Leadership Building Blocks > The Leadership Challenge
Leadership Practices Inventory
The phrase “Leadership is a relationship” summarizes over thirty years of repeatedly validated research by renowned authors James M. Kouzes and Barry Z. PosnerTheir findings are presented in the book, The Leadership Challenge, now in its sixth edition — which serves as the framework for their remarkable Leadership Practices Inventory (LPI).
In it, they outline what they have identified as the The Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership. Those practices, universally identified across cultures and countries, are:
- Model the Way: Clarify Values and Set the Example
- Inspire a Shared Vision: Envision the Future and Enlist Others
- Challenge the Process: Search for Opportunities and Experiment & Take Risks
- Enable Others to Act: Foster Collaboration and Strengthen Others
- Encourage the Heart: Recognize Contributions and Celebrate the Values and Victories
Administered as a 360-degree assessment, The Leadership Practices Inventory (LPI) evaluates which of the Five Practices you habitually display with an appreciable effect. While exemplary leaders are able to demonstrate and integrate all five practices, this assessment identifies potential gaps in your approach — granting varied perspectives on which frequently demonstrated practices to leverage and which less-frequently demonstrated practices others would appreciate experiencing more often.
The Leadership Challenge’s model and language, measured and interpreted through the LPI serves as a robust framework upon which any leadership development process can be anchored. It serves as the framework for the entire set of assessments and subsequent applications provided and administered by TurningWest. It is simple but not shallow.