Jim Kouzes is the coauthor with Barry Posner of the award-winning and best-selling book, The Leadership Challenge, with over 2 million copies sold. He's also the Dean's Executive Professor of Leadership, Leavey School of Business, Santa Clara University.

The fourth edition of The Leadership Challenge was released in August 2007 and is available in twenty-two languages. In 2009 The Leadership Challenge was selected as one of the 100 best business books of all time by 800-CEO-READ, an online bookseller. It was an Amazon Editor's Pick for one of the Best Business Books of 2007, as well as the winner of the 1995-96 Critics' Choice Award and the 1989 James A. Hamilton Hospital Administrators' Book Award. Their book A Leader's Legacy (2006) was selected by Soundview Executive Book Summaries as one of the top thirty books of the year and by the Globe and Mail (Canada) as one of the top ten books of 2006. Jim and Barry have coauthored over thirty other publications including Credibility: How Leaders Gain and Lose It, Why People Demand It - chosen by Industry Week as one of the ten best management books of 1993 - Encouraging the Heart (1999, 2003), The Leadership Challenge Workbook (1999, 2003), and A Leader's Legacy (2006). Their newest book, The Truth About Leadership, was released in August 2010. Their books are extensively researched-based, and over 500 doctoral dissertations and academic studies have been based on their original work.

Jim and Barry also developed the widely used and highly acclaimed Leadership Practices Inventory (LPI), a 360-degree questionnaire assessing leadership behavior. Over 500,000 leaders and 3 million observers have completed the LPI. It is the top-selling off-the-shelf leadership assessment instrument in the world, and has been called "the most reliable, up-todate leadership instrument available today."

Not only is Jim a highly regarded leadership scholar, The Wall Street Journal cited Jim as one of the twelve best executive educators in the U.S. He is the 2010 recipient of the Thought Leadership Award from the Instructional Systems Association, listed as one of HR Magazine's Most Influential International Thinkers, and ranked by Leadership Excellence magazine as number sixteen on its list of the Top 100 Thought Leaders. In 2006 Jim was presented with the Golden Gavel, the highest honor awarded by Toastmasters International. Jim and Barry are the recipients of the American Society for Training and Development (ASTD) 2009 Distinguished Contribution to Workplace Learning and Performance Award, presented in recognition of their extensive body of work and the significant impact they have had on learning and performance in the workplace. The International Management Council (IMC) honored Jim and Barry as the 2001 recipients of the prestigious Wilbur M. McFeely Award for their outstanding contributions to management and leadership education. Prior recipients include: Peter Drucker, Lee Iacocca, Tom Peters, Ken Blanchard, Norman Vincent Peale, Francis Hesselbein, and Stephen Covey. Jim is also an experienced executive. He served as president, then CEO and chairman of the Tom Peters Company from 1988-until 2000. Prior to his tenure at TPC he directed the Executive Development Center at Santa Clara University from 1981 through 1987. He also founded the Joint Center for Human Services Development at San Jose State University, which he directed from 1972 until 1980. Jim's lifelong career in education began in 1967-1969 when he served for two years in the Peace Corps. Jim believes it was on January 20, 1961 when he was first inspired to dedicate himself to leadership. That was the day he was one of only a dozen Eagle Scouts who served in John F. Kennedy's Honor Guard at the Presidential Inauguration.

The Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership: Beyond the horizon of time is a changed world, very different from today's world. Some people see beyond that horizon and into the future. They believe that dreams can become reality. They open our eyes and lift our spirits. They build trust and strengthen our relationships. They stand firm against the winds of resistance and give us the courage to continue the quest. We call these people leaders.

In their study, Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner set out to discover what it took to become one of these leaders. They wanted to know the common practices of ordinary men and women when they were at their leadership best, when they were able to take people to places they'd never been before.

Their analysis of thousands of cases and surveys revealed The Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership:

• Model the Way
Leaders establish principles concerning the way people (constituents, peers, colleagues, and customers alike) should be treated and the way goals should be pursued. They create standards of excellence and then set an example for others to follow. Because the prospect of complex change can overwhelm people and stifle action, they set interim goals so that people can achieve small wins as they work toward larger objectives. They unravel bureaucracy when it impedes action; they put up signposts when people are unsure of where to go or how to get there; and they create opportunities for victory.
• Inspire a Shared Vision
Leaders passionately believe that they can make a difference. They envision the future, creating an ideal and unique image of what the organization can become. Through their magnetism and quiet persuasion, leaders enlist others in their dreams. They breathe life into their visions and get people to see exciting possibilities for the future.
• Challenge the Process
Leaders search for opportunities to change the status quo. They look for innovative ways to improve the organization. In doing so, they experiment and take risks. And because leaders know that risk taking involves mistakes and failures, they accept the inevitable disappointments as learning opportunities.
• Enable Others to Act
Leaders foster collaboration and build spirited teams. They actively involve others. Leaders understand that mutual respect is what sustains extraordinary efforts; they strive to create an atmosphere of trust and human dignity. They strengthen others, making each person feel capable and powerful.
• Encourage the Heart
Accomplishing extraordinary things in organizations is hard work. To keep hope and determination alive, leaders recognize contributions that individuals make. In every winning team, the members need to share in the rewards of their efforts, so leaders celebrate accomplishments. They make people feel like heroes.