Jim Kouzes, named one of the ten best executive educators in the U.S. by the Wall Street Journal, joins Scott to talk about his latest book, Everyday People, Extraordinary Leadership.

Quotes from This Episode

“And we so we asked the question, ‘what do you look for and admire in a new leader, someone whose direction you would willingly follow?’ and the number one quality was ‘honesty.’ The number two quality or characteristic people look for and desire in a leader was ‘competent.’ Honest and competent are the two most important ingredients.”

“So what this data tells us, you add it all up, and you say, ‘Yes, sure, we can write about CEOs. And we can write about famous leaders.’ But those aren’t the most important people, individuals look to as a model for how they would lead. The most important leaders are those people who are closest to us, whether it’s a parent, or a teacher, or coach when we’re younger, or an immediate supervisor at work. And that’s really important for people to keep in mind. When you’re leading, and you’re someone’s immediate manager, you could be their role model for leadership. The same goes for parents.”

“It’s true that leaders need to be able to articulate a vision of the future…But if it’s going to be something that people want to follow, then they have to see themselves in the picture.”