John P Kotter on What Leaders Really Do (Harvard Business Review

by John P. Kotter

Widely acknowledged as the world's foremost authority on leadership, John Kotter has devoted his remarkable career to studying organizations and those who run them, and his bestselling books and essays have guided and inspired leaders at all levels. Here, in this collection of his acclaimed Harvard Business Review articles, is an astute assessment of the real work of leaders, as only John Kotter can offer. To complement the HBR articles, Kotter also contributes a new piece, a thoughtful reflection on the themes that have developed throughout his work. Convinced that most organizations today lack the leadership they need, Kotter's mission is to help us better understand what leaders--real leaders--do. True leadership, he reminds us, is an elusive quality, and too often we confuse management duties and personal style with leadership, or even mistake unworthy leaders for the real thing. Yet without leadership, organizations move too slowly, stagnate, and lose their way. With John Kotter on What Leaders Really Do, readers will learn how to become more effective leaders as they explore pressing issues such as power, influence, dependence, and strategies for change.

Genres: Leadership, Business, Nonfiction, Management, Professional Development, Buisness, Business Leadership

184 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1999

About the author

John P. Kotter, world-renowned expert on leadership, is the author of many books, including Leading Change, Our Iceberg is Melting, The Heart of Change, and his latest book, That's Not How We Do It Here!. He is the Konosuke Matsushita Professor of Leadership, Emeritus at the Harvard Business School, and a graduate of MIT and Harvard. He is co-founder of Kotter International, a change management and strategy execution firm that helps organizations engage employees in a movement to drive change and reach sustainable results. He and his wife Nancy live in Boston, Massachusetts.

http://www.kotterinternational.com/ab...

Reviews

[Samuel Nolley · Rating 3 out of 5]

The most meaningful thing I got out of this book was distinguishing between "managing" and "leading".

[Daniela Raț · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is divided in two parts, it has two dimensions on which the author is focused and builds.
For the first part, he tries to bring arguments and example to help the reader get the difference between what means to be a leader as opposed to what means to be a manager, also pointing out how a perfect combination these two would be and that, sadly, this amalgam is rare to find.

"Leadership is different from management, but not for the reasons most people think.... Nor is leadership necessarily better than management or a replacement for it. Rather, leadership and management are two distinctive and complementary systems of action. Each has its own function and characteristic activities. Both are necessary for success in an increasingly complex and volatile business environment." - Pretty much sums up the first part.

As for the second part, the author deals with the dependency found in working relationships, whether collegues, subordinates, homologues or heads and networks, challenges in managerial work and the differences between effective and ineffective responses to these challenges.

I found the book a little bit outdated, of course you can adapt the ideas to nowadays, but it would've been more helpful for the reader if the writing and examples were more in accordance with the realities of today.

All in all, it was a decent read, it helped me get the different nuances between what being a leader in contrast to being a manager really means, for I, personally, have never read or heard anyone noticing this or pointing this out in a detailed manner as the author did. It gave me new perspective. Here and there reiterating what I have noticed before, but never heard it out loud.

[SUSAN · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was required reading for a graduate-level leadership course. I didn't like it from the start. Most of the class joined me by the time we finished it. The professor choose the book because it was from the previous century. It was published in 1999, but another student commented the last chapter felt like it came from the "Mad Men" TV show.

I gave it two stars because it is readable, and it contains some useful paradigms on change management. If you are looking for a book on leadership for today's world, skip this one. Perhaps this type of heavy-handed leadership worked in the manufacturing industry in the late twentieth century. It was interesting to note, many of the companies referenced for successful management in the book are no longer in existence or re-organized post-Enron or the financial crisis of 2008.

[Liang Xin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of the best books I read about management. A lot of practical advices. The only reason I give it a four star is that it’s a little out of date as of 2020. For example, the typical day of general managers studied by the author was in late 1970s and early 1980s, before PC and Internet. So the working pattern of managers may be a little different now.

[Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Being a leader versus being a manager. The use and nature of power.

[V · Rating 3 out of 5]

1) Între manager și lider există o diferență care trebuie sesizată și analizată în perspectiva schimbărilor tot mai bruște. Liderul este persoana care face legături cu colegii, deleagă responsabilități și încurajează scimbarea, pe când managerul se ocupă de administrare, face o muncă de birou.
2) Alegerea strategiilor de schimbare.
Fiecare dintre noi reacționează diferit la schimbare: unii opun rezistență pasivă, alții încearcă activ s-o împiedice sau o acceptă în mod sincer. Cauzele sunt diverse, dar în spatele tuturor stă frica de schimbare. Un lider trebuie să anticipeze această rezistență și să aplice un mecanism de înfrîngere a rezistenței: Informarea și comunicarea, Participarea și implicarea, Facilitarea și sprijinul, Negocierea și acordul, Manipularea și cooptarea sau Constrîngerea explicită. De strategia aleasă, depinde timpul de implimentare a reformei dar și însăși soarta ei.
3)Ce fac liderii de fapt?
Munca liderului este o completare a muncii managerului nu un substitut al acesteia. Managerul se ocupă cu partea oficială, documentală a activității și se completează cu munca liderului de realizare a schimbării. Liderul stabilește direcția, managerul bugetul :) Liderul motivează oamenii iar managerul îi verifică, ambele sunt necesare!!! „Managerii îi controlează pe oameni împingându-i în direcția corectă; liderii îi motivează satisfăcându-le nevoile de bază.”

„Nimic nu împiedică schimbarea mai mult decât persoanele importante care nu fac ceea ce spun.”
„Unele sisteme par a nu face altceva decât să producă hârtie, uneori chiar multă hârtie, și să distrugă atenția managerilor de la înfăptuirea lucrurilor cu adevărat importante.”

O carte care spune că liderul și managerul au obligații diferite și ele trebuiesc combinate pentru realizarea schimbării și obținerea succesului. Sunt multe exemple concrete din viața reală analizate de J.P.Kotter.

[Carlo Espelimbergo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Defining the difference and over-arching boundaries between Leading and Managing is a very important skill that every leader, new or old, in whatever organization, needs to recognize and yet seemed to be unconsciously taken for granted. Contrary to common belief, leading and managing are not innate gifts and can be learned, developed, and harnessed thru continuous learning and conscious practice. This book provides an excellent resource material in laying out the foundation in your pursuit to develop your leadership potential.

[Behzad behroozan · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was good for 10 years ago. There are some good advice I could remember for the future, but the style of reading the book is looking from top (boss) to bottom (employee) which I think is out dated.

[Hang Nguyen · Rating 4 out of 5]

mba class course reading must. Many good points on leadership view but words are too dry to digest !

[Chet Brandon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I ran across this book while working on honing the political skills necessary to be successful at the executive level in large organizations. John Kotter is widely recognized as a leading author in this space. This book is his how to manual on great leadership and influence in organizations. A must read if you are planning to move up. Politics is inevitable...