I chose this book because it has great reviews and five stars on amazon.com. This is a highly-recommended book. The authors, James M. Kouzes and Barry Z. Posner, are known as bestselling authors. They’ve written other many books about leadership.

            The book begins by discussing the need for more exemplary leaders in the world. the answer to the following question: Are leaders made or born. Kouzes and Posner believe that everyone is born with the potential to lead. The problem arises when people allow fear and misconceptions to lead them. Therefore, they believe that leaders are born and made. People have to be willing to push past the barriers and challenge themselves. They also need to know that exemplary leaders need the support of others in order to be successful. According to (Kouzes & Posner, 2016), “Although there is certainly great benefit to being confident in your abilities to handle challenging situations, the best leaders know they can’t do it alone. Therefore, exemplary leaders build a support system or team. Kouzes and Posner discusses the 5 fundamentals of learning leadership. They are believe you can, aspire to excel, challenge yourself, engage support, practice deliberately, and commit to becoming the best (Kouzes & Posner, 2016).

            I agree that everyone has the potential to lead. Kouzes and Posner made valid points throughout this book. Exemplary leaders need to believe in themselves. When leaders possess confidence others are more likely to follow them. People want to be under the leadership of someone they can trust and someone who believes in themselves as well as their vision. Aspiring to excel and challenging oneself is a necessary step towards growth. An exemplary leader would want his or her company to continue to grow. They can do this by challenging themselves as leaders and encouraging others in the company to do the same. I also agree with the fact that leaders need a support group. Many leaders are under the false assumption that they can do things completely independently. True leaders have mentors, coaches, etc. In my opinion, exemplary leaders understand they don’t have all the answers, therefore they seek knowledge from others too. Exemplary leaders and excellent students as well. Exemplary leaders commit to their goals and vision. If they don’t have passion and dedication, how will their followers? I believe these fundamentals of leadership are related to authentic leadership.

            I can apply this to my future role as a guidance counselor in many ways. Counselors have to have confidence and self-assurance in order to help students. Students can sense if one is unsure. Counselors have to model what confidence look like for students. Counselors have to collaborate with others too. The collaborate with teachers, parent-teacher facilitators, social workers, and administration to determine ways to help students.

            Reference:

 

Kouzes, J. M., Posner, B. Z. (2016). Learning leadership: The five fundamentals of becoming an exemplary leader. Retrieved from eBook Collection (EBSCOhost) database.