Positive Leadership: Strategies for Extraordinary Performance

by Kim S. Cameron

Beyond Success

Positive Leadership shows how to reach beyond ordinary success to achieve extraordinary effectiveness, spectacular results, and what Kim Cameron calls “positively deviant performance”—performance far above the norm. Citing a wide range of research in organizational behavior, medical science, and psychology as well as real-world examples, Cameron shows that to achieve exceptional success, leaders must emphasize strengths rather than simply focus on weaknesses; foster virtuous actions such as compassion, gratitude, and forgiveness; encourage contribution goals in addition to achievement goals; and enable meaningfulness in work. In this concise, inspiring, and practical guide, Cameron describes four positive leadership strategies, lays out a proven process for implementing them, and includes a self-assessment instrument. This second edition has been updated throughout with new research findings and new ideas for implementing positive leadership.

Genres: Leadership, Business, Psychology, Management, Nonfiction, Personal Development, Self Help

185 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2008

Reviews

[Alexandra]

I think this is a good book - kinda of a positive spin on the one minute manager but not written as interestingly.

[Sarah]

Its a good book though most of the principles were already known to me.

One good thing I liked about this book was it had different viewpoints of leadership which makes sense.

[Sarah]

Quick read with several good takeaways. I started it and then put it down for several months before picking it up again.

The book is structured well with key points summarized at the end of every chapter, along with questions to ask that help with self-evaluation. My favorite section was on PMIs (Personal Management Interviews) - good information for use during 1:1s with direct reports.

[Miguel Cotrina]

Kim Cameron describes positive leadership as an enabler of positive deviance that is performing beyond success. In order to achieve this goal, it is important to consider four leadership strategies: Positive climate, positive relationships, positive communication, and positive meaning. The book also describes a way to implement these strategies together through a Personal Management Interview program. In addition, there are several examples and explanations of researches that show all the benefits and advantages of positive leadership at work. It is important to mention that these strategies are also applicable to our personal life.

[Cami Murdock Jensen]

Fantastic insights into Leadership and the role positivity plays in helping attract goodness in others.

[Daria Williamson]

Contains some interesting insights from research about the benefits of positive leadership.
However, it lacks any apparent consideration of the many and varies factors that influence how the principles of positive leadership can be applied, and how effective they will be. For this book to be truly helpful, it needs to be expanded to include how to strategically address elements such as national culture, workforce diversity, organisational size, climate and culture, and psychological safety in order to maximize the effectiveness of positive leadership.

[Jenna]

Had to read for work - I think it is a good place to start if you have zero information on what a positive work environment can look like. Though this book is now 8 years old, much of the data was much older, from the 90’s and early 2000s and it seems like there could have been more current data, but who knows. I would say this book is okay.

[Jenny]

This leadership book is different from the hundreds of other leadership books in that it is based on empirical evidence; it is not one person's story or personality. This is the foundation for all leadership principles!

[Tomas]

Good insights on how we can free up time from regular one on one meetings. Although there are some good suggestions on how to create 4 positive ways to manage people, I think it takes more that just a process.

Good book and interesting ideas to try when managing more than 8 employees.

[LB]

Loved this book, about avoiding the middle and safe ground as a leader and being positive. It discussed practical tips. Would be a good read anytime a team is managed, there’s burnout, or the team is tending toward cynicism. Also a short read.

[Alex Pricop]

A bit meh, the way this book works is it starts a topic and then shows the opinion of many successful leaders which gets old fast - I would have liked to see more parallels drawn from the context offered.

[Gopal Katragadda]

Creating positivity and helping other human beings is a necessity during the pandemic and essential to be a leader in any sphere. This book is an excellent reminder of the various benefits of positive strengths and how they can be learned and put into practice on a regular basis.

[Sam]

Had to read this for work. Didn't find much use for it.

[Katlu]

Very easy to read and well written, with lots of inspiring examples.

[Chris]

Platitudes combined with the basics of the fundamentals of positive psychology. Should be a blog article at maximum and not a book.

[Jay Phipps]

Enjoyed the positive message throughout.

[Ryan]

Might be the most boring book i have ever read

[Paige Cox]

Nothing special… hoped for more!

[Lynne Ghelfi]

Reading it for school. Very insightful.

[Sam L]

Just read this as part of recommended extra reading for a course, but I actually took a lot from it. Useful for both work and sportz.

[Arielle]

Unmemorable but good premise to be positive when managing people

[Chirag Savla]

Good book, small and simple

[Mark]

This is a really quick read and provides a lot of bang for the buck. Cameron lays out the case for positive leadership, distinguishes it from traditional management, and then describes several proven strategies for achieving positive deviance. The thing that struck me is that many successful organizations I have observed exhibit many of the habits described in this book and seem to do so naturally. Cameron has identified these behaviors and provided a roadmap to implement them in organizations where they haven't previously occurred.

[Ronda]

Yes, I read this for work. I think it is one of the best books for any kind of leadership that I have read and it has research evidence to show that the principles recommended actually work. Unlike most leadership books which are best on one person's experiences and observations. I recommended it to my Dean as the annual book he should have the college read. He agreed and had the author as our guest speaker.

[Ethan]

I didn't actually finish this because I wasn't getting much out of it. The intro was good and I was ready for him to dive in and give details on the examples he talked about in the first section...but they never appeared. He just kept marching on through the chapters lightly touching on different aspects of leadership and how positivity helps.

Not enough substance, so I quit reading it.

[Travis Standley]

This brief book is packed with what seems to be easy facts and knowledge about being positive. What it really has is applicable practices, empirical research, and effective reasoning to promote positive climate, positive relationships, positive meaning, and other positive practices.

[Gordon]

A simple and useful book which offers good counsel on how to develop and exercise positive leadership in organizations.

[Amy]

Had to read it for the MBA program. For a textbook, not bad. I appreciated that it wasn't too academic.

[Dave]

Lots of great ideas. One of those books that makes you look at everything a little different and helps you improve anything you do.

[Kindra]

Read for a MBA course I took this summer.