Leadership: Theory and Practice

According to Kurt Lewin, "There is nothing as practical as a good theory". This is an apt comment in reference to Peter Northouse's book "Leadership: Theory and Practice". The author methodically and clearly explained the major theories and concepts of leadership in a readable and easily understandable manner, in a way that readers can easily implement them. Northouse stresses the need to link leadership with ethics and values and how to apply the leadership concepts and approaches in practical real-life situations in organisations. When leadership theory and concepts are spelled out as clearly and cogently as they are in this book, their application in organisations becomes self-evident. The author does a good job of presenting the leadership process in an easy to read and understand manner that is both useful and practical to all those that are interested in running successful and effective organisations. Novices will be provided a path whilst the seasoned practitioners will find affirmation.

Now in it's fourth edition, this book is written to attempt to bridge the gap between the simplistic popular literature and the more abstract theoretical approaches. It does this with a layout approach I have not seen before. It uses two color printing throughout and usually the theory about a situation is printed on the white pages and then a case study is printed with a blue background. The case study directly relates to the problems addressed by the theory. There are no answers to the case studies as in real life there are often no answers. This gives the instructor ample room to open discussions and provide guidance. The new edition of the book includes two new chapers: Culture and Leadership - examines the latest research on culture, its dimensions, and ways in which culture affects the leadership process. Women and Leadership - examines the styles of female and male leaders and their effectiveness, the causes of the glass ceiling and how it is being broken. Finally, various changes have been made throughout the book to clarify some issues, expand on some others, include new research and so on.

We are using this in my Intro to Leadership course at college and I have found the book to be very interesting. The author writes very clearly and explains everything quite well. I know its weird to write about, but I really enjoy this authors writing style. I rarely get an academic book where the writing is simple and very straight forward. In a crunch, I can read the first setence or two from each of his paragraphs and understand the concepts of the chapter quite well. As far as leadership practice vs. theory, I am still learning about leadership so I can't say much in this regard. I believe the book has taught me more about leadership than I will ever learn actually being placed in a leadership position. I would definetely suggest reading this book, thinking about your own personal experiences while you read, and then think of ways you can apply things in real life to give your self an idea about leadership practice. Overall, I have enjoyed every aspect of this book and found it to be very useful for assessing my own small leadership position I hold in my part-time job. Definetely a good book inside or outside the academic world for anyone working within (as a 'follower') or leading an organization.

Now in its third edition, Leadership Theory And Practice by Peter G. Northouse (Professor of Communication, Western Michigan University) examines the foremost leadership theories with particular attention as to how each approach can be directly applied to real-world situations and organizations. Exploring basic approaches (as well as theories such as the Contingency Theory, Path-Goal Theory, Leader-Member Exchange Theory), and then expanding beyond methodology to scrutinize such topics as leadership ethics and the barriers unique to women in (or who are seeking) leadership positions, Leadership Theory And Practice is very highly recommended -- whether for both academic study concerning leadership behavior and concrete, or for practical use by any aspiring or practicing leader in the business community today.

For those seeking a crisp, clearly written book summarizing all the major leadership theories without being numbed into sleep, this book is it. Beginning with trait approaches, Northouse covers all the major leadership theories--style, situational, contingency, path-goal, leader-member, transformational, team, psychodynamics, gender, and ethics. Northouse clearly explains each theory, discusses the strengths and weaknesses of each, and provides case studies and samples of each leadership instrument. Although slightly more simplistic than other leadership texts, references are provided to allow readers to explore each theory in greater depth.