The Practice of Leadership: Developing the Next Generation of Leaders

Chapter Fifteen. Getting It Right: The Practice of Leadership

Ronald E. RiggioJay A. Conger

Effective leadership is not easy, and there is no easy path to becoming an effective leader. Leadership is in and of itself one of the most complex of human endeavors. Moreover, leading in today’s increasingly complicated and fast-paced world is becoming more and more difficult. Add into that mix the greater complexity of organizations and a more empowered (and demanding) group of followers, and the challenge of being an effective leader seems almost insurmountable.

The theme of this book, and of the conference that preceded it, was to gather together scholars, each an expert in a particular area of leadership, and ask them to extract from a vast and rich body of research the insights that could truly inform the practice of leadership. The ultimate goal was to inform practicing leaders about what works and what does not.

A topic as complex as leadership can be studied from multiple angles and broken down into a number of foundational or key elements; each of these elements can in turn be analyzed in great detail. The chapters in this book represent those elements that we felt were the most important factors in determining effective leadership for today’s world. Together, they represent a solid core for understanding how organizations and individuals can maximize their leadership potential and effectiveness.

So what do we know about the practice of leadership? One thing is certain: from decades ...