Introduction To Leadership: Concepts And Practice

Most textbooks used for teaching leadership are oriented toward the upper-level student and have a strong theoretical orientation. To date, there are very few basic, practical, introductory leadership textbooks. The goal of Introduction to Leadership is to present in a clear and straightforward way the basic principles of leadership in an attempt to help the reader answer the question: "How can I become a better leader?" While it is based on theory, the book provides a practical perspective on leadership.

Perhaps the most notable features of this book are three interactive components included in every chapter which give the reader the means to explore leadership concepts and applications in his or her own life: Self-Assessment Questionnaire: a specially-designed tool that will help the reader determine his or her own leadership style and preferences; Observational Exercise: guides the reader in examining behaviors of leaders from his or her life experiencesReflection and Action Worksheet: stimulates the reader to reflect upon his or her leadership style and identify actions to take to become more effective.

These features will help students to explore their own leadership and identify ways to improve what they do as a leader. The content of each chapter describes a fundamental principle of leadership and discusses how it relates to becoming an effective leader. These fundamentals are illustrated through examples and case studies. Following this discussion are an Observational Exercise and Reflection and Action Worksheet that, when completed, give the reader additional insight into the concepts discussed in the chapter. Each chapter ends with a summary and references.