Today we often look to our leaders in business, government, or the social sector, to make effective decisions in a complex world. Whether they are asked what steps to take to improve competitiveness in a global economy or to make tough ethical choices, well-trained leaders are critical to organizational effectiveness. Although we know much about leadership development for individuals after they take their first job, we know relatively little about their earlier experiences that contributed to their interest in leadership or subsequent effectiveness as leaders. This volume brings together researchers who explore leadership at different points before individuals enter the workforce and asks important questions surrounding definitions of leadership behavior, necessary leader skills and age-related leader tasks, factors contributing to development of leader identity, and ways to improve the process of leader development. With contributions from well-known leadership researchers such as Robert Sternberg, Howard Gardner, Bruce Avolio, and Susan Komives, the volume shows research evidence for factors such as early childhood and youth experiences on leadership development, which have implications for the way we understand and train leadership in today's organizations.

Tap into the Winning Strategies of Power Mentoring

"A wonderfully useful and readable book about the underacknowledged significance of mentoring."
--Warren Bennis, author, On Becoming a Leader, and coauthor, Geeks and Geezers

"There are few career relationships as pivotal as the one with a mentor. This wonderful book takes readers deep into the chemistry of the best of these. Full of compelling stories to illustrate its lessons, it is a treasure trove of insights."
--Jay A. Conger, Kravis Professor of Leadership, Claremont McKenna College, and author, Building Leaders

"All successful people have someone in their life who helps them at various stages in their development. In Power Mentoring, one finds close-up examples of how mentoring has played an important part leading to individual success. This is one of the most important books on the subject of mentoring to be written in years."
--Henry R. Kravis, founding partner of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co.

"Power Mentoring adeptly bridges the academic-practitioner divide by providing practical advice that is firmly grounded in academic research and the authors' own interviews with an amazing array of power mentors and their proteges. The result is a compelling, accessible, and engaging account of how to create, nourish, and flourish effective mentoring relationships. The book brings mentoring to life, and the reader quickly becomes captivated by the stories, accounts, and narratives of Power Mentoring. From Oprah to Spielberg to Welch--who can resist reading this book?"
--Belle Rose Ragins, professor of management, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and coauthor, Mentoring and Diversity: An InternationalPerspective

"Mentoring is so important for any leader, small business owner, or entrepreneur--this book is a must-read!"
--Charles Segars, head, Fine Living Cable Network, and executive producer of the movie National Treasure

Today we often look to our leaders in business, government, or the social sector, to make effective decisions in a complex world. Whether they are asked what steps to take to improve competitiveness in a global economy or to make tough ethical choices, well-trained leaders are critical to organizational effectiveness. Although we know much about leadership development for individuals after they take their first job, we know relatively little about their earlier experiences that contributed to their interest in leadership or subsequent effectiveness as leaders. This volume brings together researchers who explore leadership at different points before individuals enter the workforce and asks important questions surrounding definitions of leadership behavior, necessary leader skills and age-related leader tasks, factors contributing to development of leader identity, and ways to improve the process of leader development. With contributions from well-known leadership researchers such as Robert Sternberg, Howard Gardner, Bruce Avolio, and Susan Komives, the volume shows research evidence for factors such as early childhood and youth experiences on leadership development, which have implications for the way we understand and train leadership in today s organizations.