The Extraordinary Leader: Turning Good Managers into Great Leaders

by John H. Zenger, Joseph R. Folkman

People can learn how to lead. This was the position John H. Zenger and Joseph R. Folkman took when they wrote their now-classic leadership book The Extraordinary Leader ―and it’s a fact they reinforce in this new, completely updated edition of their bestseller. When it was first published, The Extraordinary Leader immediately attracted a wide audience of aspiring leaders drawn to its unique the extensive use of scientific studies and hard data, which served to demystify the concept of leadership and get readers thinking about the subject in a pragmatic way. Now, Zenger and Folkman revisit the subject to address leaders’ most pressing concerns today. The result is an up-to-date, essential leadership guide for the twenty-first century that

Genres: Leadership, Business, Nonfiction, Management, Professional Development, Self Help, Education

320 pages, Hardcover

First published July 25, 2002

About the author

John H. “Jack” Zenger is the Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Zenger Folkman, a professional services firm providing consulting and leadership development programs for organizational effectiveness initiatives.

Reviews

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fabulous, really fabulous. States and calls for pillars of leadership that build on strengths versus weaknesses (unless they are fatal flaws). loved this, so so true! have incorporated this into my leadership acumen years ago and am still learning. Build on your own and your staff's strengths and diversify, will result in exponentially stronger and greater people, teams, outcomes..

[Ismael GT]

Se acentúa mucho el ser líder, no basta la autoproclamación sino que es imprescindible ser reconocido como tal. Este libro presente 16 características que afirma que no basta se ser buen líder sino extraordinario pero esto tiene que ser medible.

[Adan Leiva · Rating 5 out of 5]

Retador

Este libro te dará mucho análisis estadístico de mucho valor para validar cómo estas y que podrías llegar a alcanzar con un par de ajustes y dejar de conformarte con ser un líder promedio.

[Gabriel Clarke · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don’t agree with everything here but it earns its five stars by dint of sheer usefulness and through the way it challenges my own assumptions about the what, why and how of my own leadership practice. A definite “levelling up” sort of book.

[Paco Nieto · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think it is a good book for general leadership referal, like it is the departing point for other leadership development topics.

[Paul W · Rating 3 out of 5]

An insightful assessment of the competencies required for effective leadership.
A key message in the book is that when assessing performance the focus should be on reinforcing strengths rather than on weaknesses (except in the case of "fatal flaws"). This insight contrasts with the approach adopted, until recently, in most performance assessment processes.
However the book also has a number of inconsistencies and challenges.
The authors criticise, rightly, as "patently ridiculous" assessing leaders based on too many (175) behaviours (p86). But they then list 83 competencies under 16 behavioural headings (pp103-108) with other behaviours scattered across other pages.
The authors also seem to flip between universalist theory (adopting these behaviours will work for everyone) and contingency theory (you need to select leaders with the behaviours required to match an organisation's specific circumstances)
The other challenge is that ultimately, the authors' assessment of leadership is based on people's perceptions of effective leadership. They do not adequately link perceptions of leadership effectiveness with measureable results or outcomes.
Despite these points, the book is a rewarding read with insights on leadership and practical suggestions for leadership development

[Ian · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is being used as a textbook for my organization's leadership training program. It's an excellent research-driven investigation of what makes a great leader and what bad or good leaders can do to become great.

There are some familiar insights like build on your strengths and leaders are made, not born. However, there were a lot of new insights for me as well:
1. Great leaders are secure enough to hire companions who are as good or better than them.
2. Great is a huge difference from good.
3. Leadership improvement is not linear or incremental.
4. To be great, the leader must also fit the organization. You may be a great leader at one organization, but fail in another.
5. Character is central and essential to leadership.

Accompanied with directed discussion and accountability, this book has changed the way that I work, lead, and even follow. An excellent read for anyone interested in leadership at any level. Even if you're just a husband or father, this book could be insightful.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

I definitely recommend this to anyone that really wants to be a leader and a true leader at that! This book goes far beyond just one's employment. I have thought up and hopefully have begun to implement these traits in both my personal and church life. No question I have had many a manager in my life, but can only say that a true leader can be counted on one hand. If you are in a leadership position of any type right now, I highly suggest you read this book and make sure that you really are fulfilling what a leader should be doing for your employees. If you want to be a leader, read it for sure!

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like reading leadership books. They always make me think and reflect on how I am leading my team. The authors break leadership down to five main traits, which they call "tent poles": character, personal capability, focus on results, interpersonal skills, and leading organizational change. Each chapter addresses a different insight and will provide you with reflection and action items to enhance your leadership. An overall solid read. I'm looking forward to reading another book by Zenger/Folkman next called, "The Inspiring Leader".

[Ron Oltmanns · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an insightful and useful book on leadership.
Zenger and Folkman have done a lot of field research on leadership and leveraged 360 feedback data to distinguish what people see in their peers and leaders and what makes them forgettable, average or extraordinary. They come up with 16 competencies that matter and five domains that these are grouped within to build a useful leadership model than can be used (and has been) in leadership building efforts within organizations. I recommend this book.

[Rob Carr · Rating 4 out of 5]

The central theory of this book is good. The demonstration of the importance of excellent performance over good and the idea of how you get the competencies to that level was powerful. However the book does wander at times and tries to do a set of categorisations of leader types and business types that don't really work.

[Carlos Wulf · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un libro muy entretenido y esclarecedor que todo profesional dedicado al área de Gestión de Personas debiera leer. A veces es un poco comercial, pero derriba muchos mitos con metodología clara. Es una herramienta eficaz para quien quiere llegar a ser un mejor líder y también para quien tiene a cargo la formación de líderes dentro de cualquier organización.

[Christopher Gohman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Want to learn about yourself and how you can be a leader in the workplace? This book is for you. Combined with personality and emotional intelligence indocators, it really helped me develop my world-view for the work place and how I can be an effective leader

[Darice · Rating 4 out of 5]

I appreciate the Zenger Folkman philosophy of building on your strenghts instead of focusing on your weaknesses.

[AXJ · Rating 3 out of 5]

If I could have, I would have given this book 3/5 stars. It was a very good management/leadership/business book - a lot of good food for thought.

[Cora · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fabulous resource for leadership development.

[Rick Yvanovich · Rating 3 out of 5]

Leadership can be taught and this book is one step in your journey to piece the leadership puzzle together

[Nitin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read in parts. Found it useful

[Samuel · Rating 3 out of 5]

So, so. A few interesting points, but too much repeating the same ideas over and over. Also, I dislike those "the N bullet points to achieve X " sections