Leadership Matters ─ Unleashing the Power of Paradox

Viewing leadership as a realm where rules only occasionally apply, Cronin (American institutions and leadership, Colorado College) and Genovese (political science, Loyola Marymount U.) eschew how-to formulas for leadership and instead see it as a series of dilemmas, choices, and paradoxes. They examine how leaders deal with these challenges and contend that leadership is a process that encourages the accomplishment of group purposes; that its tasks are to learn, build morale, motivate, educate, and create human communities; that leaders need followers; and that many aspects can be learned. They define leadership and consider how leaders lead, why and when followers follow, how it works, what its limits and possibilities are, what happens when leaders "go bad," and how they can be valued, empowered, and constrained in a democratic culture. They also discuss what can be learned from the classics, business, politics, the military, and Hollywood; leadership's creative side; and its roles, from motivator to teacher. Annotation c2012 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Thomas E. Cronin is the McHugh Professor of American Institutions and Leadership at Colorado College. He is president emeritus of Whitman College (1993-2005) and a former acting president of Colorado College (1991). He earned a Ph.D. in political science from Stanford University, and is author, coauthor, or editor of a dozen books on politics and government. Cronin is a past president of both the Western Political Science Association and the Presidency Research Group and was honored by the American Political Science Association with the Charles E. Merriam Award recognizing outstanding contributions to the art of government.

Michael A. Genovese is Director of the Institute for Leadership Studies and holds the Loyola Chair of Leadership as Professor of Political Science at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. He received his PhD in political science from the University of Southern California and has authored over 30 books and edits a series on the presidency. Genovese has won numerous awards for outstanding teaching and scholarship.