Human-centered leadership insights from the leading experts on the subject

In the newly revised second edition of Encouraging the Heart: Igniting Purpose and Providing Meaningful Recognition, renowned leadership experts and best-selling authors James Kouzes and Barry Posner deliver an incisive and practical playbook for leaders who want to inspire their followers to achieve extraordinary things. They've packed the book with real-world examples, practical ideas, and eye-opening advice drawn from over four decades of work with countless business leaders.

Encouraging the Heart is not a book about incentive systems or reward programs. It goes beyond those things to discuss universal leadership principles that will help elevate your people to new levels of productivity, engagement, and performance. It's a hands-on roadmap containing behaviors, principles, practices, evidence, and examples that will form the foundation of a repeatable process you can put into place at your own organization.

Inside the book you'll find strategies for:

  • Setting clear standards aligned with your organization's purpose
  • Paying attention to exemplary actions and telling memorable stories that motivate action and enact change
  • Noticing exemplars of values and standards and publicly praising them with personalized feedback and appreciation that encourages others to live up to their example
  • Setting a personal example of meaningful ways to recognize others and celebrate values and victories

Encouraging the Heart is a must-read for leaders of all kinds, regardless of position or function, at organizations of all sizes, in the public and private sectors who wish to help those around them realize their full potential.

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Introduction 1

Part One

1 The Heart of Leadership 13

2 The Seven Essentials of Encouraging 27

3 The Leadership Encouragement Index 45

Part Two

4 The First Essential: Set Clear Standards Aligned with Purpose 57

5 The Second Essential: Expect the Best 75

6 The Third Essential: Pay Attention 91

7 The Fourth Essential: Personalize Recognition 107

8 The Fifth Essential: Tell the Story 125

9 The Sixth Essential: Celebrate Together 143

10 The Seventh Essential: Set the Example 161

Part Three

11 Leadership Is an Affair of the Heart 181

12 101 Ways to Encourage the Heart 189

Notes 207

Acknowledgments 229

About the Authors 231

Index 235

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PRAISE FOR ENCOURAGING THE HEART

“The bottom line is this: people thrive in environments where they find meaning, recognition, and purpose. When leaders provide those things, remarkable things happen! Kouzes’ and Posner’s latest is an exceptional handbook for anyone looking to improve their leadership and the lives of those in their span of care!”
—BOB CHAPMAN, CEO of Barry-Wehmiller, author of Everybody Matters: The Extraordinary Power of Caring for Your People Like Family

“This new edition of Encouraging the Heart arrives at a pivotal moment. As the most personal of The Leadership Challenge’s Five Practices, it delves deep into what truly drives people to achieve: feeling valued and recognized. Jim and Barry provide an invaluable toolkit for leaders seeking to uplift and inspire their teams, organizations, families, and communities by acknowledging those who uphold shared values and go above and beyond expectations. In a world that can often seem dark, this book is a call to be the light.”
—LORI ARMSTRONG, DNP, RN, NEA-BC, CEO and Chief Clinical Officer, Inspire Nurse Leaders

“Employee recognition is often referred to as the Greatest Management Principle in the World, and Encouraging the Heart provides a blueprint for how every leader can best harness the power of this proven principle to drive desired behavior and performance with their employees. It's a delight to read and even more fun to apply!”
—BOB NELSON, PhD, creator of Worldwide Employee Appreciation Day, bestselling author of 1,501 Ways to Reward Employees

“In a time when fear runs high, the need for encouragement runs higher! Grounded in research but written with heart, this book will equip you to embolden the hearts of others to lead from courage, not fear–to step bravely forward in the moments that matter most. The world will be better for it.”
—DR. MARGIE WARRELL, Leadership Speaker and bestselling author of The Courage Gap

Encouraging the Heart is a transformative guide that touches the essence of leadership—caring for your people. The approach is practical, evidence-based, and deeply human. This book will not only ignite purpose within your organization, but it will also help you build a culture where people feel valued, motivated, and truly appreciated. In these pages, you’ll discover that when leaders lead with heart, people will give their very best.”
—GARRY RIDGE, Chairman Emeritus of WD-40 Company, The Culture Coach

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Produktdetaljer

ISBN
9781394303908
Publisert
2025-04-28
Utgave
2. utgave
Utgiver
John Wiley & Sons Inc
Vekt
340 gr
Høyde
226 mm
Bredde
152 mm
Dybde
23 mm
Aldersnivå
G, P, 01, 06
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Heftet
Antall sider
272

Biografisk notat

JIM KOUZES and BARRY POSNER are authors of several award-winning and bestselling books, including: The Leadership Challenge; Everyday People, Extraordinary Leadership; A Leader’s Legacy; The Truth About Leadership; and Credibility, as well as the widely used Leadership Practices Inventory (LPI). Together, they are among the most trusted sources on leadership development.