Positively Energizing Leadership: Virtuous Actions and Relationships That Create High Performance

Summary

This practical guide, the first to show how leaders can achieve extraordinary results through the positive energy generated by virtuous interactions with employees, is written by one of the giants in the study of positive leadership. This book is about one of the most important factors that leads to spectacular performance in organizations. Kim Cameron, a true pioneer in the study of positive leadership, offers validated scientific evidence that all individuals are inherently attracted to and flourish in the presence of positive energy. Further, he shows that the positive relational energy generated by leaders' virtuous behaviors-for example, generosity, compassion, gratitude, trustworthiness, forgiveness, and kindness-is tightly linked to extraordinary organizational outcomes like greater innovation, higher profits, and increased engagement and retention. Cameron has not written a feel-good tome about the power of positive thinking, "happiology," or unbridled optimism. This book is a research-based exploration of how to capitalize on an inherent tendency in all living systems. He provides practical suggestions and exercises for how leaders can assess the level of their positive energy and recommends specific practices that will increase positive relational energy. Positively Energizing Leadership is a major contribution to the theory and practice of leadership.