How to Grow Leaders: The Seven Key Principles of Effective Leadership Development
Article Type: Suggested readings From: Human Resource Management International Digest, Volume 18, Issue 5
John Adair,Kogan Page,2009,ISBN: 9780749454807
John Adair is the author of more than 50 books on a range of leadership topics, including motivation, creative thinking, innovation, inspiration and decision making. Argued to be the author of the “first” leadership book, Training for Leadership (1968), he is recognized internationally for his contributions to the field.
Adair states that How to Grow Leaders: the Seven Key Principles of Effective Leadership Development is his most personal and reflective book. The style is casual and anecdotal, and the text is a mixture of philosophy, theory and personal experience. “I am handing the torch to you. May it help you to help others to grow as leaders. May it – if all else fails – be a star on your own personal journey towards excellence as a leader.” (p. 5)
Part 1, Exploring Leadership – A Personal Odyssey,considers leadership from a qualities approach (what leaders have to be), group or functional approach (what leaders have to do), and situational approach (what leaders have to know). In Part 2, How to Grow Leaders – The Seven Principles, the author covers: training for leadership; selection;line managers as leadership mentors; the chance to lead; education for leadership; a strategy for leadership development; and the chief executive.
There is helpful advice for people responsible for launching or sustaining leadership-development activities in their organizations. It includes:
descriptions of the functions required of all leaders – planning,initiating, controling, supporting, informing and evaluating;
the generic attributes or qualities of leaders – enthusiasm,integrity, toughness or “demandingness”, coupled with fairness,humanity, confidence, humility and courage;
signs of organizational readiness for leadership activities;
needs-assessment questions for leadership training; and
leadership competencies with behavioral examples – leadership and teamwork abilities, decision-making abilities, communication abilities,self-management abilities and personal qualities.
Adair believes that too much emphasis has been placed on the “manager versus leader” debate, which has fuelled a “wild-goose chase” as well as “the absurd notion that organizations need ‘leaders’at the top and a staff of ‘managers’ at all levels below them”(p. 34). He also states that when organizations are not ready for “leadership activities”, they must take heed of this, and not simply turn to external“experts”.
The author stresses that no leader should be appointed to a role unless he or she has received training and preparation. Finally, he argues that leaders grow despite what organizations have to offer; leadership “transcends organizations, for it is society that grows leaders” and the educational institutions that work with potential leaders during their formative years are thereby “the second nurseries of leaders”. (p. 144)
Less controversial is the notion that organizations are most successful when leadership excellence exists at strategic, operational and team levels.
Adair’s main references are to the military and British educational institutions, and arguably, less transferable to an international audience of readers. The book does not provide sufficient evidence-based data, practical advice or concrete plans to be used as a stand-alone reference.
Reviewed by Sarah McVanel, Brant Community Healthcare System, Brantford, Canada.
A longer version of this review was originally published inLeadership & Organization Development Journal, Vol. 31 No. 1, 2010.
