec-essary to complete a task, then we willpersist in our efforts to achieve. Butwhen we feel we are controlled byoth-ers, when we believe that we lack thesupport or resources, we may complybut we show no commitment to excel(Bandura, 1990; 1986). Credible leaderschoose to give away their own power in ser-vice of increasing another's sense of self-con-fidence, self-determination, and personal effective-ness. Making others more powerful is truly whatenhances the possibilities of success.What are the Implicationsfor·OD Practitioners?

Organization development has probably con-tributed more to advancements in teamwork and trustthan any other field of practice. Our roots are in groupdynamics and our heart is in personal growth. But aspractitioners, we sometimes become enamored withnew, often faddish, movements. While it is importantto innovate continuously, we should never forget thatour foundation is grounded in the behavioral sciences.

For 00 to be successful in the future, bonds haveto be strengthened between leaders and constituents.Our practice will thrive to the extent that we and ourclients are competent and confident in the fundamen-tals of interpersonal relations. This is our heritage,this is our future, and this is our legacy.Lesson 6. The Legacy Leaders Leave Isthe Life They Lead.

The first thing Les Cochran did after becoming uni-versity president at Youngstown State University inJuly 1992was to purchase an abandoned building onthe edge of campus and spend his free weekendsworking with construction crews to transform it into aresidence for his family.While it is not unusual for col-lege presidents to live near their campuses, Cochran'sdetermination to do so attracted a great deal of atten-tion and set the tone for his presidency .

To many, Cochran was literally putting his life onthe line, for the once lovely neighborhoods surround-ing YSU had surrendered to increasingly aggressivegangs and escalating drug-related crime following

the collapse of Youngstown's steel mill depen-dent economy in the early 1980s. Cochran

believed that the only way to reclaim YSUfrom the fear, hopelessness, apathy andmistrust that paralyzed the campus andthe surrounding community was to startthe process by claiming as his homeone of these decaying neighborhoods.His message was clear: "We are respon-

sible, both individually and collectively,for the fate of this community." Thus,

when he declared "Together We Can Make aDifference," his philosophy of individual contri-

bution to community involvement, people knew hebelieved deeply in what he was saying. Bybuying andrefurbishing a home in an area he was determined toreclaim for YSU,Cochran "walked the talk."

When asking others to change, as Cochran did, it isnot enough for leaders to deliver a rousing speech.Much as compelling words are essential to upliftingspirits, Cochran and other leaders knew that con-stituents are moved by deeds. They expect leaders toshow up, to pay attention, and to participate directly inthe process of getting extraordinary things done.Leaders take every opportunity to show others bytheir own example that they are deeply committed tothe aspirations they espouse. Leading by example ishow leaders make visions and values tangible. It is howthey provide the evidence that they are personallycommitted. That evidence is what people look for andadmire in leaders, people whose direction they wouldwillingly follow.

In our extensive research on leader credibility, weasked people to tell us how they would know if some-one is credible. The most frequent response: "Theydo what they say they will do" (Kouzes and Posner,1993). Example-setting is essential to earning credi-bility.When it comes to deciding whether a leader isbelievable, people first listen to the words, and thenwatch the actions. Ajudgment of "credible" is handeddown when the two are consonant.

Althoughleaders do notwait for any-one, if theydon't build

consensus onvision andvalues then

they will be allalone!

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Credibleleaders

choose to giveaway theirown powerin service of .increasinganother'ssense of

self-confi-dence, self-

determination,and personaleffectiveness.

How you lead your life is how people judgewhether they want to put their lives in your hands. Ifyou dream of leaving a legacy then you'd better heedthe Golden Rule of Leadership: DWYSYWD:Do WhatYou SayYouWillDo.What are the Implicationsfor OD Practitioners?

The truest test of credible leadership is what lead-ers pay attention to and what they do. Leaders arejudged by how they spend their time, how they react tocritical incidents, the stories they tell, the questionsthey ask, the language and symbols they choose, themeasures they use, and their design of physical space.Every organizational assessment should include anaudit of these dimensions. To find the clues you'll haveto follow the leaders around for a few days and hangout with them in their own settings. Interviews andsurvey questionnaires just don't cut it when it comesto trying to determine whether leaders do what theysay.

Help leaders to look in the mirror. Help thembecome conscious of the messages they are sendingwith their actions. And help them to improve the align-ment between what they practice and what theypreach so that they set the example for others.Lesson 7. LeadersKeep Hope Alive.

Employees at Synergistic Systems, Inc. located inLos Angeles' San Fernando Valley,have always knownJean Campbell, founder and CEO , to be positive,organized, enthusiastic, personable, caring andunflappable. Campbell's leadership had beentested many times since 1984 when shestarted and began growing this computer-based medical billing company. The com-pany is now a trusted firm that employs200 people and handles over $200 mil-lion in charges for more than 1,200physicians in 84 medical groups nation-wide. Yet never had Campbell been aschallenged as she was on the days fol-lowing Monday,January 17,1994,when at4:31 a.m., a major earthquake rumbledthrough the San Fernando Valley,shakingher world to its very foundation.

NETWORK

On Monday afternoon, as she inspected SSI's25,000 square foot tile ceiling lying collapsed on thefloor, its 28 foot high south wall pulled 10inches off itsconcrete base, its overturned desks, scattered files,and leaking ceiling pipes, she saw that she had "a no-business business." To others the goal of being fullyoperational within two weeks might have seemedimpossible. Not to Jean Campbell: to her it became amission.

Working closely with IBM Business RecoveryServices, Campbell began going through a logicalreview of critical business requirements. From a busi-ness in shambles, Campbell organized, planned, lis-tened, reassured and motivated Syners (as the SSIemployees call themselves) and contractors alike torestore essential services within 48 hours and full ser-vices in less than 10business days.

With reconstruction complete, Jean Campbell helda TownHall meeting on February 2, declaring "It's timeto celebrate our victory, with all those who helped tobring it about, and to give heartfelt thanks to somany..." Campbell knew all too well that the climb tothe summit was arduous and steep. People becameexhausted, frustrated, and disenchanted. They oftenwere tempted to give up. Leaders, like Campbell,encourage the heart of their constituents to carry on.With genuine acts of caring they uplift the spirits andsustain hope.What are the Implicationsfor OD Practitioners?

Individual recognition and group celebration arecrucial to sustaining change efforts. People

need to know that someone is paying atten-tion to their hard work. When people areasked to go beyond their comfort zones,the support and encouragement of theircolleagues enhance their resistance tothe possible debilitating effects ofstress. And if reward systems are notaligned with new norms and new forms,the new structure is destined to col-lapse. To assure long-term successmake sure that you encourage your

clients to say "thank you" in as many waysas they can.

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A commonunderstanding

of values comesabout through

dialogue; itemerges from aprocess not a

pronouncement.

Lesson 8. Leadership IsEveryone's Business.

Myth associates leadership with a superior posi-tion. It assumes that leadership starts with a capital"L," and that when you are on top you are automatical-Iya leader. But leadership is not a place; it is a process.It involves skills and abilities that are useful whetherone is in the executive suite or on the front line, onWall Street or Main Street.

And the most pernicious myth of all is that leader-ship is reserved for only a very few of us. The myth isperpetuated dailywhenever anyone asks, "Are leadersborn or made?" Leadership is certainly not a gene, andit is most definitely not something mystical andethereal that cannot be understood by ordi-nary people. It is a myth that only a luckyfew can ever decipher the leadershipcode. Our research indicates that lead-ership is an observable set of practicesthat can be learned. In over fifteen yearsof re-search we have been fortunate tohear and read the stories of over 2,500ordinary people who have led others toget extraordinary things done. There aremillions more. If there is one singular lessonabout leadership from all of the cases we havegathered it is this: leadership is everyone's business.

Just ask Melissa Poe (1993) of St. Henry's Schoolin Nashville, Tennessee. On August 4, 1989,as a fourth-grader fearful of the continued destruction of theearth's resources, Poe wrote a letter to PresidentGeorge Bush, asking for his assistance in her cam-paign to save the environment for the enjoyment offuture generations.

After sending the letter, Poe worried that it wouldnever be brought to the president's attention. Afterall, she was only a child. So, with the urgency of theissue pressing on her mind, she decided to get thepresident's attention by having her letter placed on abillboard. Through sheer diligence and hard work, thenine-year old got her letter placed on one billboard,free of charge, in September 1989-and founded Kidsfor a Clean Environment (Kids EAC.E.), an organiza-tion whose goal is to develop programs to clean up theenvironment.

Almost immediately, Poe began receiving lettersfrom kids who were as concerned as she about theenvironment. They wanted to help. When Poe finallyreceived the disappointing form letter from the presi-dent it didn't crush her dream. She no longer neededthe help of someone famous to get her messageacross. Poe had found in herself the person she need-ed-that powerful someone who could inspire othersto get involved and make her dream a reality.

Within nine months more than 250 billboardsacross the country were displaying her letter, free ofcharge, and Kids EAC.E. membership had swelled. Asthe organization grew, Poe's first Kids EAC.E. project,

a recycling program at her school, led to a man-ual full of ideas on how to clean up the envi-

ronment. Poe's impatience and zest moti-vated her to do something, and her workhas paid off. Today there are more than200,000 members and 2,000 chaptersof Kids EAC.E.Poe is proof that you don't have to waitfor someone else to lead. You don't

have to have a title, you don't have tohave a position, and you don't have to

have a budget.By viewing leadership as a set of character

traits with which one is born or as equivalent to anexalted position, a self-fulfilling prophecy has beencreated that dooms societies to having only a few goodleaders. It is far healthier and more productive for usto start with the assumption that it is possible foreveryone to lead. Ifwe assume that leadership can belearned, we can discover how many good leadersthere really are. Leadership may be exhibited onbehalf of the school, the church, the community, thescouts, th e union, or the family. Somewhere, some-time, the leader within each of us may get the call tostep forward.

Certainly we should not mislead people intobelieving that they can attain unrealistic goals. Neithershould we assume that only a few will ever attainexcellence in leadership or any other human endeav-or. Those who are most successful at bringing out thebest in others are those who set achievable butstretching goals and believe that they have the abilityto develop the talents of others.

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From what we observed in our research, as moreand more people answer the call, we will rejoice in theoutcome. For what we discovered, and rediscovered,is that leadership is not the private reserve of a fewcharismatic men and women. It is a process ordinarypeople use when they are bringing forth the best fromthemselves and others. Whether you are in the privateor public sector, whether you are an employee ora volunteer, whether you are front line orsenior echelon, whether you are a studentor a parent, we believe you are capable ofdeveloping yourself as a leader far morethan tradition has ever assumed possi-ble. Liberate the leader in everyoneand extraordinary things happen.What are the Implications forOD Practitioners?

When you think about it, aren't we allabout liberating the leader in everyone?Aren't we about reaching inside the organi-zation and releasing the capacity of everyoneto excel? We must enable our clients to broadentheir concept of leadership to include those on thefront-lines as well as those in the executive suites.When everyone is a leader-when everyone chal-lenges, inspires, enables, models, andencourages-commitment is far greater and successis more likely.In Conclusion

In our classes and workshops we regularly ask peo-ple to share a story about a leader they admire andwhose direction they would willingly follow. From thisexercise we hope they will discover for themselveswhat it takes to have an influence on others. We haveanother objective as well: we want them to discover thepower that lies within each one of us to make a differ-ence.

Virtually everyone we have asked has been able toname at least one leader whose compelling impact theyhave felt. Sometimes it is a well-known figure out of thepast who has changed the course of history. Sometimesit is a contemporary role model who serves as an exam-ple of success. And sometimes it is a person who haspersonally helped them learn-a parent, friend, mem-ber of the clergy,coach, teacher, manager.

If thereis one singularlesson aboutleadershipfrom all the

cases we havegatheredit is this:

leadership iseveryone'sbusiness.

Veronica Guerrero made us realize just how extra-ordinary those around us can be. Guerrero selectedher father, Jose Luis Guerrero, as the leader sheadmired. Guerrero told the story of her father's lead-ership in the Union Nacional Sinarquista (UNS) backin the early 1940's. She related, in detail, what herfather did and summed it up with this observation

from Jose Luis: "I think the work that I did backthen helped me extend myself and others to

levels that I didn't know I could reach ... Ifyou feel strongly about anything, and it issomething that will ultimately benefityour community and your country, donot hold back. Fear of failing or fear ofwhat might happen does not help any-one ... do not let anyone or anythingpush you back."Veronica Guerrero closed her descrip-

tion of her father (who was then dying ofpancreatic cancer) with this observation:

"As I heard his story and I saw a sick, tired,and weak man I could not help thinking that our

strength as humans and as leaders has nothing to dowith what we look like. Rather, it has everything to dowith what we feel, what we think of ourselves ...Leadership is applicable to all facets of life." That isprecisely the point. If we are to become leaders, wemust believe that we, too, can be a positive force in theworld. It does have everything to do with what we thinkof ourselves. •References

Bandura, A "Conclusion: Reflections on NonabilityDeterminants of Competence," in R. Sternberg and J.Kolligian,Jr. (eds.), Competence Considered (NewHaven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1990),315-362.

Bandura, A Social Foundations of Thought andAction: A Social Cognitive Theory. (Englewood Cliffs,New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 1986.

Blum,AAnnapurna: A Woman s Place. SanFrancisco: Sierra Club Books, 1980.

Kanter, D. L. and P. H. Mirvis, The CynicalAmericans: Living and Working in an Age ofDiscontent and Disillusionment (San Francisco:Jossey-Bass. 1989),9-10. Also P. H. Mirvis, personalcorrespondence, January 1992.

VOLUME 27 NUMBER 1 -I

THE ORGANIZATION DEVELOPMENT NETWORK

Kohn, A No Contest: The Case AgainstCompetition. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1986,p. 55.

Kouzes, J. M.and B. Z. Posner, The LeadershipChallenge: How to Keep Getting Extraordinary ThingsDone in Organizations (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass,1995).

Kouzes, J. M. and B. Z. Posner, Credibility: HowLeaders Gain and Lose It, Why People Demand It(San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1993).

"Melissa Poe, "Caring People (6), Fall 1993,66,supplemented by interview with Trish Poe onNovember 3,1994.

Stevenson, R. A "Clarifying BehavioralExpectations Associated with EspousedOrganizational Values" (Ph. D. dissertation, FieldingInstit ute, 1995),54-57.

''That Shut-Out Feeling." Business Week, January18,1993,40.

James M. Kouzes is chairman and chief execu-tive officer of TPG/Learning Systems, a company inThe Tom Peters Group, based in Palo Alto, California.

Barry Z. Posner is professor of organizationalbehavior and managing partner of the ExecutiveDevelopment Center, Leavey School of Business andAdministration, Santa Clara University. In addition tothe best-selling and award-winning book, TheLeadership Challenge, Kouzes and Posner have coau-thored Credibility: How Leaders Gain and Lose It, WhyPeople Demand It, selected by Industry Week as one ofthe five best management books of 1993.

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