Jim Kouzes

Jim Kouzes Jim Kouzes

Jim Kouzes Bio

SHORT

Jim Kouzes is the coauthor with Barry Posner of the award-winning and best- selling book, The Leadership Challenge, now in its sixth edition, with nearly 3 million copies sold. He currently serves as a Fellow with the Doerr Institute for New Leaders at Rice University, and previously was the Dean’s Executive Fellow of Leadership, Leavey School of Business, Santa Clara University. Jim has co-authored over a dozen books, including Stop Selling & Start Leading, Learning Leadership, The Truth About Leadership, Credibility, Encouraging the Heart, A Leader’s Legacy, and Everyday People, Extraordinary Leadership as well as the Leadership Practices Inventory (LPI)—the top-selling off-the-shelf leadership assessment in the world. The Wall Street Journal named Jim one of the ten best executive educators in the U.S., and he received the Distinguished Contribution to Workplace Learning and Performance Award from the American Society for Training and Development (ASTD). He was presented the Thought Leader Award by the Instructional Systems Association. Jim has also been recognized as one of HR Magazine’s Top 20 Most Influential International Thinkers, as one of the Top 100 Thought Leaders in Trustworthy Business Behavior by Trust Across America. Jim believes it was on January 20, 1961 when he was first inspired to study leadership. That was the day he was one of only a dozen Eagle Scouts who served in John F. Kennedy's Honor Guard at the Presidential Inauguration.

 

LONG

Jim Kouzes is the coauthor with Barry Posner of the award-winning and best-selling book The Leadership Challenge now its 7th edition with over 3 million copies sold. He currently serves as a Fellow of the Doerr Institute for New Leaders at Rice University and previously was the Dean’s Executive Fellow of Leadership, Leavey School of Business, Santa Clara University.

The Leadership Challenge was selected by Soundview Executive Book Summaries and one of the Best Leadership Books of All Time, named one of the 100 Best Business Books of All Time by 800-CEO-READ, chosen by FastCompany as one of the 2012 Best Business Books of the Year, and has been on the Wall Street Journal bestseller list multiple times. It was also an Amazon Editor’s Pick for one of the Best Business Books of 2007, the winner of the 1995-96 Critics' Choice Award, and the 1989 James A. Hamilton Hospital Administrators' Book Award. Jim and Barry have coauthored over a dozen other publications including Credibility: How Leaders Gain and Lose It, Why People Demand It; The Truth About Leadership; Making Extraordinary Things Happen in Asia; Encouraging the Heart; The Leadership Challenge Workbook; Extraordinary Leadership in Australia and New Zealand; Leadership in Higher Education; Stop Selling & Start Leading (with Deb Calvert), and Everyday People, Extraordinary Leadership. Their book, Learning Leadership, was selected by Strategy+Business as one of the best leadership books of 2016.

Jim and Barry also developed the widely used and highly acclaimed Leadership Practices Inventory (LPI), a 360-degree questionnaire assessing leadership behavior. Over 500,000 leaders and 3 million observers have completed the LPI. It has been called "the most reliable, up-to- date leadership instrument available today." Over 800 academic studies have been based on their original research.

The Wall Street Journal has cited Jim as one of the twelve best executive educators in the U.S. He is the 2010 recipient of the Thought Leadership Award from the Instructional Systems Association, listed in 2010-2013 as one of HR Magazine’s Most Influential International Thinkers, named one of the Top 100 Thought Leaders in Trustworthy Business Behavior by Trust Across America in 2010-2016 and honored as one of its Lifetime Achievement recipients in 2015, selected by the Association of Corporate Executive Coaches as the 2015 International Executive Coach Thought Leader of Distinction, and selected by Global Gurus as one of the Top 30 Leadership Gurus in 2016. In 2006 Jim was presented with the Golden Gavel, the highest honor awarded by Toastmasters International. Jim and Barry are the recipients of the American Society for Training and Development (ASTD) 2009 Distinguished Contribution to Workplace Learning and Performance Award. The International Management Council (IMC) honored Jim and Barry as the 2001 recipients of the prestigious Wilbur M. McFeely Award for their outstanding contributions to management and leadership education. He also served as the Dean’s Executive Fellow of Leadership, Leavey School of Business, Santa Clara University from 2000 to 2010.

Jim is also an experienced executive. He served as president, then CEO and chairman of the Tom Peters Company from 1988 until 2000. Prior to his tenure at TPC he directed the Executive Development Center at Santa Clara University from 1981 through 1987. He also founded the Joint Center for Human Services Development at San Jose State University, which he directed from 1972 until 1980. Jim's lifelong career in education began in 1967-1969 when he served for two years in the Peace Corps. Jim believes it was on January 20, 1961 when he was first inspired to dedicate himself to leadership. That was the day he was one of only a dozen Eagle Scouts who served in John F. Kennedy's Honor Guard at the Presidential Inauguration. Jim can be reached at jim@kouzes.com, or on the Web at www.leadershipchallenge.com.