How to Be a Positive Leader

Positive leaders are able to dramatically expand their people’s--and their own--capacity for excellence. And they accomplish this without enormous expenditures or huge heroic gestures. Here leading scholars--including Adam Grant, author of the bestselling Give and Take ; positive organizational scholarship movement cofounders Kim Cameron and Robert Quinn; and thirteen more--describe how this is being done at companies such as Wells Fargo, Ford, Kelly Services, Burt’s Bees, Connecticut’s Griffin Hospital, the Michigan-based Zingerman’s Community of Businesses, and many others. They show that, like the butterfly in Brazil whose flapping wings create a typhoon in Texas, you can create profound positive change in your organization through simple actions and attitude shifts.

ldquo;Unites exciting research with surprising stories from companies around the world—everything you need to bring out enduring business success by leveraging the power of the positive in human systems.”
—David Cooperrider, Fairmount Minerals Professor of Social Entrepreurship, Case Western Reserve University

“Read this book to reveal wisdom and inspiration about being a leader who has a positive impact on people and work organizations. It is readable and practical, and the ideas and examples are immediately usable by anyone who wants to make a positive difference at work.”
—Ed Lawler, Distinguished Professor of Business and Director, Center for Effective Organizations, Marshall School of Business, University of Southern California

“An invaluable resource for academics as well as organizational leaders at all levels. It consolidates cutting-edge research-based insights in effective, inspirational, and transformational leadership from the leading thinkers in the field in a concise, highly readable, and immensely practical manner. This book is destined to be a classic in the field.”
—Raj Sisodia, F. W. Olin Distinguished Professor of Global Business, Babson College, and cofounder and Cochairman, Conscious Capitalism Inc.

“The book offers distilled and accessible wisdom from many years of solid research. It is a tour de force of positive leadership, written with a deep sense of humanity and providing a plethora of concrete practices to make an impact.”
—Arne Carlsen, Associate Professor, BI Norwegian Business School

“How to Be a Positive Leader is like a greatest hits album of heavyweight thinkers of positive leadership—thirteen insightful essays and about 800 good ideas one can implement for immediate improvement. You’d have to be wildly negative in your worldview not to walk away from reading this book with a wealth of tangible, doable action steps to take your leadership and your organization’s work performance to the next level.”
—Ari Weinzweig, Cofounding Partner, Zingerman’s Community of Businesses

“‘What do I do?’ That’s the biggest question we hear from leaders who want to create positive organizations. This book is the answer. It gives you specific actions, inspiring examples, and even tweets. Apply this book and you will be a positive leader.”
—Wayne Baker, Professor of Management and Organizations, University of Michigan, and author of United America

“We need many more positive leaders in our society and in business. Positive leaders create possibility for others. They help us do the right thing and enable us to lead more extraordinary lives. This book is filled with practical advice about how you can become a positive leader. Bravo!”
—R. Edward Freeman, University Professor, Darden School of Business, University of Virginia

“Jane Dutton and Gretchen Spreitzer have tapped the greatest minds to provide a one-stop resource for leaders who want to create and maintain a meaningful, purposeful, and positive workplace. The leadership tools and experiences discussed in How to Be a Positive Leader play to the desires of leaders to inspire themselves and others; enthusiastically promote excellence, virtuousness, and high quality connections; and reward positive deviance in the workplace to bring about exponential positive change.”
—Roger Newton, founder, Executive Chairman, and Chief Scientific Officer, Esperion Therapeutics, Inc.

“Profound, practical, inspirational. Written by the most-respected thought leaders in positive organizational scholarship, the chapter-by-chapter evidence-based recommendations provide a compelling case for immediate practical application. This is a must-read for leaders who wish to broaden and deepen the positive impact they can have on organizations.”
—Jim Loehr, cofounder and Vice President, Human Performance Institute

“As Gallup polls proclaim that seven in ten American workers are disengaged, this book provides a recipe for change. Simultaneously theoretically rigorous and action oriented, the authors offer concrete actions to recreate yourself and spur others to thrive. As leaders seek to move their organizations to higher levels of excellence, this book provides simple but powerful tools to improve relationships and excitement about the future.”
—Deborah Ancona, Seley Distinguished Professor of Management and Faculty Director, MIT Leadership Center, MIT Sloan School of Management

“This insightful and actionable book beautifully articulates a very relevant and timely set of positive leadership principles. The arrangement of the tools in ‘bite-size’ segments is the perfect format for any leader to present them just when the team needs it.”
—Fred Keller, Chairman and CEO, Cascade Engineering

“The Center for Positive Organizations is a treasure trove of people and knowledge. Now we have the map to their treasure, and we can unlock it for ourselves. How to Be a Positive Leader gives us a practical path to become better, positive, inspirational leaders.”
—Rich Sheridan, CEO, Menlo Innovations LLC

“Positive organization studies is a burgeoning field of evidence-based management that, enacted in everyday organizational life, makes a real difference. Organizational dysfunctions need remedies, and many can be found in the wisdom assembled in these chapters.”
—Stewart Clegg, Professor, University of Technology, Sydney

“Every leader and aspiring leader from all sectors of society should enjoy, learn, and be inspired by this practical and highly engaging new volume. Leading positive organizational scholars have made some of the most profound learnings and insights from the more technical scholarly literature accessible to everyone. Don’t miss this opportunity to learn how to dramatically improve your leadership skills and make a larger positive impact throughout your career.”
—Stewart I. Donaldson, Dean and Professor of Psychology, Claremont Graduate University

“In this insightful book, Jane Dutton and Gretchen Spreitzer have gathered a sterling group of thought leaders to describe what it takes to become a positive leader. Thought-provoking and provocative, it shows the day-to-day actions leaders can take right now to improve the quality of relationships, build the capacity for collaboration, and unlock the resources of innovation. A must-read for any practicing leader or those destined to follow the extraordinary trajectory to positive leadership.”
—Lynda Gratton, Professor of Management Practice, London Business School

“When I got this book, every single chapter I read struck a chord and made me rethink an element of my own leadership.…