Page 5 - 4- Leading_from_Within

Chapter 1

INTRODUCTION

So why another book on leadership? Literally, hundreds of books on this
topic grace the shelves of bookstores and libraries. Communities across the
nation offer annual training programs to improve civic leadership. Various
state and local governments send their staff through leadership classes.
Corporate training programs focus on leadership development.

Leadership courses abound in adult education. And so on.

The premise of this book is that despite all the attention to leadership
development, nonprofit community and economic development
organizations and government agencies could benefit from a more directed

and structured program to develop effective leaders within and
throughout their organization and thereby improve the quality of their
operation. Studies have consistently demonstrated that organizations that
prioritize leadership development are much more effective in meeting the
expectations of their constituents, stakeholders, and customers. It has been
said that the better the leadership, the better the organization is able

collectively to ride the challenges of difficult times.
1

According to Bersin & Associates study entitled “High-Impact Leadership
Development” (2008), an organizational focus on leadership development
results in:

• Becoming 84 percent more effective at raising the quality of the
leadership “pipeline;”
• A 73 percent increase in employee retention;
• A 67 percent increase in the ability of the organization’s members to
work collaboratively; and,

• A 66 percent improvement in the organization’s results.

According to the 2008 IBM Global Human Capital Study, over 75 percent of
the respondents identified building leadership talent as their current and

1 Ken Sundheim, “Defining , Improving and Teaching Leadership With Those Who Know It Best,
Forbes.com, 10/28/2013.

David Kolzow 5