Managing Organisational Change

Resonant Leadership: Renewing Yourself and Connecting With Others Through Mindfulness, Hope, and Compassion. By Richard Boyatzis and Annie McKee. Boston: Harvard Business School Press, 2005. 286 pp. $29.95. ISBN1-59139-563-1.

Theorists and researchers from various disciplines and fields within the social and behavioral sciences have studied (and continue to study) leadership. Their perspectives are often based on a body of research that they have conducted over time. More studies of leadership in the literature of library and information science (LIS) exist than one might realize, as Weiner (2003) illustrates. However, not surprisingly, the LIS literature does not keep pace with the broader literature. Clearly, leadership is one of the most important topics facing the profession now and for the foreseeable future, and it merits significantly more attention from researchers and funding organizations.

I read Resonant Leadership from two different perspectives: first as someone interested in the topic and wanting to learn something new and important, and second as a researcher always searching for meaningful topics from which to generate researchable problems. The book was highly successful on both fronts.

Boyatzis is professor in the departments of Organizational Behavior and Psychology at Case Western Reserve, and McKee is co-chair of the Telcos Leadership Institute, but she also teaches at the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education. They have conducted research and published with Daniel Goleman in the area of emotional intelligence (EI). Boyatzis and McKee link resonant leadership with EI, thereby strengthening the value of finding ways to develop EI in future leaders; EI deals with competences in the areas of self- awareness, self-management, social awareness, and relationship management.

They divide the book into nine chapters, two appendices, an index, biographical information about themselves, and a foreword written by Goleman. The chapters effectively incorporate case studies. Goleman writes,

True leaders know that they, too, are being led—that leadership operates on a two-way street. Any leader must listen and attune to others in order to pick up the signals that will help all those involved stay in step along the way. The best leaders know we’re all in it together. (fmx)

Building on this, Boyatzis and Annie McKee say that “Great leaders are resonant leaders” (p. 2); they

• “Are … attuned to themselves, to others, and to the world around them;” • Are committed “to their beliefs, stand strong in their values, and live full, passionate lives;” • “Are emotionally intelligent and they are mindful: they seek to live in full consciousness of self, others, nature, and society;”

• “Face the uncertainty of today’s world with hope; they inspire through clarity of vision, optimism, and a profound belief in their—and their people's—ability to turn dreams into reality;” and

• “Face sacrifice, difficulties, and challenges, as well as opportunities, with empathy and compassion for the people they lead and those they serve.” (p. 3)

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Despite the success of great leaders, the authors find “it very difficult” for these leaders “to sustain their effectiveness—and resonance—over time” (p. 3). The central issue for them is, “For many people, especially the busy executives we work with, little value is placed on renewal, or developing practices—habits of mind, body, and behavior—that enable us to create and sustain resonance in the face of unending challenges, year in and year out” (p. 5). Renewal involves “cultivating skills and practices that will counter the effects of our stressful roles” (p. 5) and ensures that leaders remain great—able to deal effectively with “the exercise of power and influence—and power creates distances between people. Leaders are often cut off from support and relationships with people” (p. 6). As Boyatzis and McKee note, “leaders today face unprecedented challenges that can result in a vicious cycle of stress, pressure, sacrifice, and dissonance” (p. 9). The question then becomes, how do great leaders, or all effective leaders for that matter, “engage in a conscious process of renewal both on a daily basis and over time” (p. 9). Renewal as depicted in figure 4-2 (p. 72) could be examined in the LIS profession. How do the leaders in managerial positions, education, and professional associations renew themselves?

Resonant Leadership is an important work for anyone interested in the study of leadership, be they practitioners or researchers seeking new directions in their research. What similarities and differences emerge among leaders in developed and developing countries? Does figure 4-2 require any changes? I am sure that readers can raise other questions and turn those questions into research studies.

Reference

Weiner, S. G. (2003,Winter). Leadership of academic libraries: A literature review. Education Libraries, 26(2), 5−18.

Peter Hernon Graduate School of Library and Information Science,

Simmons College, 300 The Fenway, Boston, MA 02115-5898, USA E-mail address: [email protected].

doi:10.1016/j.lisr.2006.08.007

Studying Children's Questions: Imposed and Self-Generated Information Seeking at School. By Melissa Gross. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 2005. 200 pp. $40.00 (paper). ISBN 0-8108-5219-52005. (Research Methods in Library and Information Studies, no. 3).

Scarecrow Press's third addition to its “Research Methods in Library and Information Studies” series discusses children's information seeking in school media centers and features an extensive literature review related to children's development and information needs. It is a complement to other works in the narrow canon of children's information seeking. Gross, who

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