By: Joel Zantingh on December 7, 2024
I just returned from a trip to British Columbia, on the west coast of Canada. Geographically, it is part of the Pacific Northwest Rainforest, and the biodiversity offers a multi-sensory experience of wonder and joy. I love all the ways the topography, flora and fauna contribute to a way of life for those who reside…
By: Noel Liemam on December 5, 2024
Introduction ‘LEADERSHIP: THEORY AND PRACTICE,’ by Peter G. Northouse is a comprehensive resource and reference for the topic of leadership. This book provides the leadership theories along with real-life cases that provides examples to the leadership theories or style presented. In addition, questionnaires are also included with the cases studies to stimulate discussion and deepened…
By: Daren Jaime on December 5, 2024
College was a trying time for me as I was forced to embrace another level of life at a pace that seemed all too quick. This higher academic level led me to anxiety, uncertainty, and knots in my stomach. The major culprit in these feelings was my high school teachers forewarning me of the college…
By: Julie O'Hara on December 5, 2024
In 2020, the local church I then served as Executive Pastor was closed for in-person worship for over 10 months. During that time, a number of large changes took place within the church. The main campus was remodeled, it merged with another church, that campus was remodeled and became host to a growing Christian school.…
By: Christy on December 5, 2024
Succession planning is a critical task for any leader. When succession planning comes from internal staff, thorough leadership assessment supports the best choices and is something that I’ve struggled to master. This week’s reading has given me new tools to use when assessing leaders for succession planning. Leadership: Theory and Practice by Peter Northouse, PhD…
By: Elysse Burns on December 5, 2024
We need a mentality change. This was a recurring statement made at both LGP Design Workshops I had the privilege of attending, one of which I took notes and the other of which I facilitated. Since those workshops, the concept of shifting mentalities has stayed with me. But the blank stares I often get—mine included—when…
By: Graham English on December 5, 2024
Last summer my wife and I walked approximately 300 kms from Porto, Portugal to Santiago de Compestela, Spain. The ancient pilgrim path, known as the Camino, is easily completed by following the yellow arrows. One doesn’t even need a map. The yellow arrows are so prevalent that it’s nearly fool proof. Some do get lost,…
By: Jennifer Eckert on December 4, 2024
Early Days of Leadership Study In 2008, I began my academic journey in administrative leadership at the University of Oklahoma (OU), ultimately earning a master’s degree in 2010. At that time, leadership had emerged as a prominent field of study within academia. The program at OU was among the first to be offered online, designed…
By: Chad Warren on December 4, 2024
Greatness is something to which everyone aspires, especially when it comes to leadership. William Shakespeare wrote, “Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them.” This quote raises an essential question in the discussion about great leaders: Are they born with certain traits, or is great leadership something you…
By: Kari on December 4, 2024
“It is exhausting. I get phone calls at all hours of the night. The employees don’t want to think for themselves. They want me to fix everything.” I was at a Thanksgiving gathering of expatriates. This was the response from an exhausted leader when I asked him how his business was going. This is a…
By: Shela Sullivan on December 3, 2024
This week’s reading assignment is based on one of my favorite authors. He is best known for his influential work in the field of leadership studies. Peter G. Northouse, PhD, is a renowned expert in the field of leadership studies. He is Professor Emeritus of Communication in the School of Communication at Western Michigan University.…
By: Tim Clark on December 3, 2024
I’m sitting alone at my computer, shaking my head, and laughing. After 2 years of inspectionally reading books, I’m staring at a thick and dense volume that virtually defies me to engage it with the efficient approach I learned in this program. We’re not ending our semester—and our whole series of lead mentor classes—with a…
By: Ryan Thorson on December 3, 2024
Knowing that this post will put me on the hot seat has activated all the adrenaline and dopamine we’ve been talking about the past few weeks. It’s been a joy to reflect and learn together about leadership over the past few months with my colleagues, and finishing the term with Peter Northouse’s book, “Leadership Theory…
By: Diane Tuttle on December 2, 2024
I first looked at this book in relation to my NPO which is about empowering women to be able to advance their careers in the nonprofit sector. With that in mind, the first chapter of Leadership: Theory & Practice that caught my eye was the one on Gender and Leadership[1]. However, the chapter that resonated…
By: Russell Chun on December 2, 2024
Ua mau ke ea o ka aina i ka pono (Hawaiian) “The life of the land is perpetuated in righteousness. – Hawaii state motto. Part 1 Introduction Part 2 What my peers are saying Part 3 What Holland Says Himself Part 4 What I learned Epilogue Part 1 Introduction In his book Dominion: The…
By: Scott Dickie on December 2, 2024
Tom Holland’s book, Dominion: The Making of the Western Mind, (1) is an expansive review of Christianity’s influence in our world over the past 2000 years. It is detailed, comprehensive, objective, humbling and compelling. And for the vast majority of readers, Holland’s task is like trying to explain water to a fish: ‘This is just…
By: Kally Elliott on December 2, 2024
Vanity of vanities, says the Teacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity. What do people gain from all the toil at which they toil under the sun? What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done; there is nothing new under the sun. Is there a thing…
By: Jeff Styer on December 2, 2024
“Leadership is a process whereby an individual influences a group of individuals to achieve a common goal”[1] This is the definition that Peter Northouse gives after discussing the previous 120 years of defining leadership and concluding that leadership scholars really cannot “come up with a common definition for leadership.”[2] Northouse said his definition consists of…
By: Pam Lau on December 2, 2024
“When contemplating how the Wisdom of God had entered the womb of a woman, and been born a baby, and cried for milk, the paradox of it all was too much for even him,”[1] Abraham Kuyper was born in 1837 in the Dutch town of Maasluis and served as a minister in the Dutch National…
By: Debbie Owen on December 2, 2024
Two men attended an outdoor event where they heard a powerful speaker. Thousands of people from all over the region were at the event. They were all entranced by the eccentric man who held them spell-bound. The two men listened to the speaker for days, following what he said, learning from him, and being challenged…
