Rating: 
Summary: Seven Essentials to Encouraging the Heart.
Review: "We're living in a time that holds great promise. New developments in pharmaceuticals and biotechnology promise that some of the deadliest and most disabling diseases may be cured or at least better managed. New information technologies promise not only to connect us globally and to create whole new forms of commerce but also to foster peace and expand the reaches of our educational systems. Fledgling democratic movements promise to free people from centuries of tyranny and fear. But what is a promise without hope-hope that these promises will be kept? Bold leadership is required if we are to keep these hopes alive...Encouraging the Heart is ultimately about keeping hope alive. Leaders keep hope alive when they set high standards and genuinely express optimism about an individual's capacity to achieve them. They keep hope alive when they give feedback and publicly recognize a job well done. They keep hope alive when they give their constituents the internal support that all human beings need to feel that they and their work are important and have meaning. They keep hope alive when they train and coach people to exceed their current capacities. Most important, leaders keep hope alive when they set an example. There really is nothing more encouraging than to see our leaders practice what they preach" (from the Introduction).In this context, James M. Kouzes and Barry Z. Posner identify seven essentials to encouraging the heart. According to Kouzes and Posner, when leaders do their best to encourage the heart, they: 1. Set clear standards- The first prerequisite for encouraging the heart is to set clear standards (goals and values or principles). To be successful in encouraging the heart, it's absolutely critical that everyone cherish a common set of standards. It's certainly not very encouraging to be in the dark about what we're expected to achieve, or never to know where we stand relative to what's important. Only when we know the standards can we set our sights for success. 2. Expect the best- High expectations or low expectations both influence other people's performance. Only high expectations have a positive impact on actions and on feelings about oneself. Thus, passionately believing in people and expecting the best of them is another prerequisite to encouraging the heart. 3. Pay attention- One way of showing you care is to pay attention to people, to what they're doing, and to how they're feeling. If you are clear about the standards of behavior you're looking for and you believe and expect that people will perform like winners, then you're going to notice lots of examples of people doing things right, and doing the right things. 4. Personalize recognition- Before recognizing someone, the best leaders get to know people personally. They learn about their likes and dislikes, their needs and interests. They observe them in their own settings. Then, when it comes time to recognize a particular person, they know a way to make it special, meaningful, and memorable. 5. Tell the story- Although the live example is the most powerful of ways to publicize what people do to exemplify values, there are other media available to leaders. Newsletters, annual reports, advertisement, even voice mail and e-mail can be used to encourage the heart and teach positive stories about what people do to exemplify our values. These media sure are a lot more powerful than posting our values on a wall somewhere. 6. Celebrate together- Public ceremonies bring people closer together. As we move to a more virtual world, where communication is by voice mail, e-mail, cell phone, videoconference, and pager, it's becoming ever more difficult for people to find opportunities to be together. We are social animals, and we need each other. Those who are fortunate enough to have lots of social support are healtier human beings than those who have a little. Social support is absolutely essential to our well-being and to our productivity. Celebrating together is one way we can get this essential support. 7. Set the example- Setting the example for encouraging the heart starts by giving youself permission to do so. It starts with putting it in your daily planner. It starts with putting a sign by your door. It starts when you talk to everyone about it. It starts when you turn a routine task into something fun. It starts by giving to others first. It starts when you get personally involved. When leaders do get personally involved in encouraging the heart, the results are always the same: the receiver and the giver both feel uplifted. The reflection in the mirror is the one you portray. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Seven Essentials to Encouraging the Heart.
Review: "We're living in a time that holds great promise. New developments in pharmaceuticals and biotechnology promise that some of the deadliest and most disabling diseases may be cured or at least better managed. New information technologies promise not only to connect us globally and to create whole new forms of commerce but also to foster peace and expand the reaches of our educational systems. Fledgling democratic movements promise to free people from centuries of tyranny and fear. But what is a promise without hope-hope that these promises will be kept? Bold leadership is required if we are to keep these hopes alive...Encouraging the Heart is ultimately about keeping hope alive. Leaders keep hope alive when they set high standards and genuinely express optimism about an individual's capacity to achieve them. They keep hope alive when they give feedback and publicly recognize a job well done. They keep hope alive when they give their constituents the internal support that all human beings need to feel that they and their work are important and have meaning. They keep hope alive when they train and coach people to exceed their current capacities. Most important, leaders keep hope alive when they set an example. There really is nothing more encouraging than to see our leaders practice what they preach" (from the Introduction). In this context, James M. Kouzes and Barry Z. Posner identify seven essentials to encouraging the heart. According to Kouzes and Posner, when leaders do their best to encourage the heart, they: 1. Set clear standards- The first prerequisite for encouraging the heart is to set clear standards (goals and values or principles). To be successful in encouraging the heart, it's absolutely critical that everyone cherish a common set of standards. It's certainly not very encouraging to be in the dark about what we're expected to achieve, or never to know where we stand relative to what's important. Only when we know the standards can we set our sights for success. 2. Expect the best- High expectations or low expectations both influence other people's performance. Only high expectations have a positive impact on actions and on feelings about oneself. Thus, passionately believing in people and expecting the best of them is another prerequisite to encouraging the heart. 3. Pay attention- One way of showing you care is to pay attention to people, to what they're doing, and to how they're feeling. If you are clear about the standards of behavior you're looking for and you believe and expect that people will perform like winners, then you're going to notice lots of examples of people doing things right, and doing the right things. 4. Personalize recognition- Before recognizing someone, the best leaders get to know people personally. They learn about their likes and dislikes, their needs and interests. They observe them in their own settings. Then, when it comes time to recognize a particular person, they know a way to make it special, meaningful, and memorable. 5. Tell the story- Although the live example is the most powerful of ways to publicize what people do to exemplify values, there are other media available to leaders. Newsletters, annual reports, advertisement, even voice mail and e-mail can be used to encourage the heart and teach positive stories about what people do to exemplify our values. These media sure are a lot more powerful than posting our values on a wall somewhere. 6. Celebrate together- Public ceremonies bring people closer together. As we move to a more virtual world, where communication is by voice mail, e-mail, cell phone, videoconference, and pager, it's becoming ever more difficult for people to find opportunities to be together. We are social animals, and we need each other. Those who are fortunate enough to have lots of social support are healtier human beings than those who have a little. Social support is absolutely essential to our well-being and to our productivity. Celebrating together is one way we can get this essential support. 7. Set the example- Setting the example for encouraging the heart starts by giving youself permission to do so. It starts with putting it in your daily planner. It starts with putting a sign by your door. It starts when you talk to everyone about it. It starts when you turn a routine task into something fun. It starts by giving to others first. It starts when you get personally involved. When leaders do get personally involved in encouraging the heart, the results are always the same: the receiver and the giver both feel uplifted. The reflection in the mirror is the one you portray. Highly recommended.
Rating: 
Summary: The Heart of Effective Leadership
Review: ENCOURAGING THE HEART is about the principles and practices that support the basic human need to be appreciated for what we do and who we are. It's also about how leaders can apply these principles and practices in their daily work. This is not a book about glad-handing and backslapping, gold stars, and payoffs. It's about the importance of linking rewards and appreciation to standards of excellence. It's about why encouragement is absolutely essential to sustaining people's commitment to organizations and outcomes. It's about the hard work it takes to get extraordinary things done in organizations, and it's about ways to enhance your own ability in -- and comfort with -- recognizing and celebrating the achievements of others. As with our other books, THE LEADERSHIP CHALLENGE and CREDIBILITY, this one too is written to assist people in furthering their abilities to lead others in getting extraordinary things done. Whether you're in the public or the private sector; whether you're an employee or a volunteer; whether you're on the front line or in the senior ranks; whether you're a student, a teacher, or a parent, we've written this book to help you develop your capacity to guide others to places they've never been before. You'll find numerous examples of how ordinary people exercise leadership. These are folks just like the rest of us. Don't count yourself out when it comes to being a leader. Leadership is not a place or a position but it's an attitude and a sense of responsibility for making a difference. Even if you don't consider yourself to be in a leadership role now, you may find yourself in one soon. ENCOURAGING THE HEART can be helpful to you as you prepare for that eventuality. In our studies of people functioning at their personal best as leaders, we've written about people as young as nine and older than eighty who have assumed leadership roles. Leadership is everyone's business. ENCOURAGING THE HEART is designed to describe what leaders do, explain the principles underlying their practices, provide some examples of real leaders demonstrating these actions, and then offer suggestions on how you can get started putting them into practice. The first three chapters introduce you to the basic message -- the best leaders care -- providing an overview of the research, a quick self-assessment inventory, and a classic case study illustrating the seven essentials. Chapter Four explains why encouraging begins by being clear about standards. Chapter Five is about the leader's attitude toward others. In Chapter Six we show how leaders are always on the lookout for exemplars of values and standards and in Chapter Seven we learn the power of personalizing recognition. Chapter Eight illustrates how leaders are great storytellers and in Chapter Nine we show how leaders bring people together to share the successes of their colleagues and to provide needed support to each other. Chapter Ten is about how leaders set an example and create a climate for encouraging the heart. We sum up our discussion of these seven essentials in Chapter Eleven and then leave you in Chapter Twelve with 150 ways to get started in your quest to encourage the heart. Encouraging the Heart is one of those "soft" leadership skills that many find hardest to execute. Let this book -- charged with real-world examples, practical ideas, and expert advice -- be your field guide to mastering one of the most important elements of exemplary leadership.
Rating: 
Summary: Review
Review: Encouraging the Heart's greatest asset is the stories of regular managers and leaders who employ various means to reward and encourage their subordinates. In the beginning of the book, these stories aid in clarifying the authors' many ideas on how to effectively reward others, however in section two, the Seven Essentials section, the stories become too numerous to maintain their effectiveness. I found it difficult to digest the authors' suggestions, mostly because the stories blurred together after a few chapters. The book was also slightly contradictory, and this led to further confusion. In one chapter, the authors state that one does not need psychotherapy in order to enact the caring techniques in the book; however, in the very next chapter they claim that in order to find one's voice, that person must "enter dark, inner territory." The book also speaks of progressing beyond mimicking the techniques of great speakers in order to discover your true style, yet one of the suggestions given in the final list tells the reader to listen to a tape of a children's story and practice reading the story the same way the professional does. While Encouraging the Heart offers some valuable suggestions for rewarding and encouraging others, its overuse of story-telling and contradictory nature nurtures confusion.
Rating:
Summary: Review
Review: Encouraging the Heart's greatest asset is the stories of regular managers and leaders who employ various means to reward and encourage their subordinates. In the beginning of the book, these stories aid in clarifying the authors' many ideas on how to effectively reward others, however in section two, the Seven Essentials section, the stories become too numerous to maintain their effectiveness. I found it difficult to digest the authors' suggestions, mostly because the stories blurred together after a few chapters. The book was also slightly contradictory, and this led to further confusion. In one chapter, the authors state that one does not need psychotherapy in order to enact the caring techniques in the book; however, in the very next chapter they claim that in order to find one's voice, that person must "enter dark, inner territory." The book also speaks of progressing beyond mimicking the techniques of great speakers in order to discover your true style, yet one of the suggestions given in the final list tells the reader to listen to a tape of a children's story and practice reading the story the same way the professional does. While Encouraging the Heart offers some valuable suggestions for rewarding and encouraging others, its overuse of story-telling and contradictory nature nurtures confusion.
Rating:
Summary: Awesome
Review: Great book - well organized and written - theory backed up by research with very practical advice. Don't miss this book!
Rating:
Summary: The oil for the engine of managing
Review: I felt that this book by Kouzes and Posner presented wonderful ideas for leaders. It seemed more directed towards managers of organizations than leaders in general. I was very impressed with the seven essential steps that were offered. It opened up a whole new avenue for putting your heart into a job. I do feel that this book could have been titled, "150 Ways to Encourage the Heart." This book seemed completely repetitive in the last chapter and could have cut down the 11 chapters before it. However this book did offer wonderful ideas for caring leaders and I would recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: 150 Ways to Encourage The Heart
Review: I felt that this book by Kouzes and Posner presented wonderful ideas for leaders. It seemed more directed towards managers of organizations than leaders in general. I was very impressed with the seven essential steps that were offered. It opened up a whole new avenue for putting your heart into a job. I do feel that this book could have been titled, "150 Ways to Encourage the Heart." This book seemed completely repetitive in the last chapter and could have cut down the 11 chapters before it. However this book did offer wonderful ideas for caring leaders and I would recommend it.
Rating: 
Summary: Slow to get in to
Review: I haven't finished the book yet, which is rare for me. I find it to be a little too "foo foo" for my tastes, as there's not enough meat. I was looking to be moved, but I didn't get very far.
Rating: 
Summary: Great Book. The Real World of Recognition.
Review: News Flash: The people you work with are human beings. Here's a great book on how to convince them that you're one too. If you don't do a good job of recognizing others your organization is underperforming. Period.
I like the fact that Encouraging The Heart is not the usual collection of little vignettes about how CEOs do it. Those are good examples too, but CEOs make up such a small percentage of the population their experiences do not represent where the rest of us live. Instead, Kouzes and Posner provide real-world examples of how "normal" people exercise this crucial aspect of leadership. Lots of fun and interesting How-Tos, but more than that, a set of principles from which to think up your own ways of doing it.
Chapters 1-3 drive home the basic message that the best leaders care. They present research, a good case-study, and an assessment index for you. Chapters 4-10 explore the seven essentials in detail (setting clear standards, expecting the best, paying attention, personalizing recognition, storytelling, celebrating, and setting a good example.) Great stuff here. Chatper 11 is about finding your own voice and not operating out of someone else's vocabulary --a maturing process, and Chapter 12 has 150 ways to encourage covering all seven essential areas. The best book on recognition I've found.
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