Peter G. Northouse

Read this to prepare for a professional meeting. The case studies were interesting, and each one was followed by some questions. I had difficulty using the questions meaningfully by myself; a discussion partner would have helped, I think.

L-O-N-G book. Thoroughly written. It is nice to have all of this information in 1 book. All chapters follow the same structure, which is quite valuable for absorbing all of this information. It is not a Christian book, but has many Christian insights. The chapter for Women in Leadership is poorly written. The conclusions drawn are not well supported with evidence.

Leadership: there are competencies to be learned, beliefs to be understood and individual attributes to be developed. Northouse examines a range of leadership theories, placing these in historical context and providing case studies to help the reader examine them by listing the strengths and weaknesses inherent in each of the major theories/leadership styles. Emerging, less discussed leadership issues are also discussed including cultural leadership influences, women in leadership and show more psychological influences on leadership. The landscape of leadership is evolving as leaders are being challenged to both hear and be heard from diverse members of their organizations. show less

Written with the objective to "bridge the gap between the often simplistic approaches to leadership and the more theoretical approaches". Has many popular leadership theories, how to apply them in the real world, case studies, chapters on "Culture and Leadership" and "Women and Leadership", and plenty of up-to-date (as of 2007) research and findings in the leadership field.

Recommended for anyone who is going into a role with any type of leadership required.