The Serving Leader

It's people who make organizations great, so how can leaders best help their people achieve that greatness? As Ken Jennings and John Stahl-Wert show in this new edition of their best seller, you can't just demand greatness - you have to inspire it.

The most effective leaders don't just stand in front of their people, they stand behind them too. As one of the characters in the book notes, "You qualify to be first by putting other people first." This concept sounds paradoxical, but it leads to extraordinary outcomes - and The Serving Leader shows precisely how and why.

While Jennings and Stahl-Wert use a compelling fictional story to outline the basics of serving leadership, all the characters in it are based on real people; the organizations depicted are based on real organizations, and the results they achieve are what really happened. This edition features a new foreword by Ken Blanchard, a new introduction, and a new chapter checking back in with Mike, the main character, to see what he has learned in the 12 years since he embraced serving leadership.

On one level this is the most practical guide available to implementing serving leadership; on a deeper level, it is a book about the personal journey of growth that real leadership requires. Great organizations are great because they're filled with people who freely choose to do their very best. It's a maddeningly simple concept, yet it's stunningly hard to execute. Jennings and Stahl-Wert show leaders how to earn that kind of commitment.