About the Authors

Jim Kouzes

Scott McCue Photography

Barry Posner

John Brennan

JIM KOUZES AND BARRY POSNER together have been involved with higher-education administration for more than 50 years.

Jim founded the Joint Center for Human Services Development at San José State University and directed the Executive Development Center at Santa Clara University. He’s currently an Executive Fellow at the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Leavey School of Business at Santa Clara University and is a Fellow of the Doerr Institute for New Leaders at Rice University. Jim can be reached via email at [email protected].

Barry currently holds the Michael J. Accolti, S.J., Chair, and is a professor of leadership at the Leavey School of Business at Santa Clara University. He has been associate dean for graduate programs and a managing partner for executive education, and he served as dean for 12 years. Barry can be reached via email at [email protected].

Jim and Barry are recipients of the prestigious Wilbur M. McFeely Award, given to the nation’s top leadership educators by the International Management Council, and the Association for Talent Develop-ment’s highest award for Distinguished Contribution to Workplace Learning and Performance. They have been recognized among the Top 50 Leadership Coaches in America, ranked among the Most Influential HR Thinkers in the World by HR magazine, listed among the Top 75 Leadership and Management Experts in the World by Inc. magazine, and among Global Gurus Top 20 Leadership Gurus!

They have provided leadership education programs on college campuses across the United States and around the globe, including such schools as California State University (CSU) Northridge; CSU Sacramento; CSU Sonoma; College of St. Thomas; Cornerstone University; Curtain University (Australia); Foothill–De Anza Community College District; Francisco Marroquín University (Guatemala); Gavilan College; Gonzaga University; Harper College; Harvard College; Hong Kong University of Science and Technology; Kent State University; Lingnan University (Hong Kong); Mt. San Antonio College; Mt. San Jacinto College; Pepperdine University; Queen’s University (Canada); Royal Roads University (Canada); Sabancı University (Turkey); Saint Joseph’s University; Simon Fraser University (Canada); Stanford University; Texas State University; United States Coast Guard Academy; University College Dublin (Ireland); University of Calgary (Canada); University of California (UC) Berkeley; UC Riverside; UC San Diego; UC Santa Barbara; UC Santa Cruz; University of Cincinnati; University of Dayton; University of Denver; University of La Verne; University of Massachusetts; University of Minnesota; University of Nevada, Reno; University of North Texas; University of Saskatchewan (Canada); University of South Carolina; University of Southern Maine; University of Texas at Austin; University of Texas at El Paso; University of Western Australia; Umpqua Community College; Utah State University; Western New England University; and Willamette University.

They have also conducted workshops and made keynote presentations for the Association of Fraternity/Sorority Advisors, Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, California Business–Higher Education Forum, Canadian Association of University Business Officers, Community College League of California, National Association for Campus Activities, National Association of Student Personnel Administrators, Pacific Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers, The Chair Academy, and the Western Association of College and University Business Officers.

Jim and Barry are coauthors of the award-winning book The Leadership Challenge, with more than 2.5 million copies in print. This book has been listed among the “Top 100 Business Books of All Time,” receiving book-of-the-year honors from the American Council of Healthcare Executives, Fast Company, and the Critics’ Choice Award from the nation’s book review editors.

They have also written other award-winning, inspiring, and practical books on leadership, including: Stop Selling and Start Leading: How to Make Extraordinary Sales Happen; Learning Leadership: The Five Fundamentals of Becoming an Exemplary Leader; Turning Adversity into Opportunity; Finding the Courage to Lead; Great Leadership Creates Great Workplaces; Credibility: How Leaders Gain and Lose It, Why People Demand It; The Truth about Leadership: The No-Fads, Heart-of-the-Matter Facts You Need to Know; Encouraging the Heart: A Leader’s Guide to Rewarding and Recognizing Others; A Leader’s Legacy; Extraordinary Leadership in Australia and New Zealand: The Five Practices That Create Great Workplaces; Making Extraordinary Things Happen in Asia: Applying The Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership; and The Student Leadership Challenge: Five Practices for Becoming an Exemplary Leader.

Jim and Barry developed the widely used and highly acclaimed Leadership Practices Inventory, a 360-degree questionnaire assessing leadership behavior. The LPI has been completed by more than 5 million people around the globe. Over 700 doctoral dissertations and academic research projects have been based on The Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership framework. For more about all of Jim and Barry’s publications and research, visit leadershipchallenge.com.