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George Langelett. How Do I Keep My Employees Motivated? The Practice of Empathy-Based Management. Austin, TX: River Grove, 2014, 230 pages, $14.73 paperback.

Reviewed by Gerard Beenen, Associate Professor of Management and Department Vice Chair, Mihaylo College of Business and Economics, California State University, Fullerton, CA.

George Langelett’s How Do I Keep My Employees Motivated? The Practice of Empathy-Based Management is a well-intentioned book that a new manager or supervisor may find useful. The same may not be said for instructors seeking a classroom resource on workplace motivation. The core proposition of developing empathy as a metacompetency for effec- tive employee motivation is sound. The author grounds this central idea on a basic understanding of how the limbic system, emotional experience, stress hormones, and cognition relate to one another. For instance, a nega- tive emotional experience releases cortisol that impairs rational thinking. The author argues that empathy is foundational for relating to and moti- vating subordinates because, in order to problem solve and perform their best, subordinates must first feel understood by their supervisor. Beyond this helpful insight for the entry-level manager, the book lacks an over- arching framework, is sparsely grounded in relevant research, and, from this reviewer’s perspective, presents a somewhat misguided view of the practice of empathy.

The lack of an overarching framework or model results in what feels like a repetitive set of managerial to dos and guidelines. The core proposi- tion of empathy-based management is reiterated from a variety of angles that begin to blur into one another. There are core goals of empathy- based management (Chapter 2), tips for empathizing with employees during crises (Chapter 3), tools for everyday empathy-based management (Chapter 4), and suggestions for practicing empathy-based management (Chapter 5). Each chapter has its own set of tips or to do lists. This re- viewer would have made better sense of the material if the author had provided a visual model to organize the book’s structure. For instance, a few boxes and arrows could have depicted relationships between a man- ager’s empathy, a subordinate’s limbic system and stress response, and a subordinate’s cognitive and motivational resources for more effective problem solving. A simple model like this could have offered readers a more compelling and easier-to-follow framework.

Although the main argument for empathy is grounded in basic cogni- tive neuroscience, much of the book lacks grounding in current research on workplace motivation. For instance, the author advocates an intrin- sic perspective on motivation. Yet, references to this perspective rely on

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Dan Pink’s popular book Drive rather than Ryan and Deci’s (2002) self- determination theory, on which Pink’s book is based. Furthermore, the core idea that empathy is important in management is not new given the surge in popularity of emotional intelligence over the last decade. Yet, aside from one indirect bibliographic reference to an article by Salovey and Grewal (2010), the author virtually ignores research on emotional intelligence. Even definitions distinguishing “empathy” and “sympathy” are based on dictionary.com references rather than psychological under- standings of these constructs (pp. 12, 15).

Finally, from this reviewer’s perspective, the operationalization of em- pathy presented in this book seems to be misguidedly closer to sympathy than empathy. Although the author distinguishes the two, this distinction gets lost in a number of prescribed empathetic responses and interactive vignettes that are posed as examples of supervisor–subordinate relations. For example, a list of empathetic responses to a range of negative and positive emotions (p. 87ff) presents an empathetic managerial response to a subordinate’s anger as “Wow, I would have come unglued if that had happened to me.” Such a response strikes this reviewer as model- ing ineffective self-regulation that could escalate rather than de-escalate a subordinate’s emotional state. “I can understand how that experience would make you feel angry” might be more in line with an empathic response—at least in this reviewer’s opinion. Fortunately, some of this off- target advice is counterbalanced by encouraging readers to develop “re- sponses that match your personality” (p. 89) and providing some suggested nonverbal cues to support empathy (p. 93ff) that appear to be more on target.

If you are looking for current research on motivation or textbook material for a course addressing workplace motivation, look elsewhere. This book is best suited for inexperienced supervisors or managers seeking a primer on the importance of empathy, with the qualification that better examples of how to exercise empathy may be found elsewhere.

REFERENCES

Ryan RM, Deci EL. (2000). Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and well-being. American Psychologist, 55(1), 68–78.

Salovey P, Grewal D. (2005). The science of emotional intelligence. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 14, 281–285.

BOOK REVIEWS 931

Joshua D. Angrist and Jörn-Steffen Pischke. Mastering ’Metrics: The Path from Cause to Effect. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2014, 295 pages, $35.00 paperback.

Reviewed by Edgar E. Kausel, Associate Professor of Business Adminis- tration, Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Chile, Santiago, Chile.

In the era of so-called Big Data, topics like statistics and econometrics become increasingly important. But for a lot of people, the term econo- metrics sounds boring or intimidating, especially after skimming through textbooks on the subject. Mastering Metrics: The Path from Cause to Effect attempts to demonstrate that econometrics can be accessible, exciting, and useful. The book is authored by two respected econometricians; however, their style is relaxed and humorous, leaving the math and rigor mostly (but not all) to the appendixes. The motif throughout the book is Kung Fu—in fact, the authors refer themselves as “Master Joshway” (Joshua Angrist) and “Master Stevefu” (Jörn-Steffen Pischke). (As an example of their humor, see Angrist’s recent Amazon profile picture standing with [someone who looks like] Bruce Lee.)

The brief introduction serves to understand the scope of the subject and the authors’ philosophy regarding it. The first thing to note is their brief definition of econometrics (or ‘metrics, as they fondly refer to): “[the] use of data to answer cause-and-effect questions” (p. xi). This is in contrast to views from other econometricians, who pay less attention to the issue of causality or are less optimistic that it can be inferred in nonlaboratory environments with these techniques (Chen & Pearl, 2013). In fact, causality is a big issue throughout the book. The main tools for establishing causality, according to the authors, are data analysis and statistical inference. In an analogy that by itself justifies the Kung Fu theme, they argue that “There is a mystical aspect to our work as well: we’re after truth, but truth is not revealed in full, and the messages the data transmit require interpretation . . . Like Caine’s journey [in Kung Fu], the Way of ‘Metrics is illuminated by questions” (p. xi). Very nice.

The following chapters are structured around what Angrist and Pischke call the Furious Five of econometric research (randomized trials, regres- sion, instrumental variables, regression discontinuity, and differences-in- differences). Chapter 1 is devoted to examine randomized trials, based on experimental assignment—the ideal method by which other methods can be assessed. It is the ideal method because it allows comparisons ceteris paribus, that is, other things equal. An example of this method, analyzed to some detail in the book, is a work by Finkelstein et al. (2012) in which they looked at the effect of randomly assigning people to health insurance

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on different outcomes. Chapter 2 focuses on regression and the importance of statistical control and matching. As a way of mimicking a randomized trial, researchers need to make an apples-to-apples comparison among groups of individuals. For example, if someone studies the effect of at- tending to elite private universities on future earnings, she/he should try to disentangle attendance from other variables like SAT scores that may occur simultaneously. Any analysis that fails to control for an important variable such as this may fall prey to omitted variable bias, which, in turn, can affect the estimation of a causal effect. Chapter 3 examines instru- mental variables (or just “instruments”) in which random assignment is incomplete or occurs naturally. An instrument can also be any variable that (a) is related to the explanatory (or independent) variable, (b) does not depend on omitted variables, and (c) is unrelated to the outcome beyond the explanatory variable. The chapter also explains two-stage least square (2SLS) regression, the right way to estimate the effect of the explanatory variable of interest when an instrument is available.

Chapter 4 explains regression discontinuity designs, in which a cutoff score is used as a treatment. For example, one may examine the effect of attending to elite high schools (like the Boston Latin School), which admit kids on the basis of a cutoff value for an index based on GPA and admissions tests. So, the idea is to compare kids who are slightly above or below the cutoff. Because the cutoff is arbitrary, these kids are quite similar in several characteristics such as motivation and family background. Thus, it is possible to assess the effect of being educated in an elite high school on, for instance, future achievement. Chapter 5 centers on differences-in- differences designs. These designs involve assessing change in time for different groups. It was used in a study examining the effect of changes in minimum legal drinking age (MLDA) policy on death rates from 1970 to 1983 among 18–20 years old by comparing different states (which had MLDA of different ages at different times). Finally, Chapter 6 uses different methods from the Furious Five toolkit to study the effect of schooling on wages, an issue that the authors have been pondering a lot over the past few years.

Overall, this is an excellent book as an introduction to econometrics, focusing on the conceptual stuff and giving specific and appealing ex- amples. At the end of each chapter, the book also provides an historical perspective of each of the five tools, which I found informative and fasci- nating. Although the book’s intended audience is undergraduate students in economics (as a companion book, not a main textbook), I believe that it will be well received by managers who are interested in understanding how to precisely determine the effects of managerial policy (and therefore, accurately estimate return on investment (ROI), among other indicators). Likewise, it will be of interest for those managers who are just interested

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in improving their critical thinking skills. I also believe that researchers from other social sciences (for example, psychology) who are not typi- cally exposed to econometrics, but who are interested in field research, will find the book thought provoking and useful. Most people who have a PhD in psychology—in particular, industrial and organizational (I-O) psychology—-have a good understanding of experimental methods and multiple regression, so Chapters 1 and 2 should be just a review for them, with some interesting extra insights. However, Chapters 3–6 involve meth- ods that are barely taught or even used in I-O psychology or organizational behavior research (although, as Angrist and Pischke note, the regression discontinuity design was first applied by psychologist Donald T. Camp- bell in the 1960s). A case in point is instrumental variables and 2SLS regression, which combined can be powerful tools to estimate causality in field research. It may also help overcoming the detrimental effects of common method variance (for example, biased studies that solely rely on self-report surveys; Antonakis, Bendahan, Jacquart, & Lalive, 2010). Furthermore, regression discontinuity and differences-in-differences de- signs can be, under certain conditions, particularly useful in studying the effectiveness of training programs in organizations. Thus, there is much to learn from the book, even for the trained researcher.

With that said, if you have read—and understood—Mostly Harmless Econometrics by the same authors (Angrist & Pischke, 2002), I wouldn’t suggest Mastering ‘Metrics. Mostly Harmless is a longer book that deals with similar issues and tools, and utilizes a somewhat more sophisticated language, more theorems, proofs, and so on. But if you did skim it and could not understand a thing, Mastering ‘Metrics is a better place to start. It is also important to mention that, as I noted above, although Mastering ‘Metrics leaves the math mostly to the appendixes, some of it is in the main text as well. The statistics and algebra are only elementary, but it is likely that the math averse will struggle understanding some sections or even chapters of the book. At any rate, most people will find the book enjoyable, even if they decide to skip these sections.

In closing, this book may require some time to digest for the uniniti- ated, but eventually it will be quite rewarding for any student, researcher, or policy analyst interested in understanding the intuition behind the tools to study the causal effects of policies in real-world settings.

REFERENCES

Angrist JD, Pischke J-S. (2008). Mostly harmless econometrics: An empiricist’s companion. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

Antonakis J, Bendahan S, Jacquart P, Lalive R. (2010). On making causal claims: A review and recommendations. Leadership Quarterly, 21, 1086–1120.

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Chen B, Pearl J. (2013). Regression and causation: A critical examination of econometrics textbooks. Real-World Economics Review, 65, 2–20.

Finkelstein A, Taubman S, Wright B, Bernstein M, Gruber J, Newhouse JP, The Oregon Health Study Group. (2012). The Oregon Health Insurance Experiment: Evidence from the first year. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 127(3), 1057–1106.

Jonathan Passmore, David Peterson, and Teresa Freire (Eds.). The Wiley- Blackwell Handbook of the Psychology of Coaching and Mentoring. West Sussex, UK: John Wiley & Sons, 2013, 552 pages, $295.95, hard- cover.

Reviewed by Richard J. Chagnon, Senior Consultant, Talent Management, Right Management, Milwaukee, WI.

As an experienced executive coach, I am forever looking for new resources to deepen my own knowledge and approach so that I can better serve the people I coach. Even though there is a bit of a sticker shock to the price of this book, I can nevertheless recommend it as a very useful resource for both the researcher, essentially for whom it was compiled, as well as for the professional coach. The Wiley-Blackwell Handbook of the Psychology of Coaching and Mentoring is designed to present not just one but a multitude of perspectives on the psychology of coaching and mentoring from across the English-speaking world of the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. When compared to far more expensive in-person and online resources, I believe that it is well worth the investment. Allow me to use this book review to elaborate on the value.

The first thing that struck me was the organization of the book, which essentially is a compendium of 26 in-depth chapters by 46 recognized authors, including the book’s editors, within the book’s four sections: (a) coaching, (b) mentoring, (c) theories and models with implications for coaching, and (d) issues for mentoring and coaching. Several pages at the beginning of the book provide useful information on each of the 46 authors by giving thumbnail descriptions of each person’s credentials and background, and for many, even their contact information.

Excellent research on any topic is best done in a comprehensive man- ner from multiple perspectives. This book gives us that. Because of the wealth of input from so many authors, already credentialed in the field of coaching, both as researchers and practitioners, this book is a treasure trove of breakthrough thinking and practical insight. What is needed is one’s commitment and persistence to take in the multiple views on each topic and work with what is learned to address the needs of your research and coaching practice.

Because of the wealth of input in this book, there is much that will benefit the coach, whether experienced or new to coaching. Every chapter was chosen by the editors because it delivered significant insight into a

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particular aspect of professional coaching. In addition, I was amazed and intrigued to see several pages of detailed references at the end of each chapter. Researchers and graduate students take note. What follows are examples of some chapters that were of particular interest to me.

As one example, Stephen Palmer’s and Helen Williams’ treatment of cognitive-behavioral approaches (Chapter 17) is well-written and does the topic justice in its brief 14 pages. My first exposure to cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) came many years ago by way of Dr. Albert Ellis in New York; I saw then its effectiveness in a coaching context, and over the years have developed my coaching approach using CBT. This chapter both confirmed and even stretched my thinking on this approach.

Several topics of special interest to me received similar treatment, for example, cross-cultural coaching, virtual coaching and mentoring, team coaching, and the formal mentoring of the underrepresented. In addition, there is extensive treatment on the evaluation of coaching, which is covered in three separate chapters.

Anthony Grant’s chapter on the efficacy of coaching (Chapter 2) is a case in point on the evaluation of coaching. It is well written and contains multiple examples of efficacy studies across geographies, cultures, and business/organizational settings. He goes beyond the sales hype of various coaching businesses to shine a light on what it really takes to illustrate the real, measurable benefit of a coaching engagement. Five pages in the chapter list 25 such evaluation studies over a 25 year period with a brief description of each study containing the intervention overview, the type of study, and the key findings in the evaluation. What intrigued me about Grant’s treatment of the various ways of measuring the impact of coaching is his insistence that we look at the whole picture and not just at only one or two evaluative criteria. For example, his treatment of the return-on- investment (ROI) method of evaluating the effectiveness of a coaching intervention clarifies both the advantages and the limits of that approach. I strongly support his call to look at the whole picture in evaluating the true benefit and not just the monetary return.

Section II of the book is a separate section on mentoring, providing four chapters that describe an effective basis for structuring a mentor- ing program in an organization. Even though some organizations tend to confuse mentoring with coaching, these chapters provide a working defi- nition of mentoring and offer examples of effective mentoring programs. Rowena Ortiz-Walters and Lucy Gilson’s chapter on mentoring programs for underrepresented groups (Chapter 14) walks us through the elements of a program designed to address the challenges of creating a diverse workforce that can best support our ever more diversified customer and client base.

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Section III, Theories or Models with Implication for Coaching, is particularly insightful. My own CBT approach to coaching is well rep- resented but so are many others of value, which range from humanistic/ person-centered, motivational interviewing (MI), gestalt, and even posi- tive psychology approaches.

For example, the MI approach by Tim Anstiss and Jonathan Passmore (covered in Chapter 18) describes the value and method that is less about telling people what to do and more about helping people to learn, grow, and develop; to work things out for themselves; and to choose what to do within a friendly, supportive, informed, and guiding relationship. Such an approach to coaching is called MI. First conceived by Bill Miller in 1982, this coaching methodology has built up a substantial evidence base, particularly in healthcare and criminal justice. The chapter describes the underlying research in three modalities: outcome research (does it work?); process research (how does it work?); and training effectiveness research (what training is required for effectiveness in MI?). This chapter, and, in fact, the entire book, does not simply point to various fads in coaching and mentoring—and believe me, there are many—but establishes the solid groundwork required to make the case for what truly works.

One final example for this book review is the chapter by Alison Carter and Peter Hawkins on team coaching (Chapter 10). The authors follow a logical flow of information on what is a team, the different types of teams, and how a team is to be led if it is to become a high-performing team. They acknowledge that much research still needs to be done if we are to reach effective conclusions on what it takes to coach a team to become a high-performing team.

In summary, the Wiley-Blackwell Handbook of the Psychology of Coaching and Mentoring should be an easy-to-access resource not only for the researcher but also for the professional coach who has not stopped learning. This book is now firmly ensconced on my personal shelf of rich coaching resources.

Henry Mintzberg. Rebalancing Society. San Francisco, CA: Berrett- Koehler, 2015¸ 151 pages, $15.95 paperback.

Reviewed by Gary B. Brumback, Palm Coast, FL.

Mintzberg is the imminent professor of management at McGill Univer- sity. I once reviewed in this journal a book of his on managing (Brumback, 2010). He leaps far beyond that narrow subject, following an education in mechanical engineering, to write about the “imbalance that is destroying our democracies, our planet, and ourselves” (p. ix). I decided to review

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his new and very short book for this journal because some of his ideas for rebalancing society have direct implications for personnel psychologists.

The book’s purpose is to present “an integrative framework” for “re- balancing society” (p. ix). The imbalance he is referring to is the tilting of societies toward two of three social sectors instead of maintaining equal and constructive strength among all three. The two sectors “destroying our democracies, our planet, and ourselves” are the public (government) and private (business) sector (p. ix). The third that is overcome by the other two is what he calls the plural sector of “social forces manifested in robust communities” (p. 27).

For evidence of the imbalance in American society Mintzberg points to the “rise of the corporation” (pp. 3–4); “the end of thinking” (pp. 5–7) by believing that capitalism had triumphed after the dissolution of the Soviet Union; and “from a market economy to a corporate economy—as the Berlin Wall fell— (pp. 10–11), and notes that these conditions are not unique to America. It is the rise of the corporation and the corporate economy along with Mintzberg’s ideas for reducing the private sector’s dominance over the two other sectors that are most relevant to personnel psychologists.

I totally agree with Mintzberg’s pointing to the overpowering domi- nation of corporations as the primary cause of social imbalance. I made that very point myself, taking a whole book to do it (Brumback, 2011).

As Mintzberg notes, it is government in the public sector that actually empowers corporations through overlooking corporate crime, bailing out corporations too big to fail, giving them numerous subsidies, and awarding them lobbying and constitutional rights that allow them to control elections and legislation affecting corporations.

In the last two chapters Mintzberg relies on his framework from the first three chapters to tell us that it is up to the plural sector to rebalance society through three forms of what he calls “radical renewal; immediate reversals, widespread regeneration, and consequential reforms” (pp. 51– 58). It is an interesting categorization that I had never seen before. I will limit the rest of this short review to his ideas on reducing corporate power and what, in my opinion, are the implications of those ideas for personnel psychologists.

He asks us not to expect “miracles from CSR,” or corporate social responsibility, noting that the political maneuverings “are taking place in the back rooms, not the front offices that issue those social pronounce- ments” (pp. 49–50). In other words, CSR tends to be a cover for corporate social irresponsibility (see Brumback, 2013).

So he turns too briefly to just a few of many ideas that can be found in most any treatment of reforming America’s corpocracy, or the collusion between corporations and government, with corporations in the driver’s

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seat. The ideas he mentions are withdrawing constitutional rights given to corporations, prosecuting more vigorously the criminal behavior of cor- porations, and curbing all of the “far more insidious” corporate litigating, maneuvering, and manipulating” (p. 54).

Perk up, now, personnel psychologists, for here is the big implication of his book for you, one that he does not discuss. What do you suppose will happen if someday the government stops being obsequious to corpo- rations, stops giving them enormous handouts, and stops keeping hands off corporate illegalities?

I am convinced corporations will eventually flounder and fail because they are so dysfunctional. I will give you just four examples. One, they are organized as a hierarchy of controlled and commanded employees rather than as a “lowerarchy” of empowered teams of employees, and the latter can be expected to outperform the former. Two, hierarchical organizations stifle innovation. Three, hierarchical organizations allow people higher up to pass the buck when misconduct is found. Four, these corporations tend to have very dysfunctional performance management systems (see Brumback, 2002).

If and when that day comes, the doors of opportunity ought to be swung wide for personnel psychologists to experiment with and help struggling corporations reinvent themselves, the way they organize, the way they hire people, the way they manage performance and compensation, the way they train people, the way they rebuild their organizational culture, and so on (see Brumback, (2012).

We should all be grateful for Mintzberg having sounded the alarm, and readers of this journal should start contemplating if they have not already how they can be ready if a new era of corporate-government relations arrives.

REFERENCES

Brumback, G. B. (2002). Tall performance from short organizations through we/me power. Bloomington, IN: 1stBooksLibrary.

Brumback, G. B. (2010). Review of Managing by Henry Mintzberg (2009). PERSONNEL PSYCHOLOGY, 63, 247–249

Brumback, G. B. (2011). The devil’s marriage: Break up the corpocracy or leave democracy in the lurch. Bloomington, IN: Author House.

Brumback, G. B. (2012). The corpocracy and Megaliio’s turn up strategy. Amazon Kindle e-book.

Brumback, G. B. (2013). When the ivory tower is toppled by reality: The case of cor- porate social responsibility research. Industrial and Organizational Psychology: Perspectives on Science and Practice, 6, 387–390.

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Edgar Papke. True Alignment: Linking Company Culture with Cus- tomer Needs for Extraordinary Results. New York, NY: AMACOM, 2014, 240 pages, $29.95 hardcover.

Reviewed by Jane V. Rudolph, Associate Director, Organization Devel- opment, PAREXEL, Raleigh, NC.

Many practitioners have likely heard clients or leaders in their orga- nizations ask, “How do I get everyone pulling in the same direction?” I thought of this question many times as I read True Alignment: Link- ing Company Culture with Customer Needs for Extraordinary Results, because it proposes a solution to this challenge by describing how orga- nizations can align the different types of behaviors they engage in as they try to be successful. This alignment includes not just internal organiza- tional behaviors but also organizations’ external behaviors, particularly how they think about and engage customers. Papke’s passion for help- ing organizations align different aspects of business is evident throughout his book, which makes it engaging and easy to read. Although this book would be relevant to a diverse audience, it would be most helpful for leaders and managers who would value a simple framework, which could help them take a holistic view of topics such as branding, strategy, lead- ership, and culture. This holistic view is essential so they can leverage the power of aligning their work in these areas. As Papke mentions in his book, many of the most important aspects of business and management are often presented and thought about in isolation from one another. This can lead to a business’ vision, strategy, processes and systems, and cul- tures being misaligned. By providing readers a simple and relatable way to think through how these topics are interconnected, this book provides leaders a different perspective for evaluating the causes of some of their organizations’ challenges and failures.

The book begins with an overview of the importance of alignment in business and the risks of misalignment. Papke then explains his frame- work, The Business Code, which he designed to help leaders understand, assess, and create alignment in their organizations. It is a simple model comprising four components: the customer, brand intention, culture, and leadership. Then, the remainder of the book delves deeper into each of these topics. Although the model is quite simple on the surface, these four topics are quite complex underneath, and Papke explores each using an incredibly diverse range of examples and anecdotal stories to help readers understand and be engaged in these concepts. Those familiar with differ- ent psychological theories, such as theories of motivation and people’s reaction to organizational change, will recognize aspects of these mod- els interwoven throughout Papke’s discussion of the components of his

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framework. The book concludes with an assessment which can be used to help leaders uncover how aligned their organizations truly are.

The topics addressed in this book are most relevant to leaders. As organizations try to deal with the speed of change and competing in today’s dynamic and global work environments, they invest time and resources into thinking about strategy, thinking about process, thinking about culture, thinking about customer, thinking about employees, and so on. However, if no one ever steps back and ensures there is alignment between these topics, at best, the power of them being tightly aligned is not leveraged. At worst, they may even compete with one another. Papke’s discussion of culture is a good example of this and demonstrates how he takes business topics that are often considered in isolation from one another and provides a framework and steps to help readers link these topics together so they can take action on them. He provides clear guidance for leaders on steps they can take to help align an organization’s culture with other steps leaders are taking to lead an organization to success. This book is an important reminder for leaders that discussions about culture are not nice-to-have, aspirational initiatives. Rather, discussions about culture need to be integrated and aligned to every part of the organization, from meeting the needs and expectations of customers, to enabling employees to deliver results, and everything in between.

Although someone familiar with psychological and management the- ories would recognize aspects of well-known theories throughout the book, Papke relies on his observations and examples to support his frame- work. Therefore, this book will likely be of less interest to academics and researchers. However, it would be beneficial for researchers to further ex- plore Papke’s framework, because it definitely addresses some of the chal- lenges leaders and organizations are facing. In addition to having access to a more in depth understanding of Papke’s framework through research and testing, it would also be valuable to have more information available about some of the underlying theories used to build the framework. Although there is value in simplifying and assimilating a range of theories, sharing the science and methodology behind some of the links in his framework would strengthen his assertion that, “alignment is the key to business success” (p. x). Along similar lines, the assessment provided at the end of the book is provided to help leaders understand the alignment in their organizations and have a starting point for dialogue. However, with some refinement and testing, this assessment could provide a way for Papke to eventually have research-based support for his propositions and therefore help organizations make data-based decisions regarding their alignment.

It is worth noting again that the greatest strength of this book is Papke’s use of examples to make his points. The examples he use are diverse and engaging, which is helpful for understanding the importance of what he

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is discussing and makes it very clear what he means. Anyone with an interest in business will enjoy reading stories about so many different types of organizations and human interactions. From real world examples such as Facebook to a reference to the movie City Slickers, Papke finds truly interesting and relevant ways to communicate and make his point.

While this book was an engaging read, one distracting element was the number of typos. There was a significant typo about every 10 pages. However, these typos should not take away from the value of Papke’s work and his ability to help leaders and managers take a step back and think about the work they do as a whole. Although there will always be a need for people to think about business topics individually and in depth, there is also a need for leaders and managers to have simple-to-use frameworks that can help leaders link and align different aspects of their work in such a way that they can take action on them and continue to improve their organizations. Papke’s book will be valuable to anyone who is interested in how they can better align all aspects of their work and organizations to increase the likelihood of success.

Alan Cutler. Leadership Psychology: How the Best Leaders Inspire Their People. Philadelphia, PA: Kogan Page, 2014, 296 pages, $29.95 paperback.

Reviewed by Ira J. Morrow, Associate Professor of Management, Depart- ment of Management, Lubin School of Business, Pace University, New York, NY.

The intention of Alan Cutler, the author of Leadership Psychology: How the Best Leaders Inspire Their People, is to help managers enhance their leadership skills by focusing on the psychological relationship that exists between leaders and their followers. The intended audience consists of practicing and prospective managers. The book is characterized by a well-balanced blend of theories and concepts on the one hand and exam- ples of applications based on personal interviews with selected leaders that are highlighted in “BEST leadership quotes,” in examples of “Lead- ership BEST practice,” and in several case studies scattered throughout the book.

The book begins with a comprehensive overview of the major theoret- ical approaches to understanding leadership. Cutler covers the great man approach of the 19th century that contends that leaders are born, not made, and trait theories that attempted to “categorize the qualities displayed by successful leaders” so that people who had such traits could be “identi- fied, recruited, and placed in positions of authority” (p. 7). Regarding trait theories, Cutler correctly states, “there is no consensus as to a definitive

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list of those required” (p. 9). Other approaches to the study of leadership reviewed by Cutler include behavioral models such as Kurt Lewin’s re- search (on autocratic, democratic, and laissez faire leadership styles), the Blake Mouton Managerial Grid (contrasting a manager’s concern for peo- ple vs. concern for production), situational or contingency models such as the least preferred coworker model, the path-goal model (directive, supportive, participative, and achievement-oriented leadership styles), the Hersey and Blanchard model (telling, selling, participating, and delegat- ing leadership styles), the Tannenbaum and Schmidt leadership continuum (autocratic, persuasive, consultative, and democratic leadership styles), transformational leadership, and leader–member exchange theory, among others. It is convenient to have all of these approaches to the study of leadership provided in one handy chapter. However, this reviewer would have liked to see more evaluations of the relative merit and usefulness of the theories rather than mostly descriptive summaries. Moreover, the author does not break new ground here because coverage of the various leadership theories is found in most organizational behavior textbooks.

In another chapter, Cutler provides an interesting discussion of the major challenges facing 21st-century leaders who are increasingly called upon to develop and manage innovation, talent, communications (includ- ing social media), and globalization. Innovation is appropriately seen as being essential for survival in today’s business world, and to create an in- novative culture it is necessary for leaders to not only foster but to expect upward communication of innovative ideas from all employees and indeed “from all stakeholders involved in the business: staff, customers, suppliers and other strategic allies” (p. 31). Concerning talent management, Cutler indicates that this not only refers to “the need to attract talented individuals but also to develop, manage and retain them,” and that corporate success is largely determined by its talent, but the “demand for people equipped for the changing business landscape outstrips supply” (p. 33). Among the areas that organizations need to address to do a better job in talent man- agement is the selection of individuals with strong interpersonal skills, who are “visionary, ambitious, inspirational . . . trustworthy, and naturally good communicators,” and have “the ability to motivate and emotional in- telligence (p. 34). Moreover these personal qualities must be coupled with technical, professional, commercial, and financial skills and knowledge. Cutler reports the results of a study done in the UK that found that the vast majority of organizations indicate that they have serious talent pipeline deficiencies and yet “lacked a functional talent management strategy with many having no plan at all,” and that “most UK firms rely heavily on external recruitment to fill senior positions” (p. 35) rather than developing people internally. As far as the use of social media is concerned, Cutler cor- rectly concludes that, “It is the leader’s responsibility to manage new-age

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digital communications to ensure positive and productive interchange be- tween staff, customers, and the public in general. Openness, transparency, and collaborative working are the new expectations from all stakeholders” (p. 39). Regarding the challenge of globalization, Cutler highlights some of the potential pitfalls and cultural divides that can cause problems for unwary and insufficiently prepared or skillful managers operating in a worldwide economy. He cites an interesting international study that iden- tifies “specific leadership attributes and behaviors that were universally viewed as contributing to leadership effectiveness across cultures” (p. 45) (e.g., honest, decisive, intelligent), attributes that are universally viewed as negative (e.g., loner, irritable, ruthless, egocentric), and attributes that are culturally contingent (e.g., cunning, orderly, worldly, micromanager), and another study that reports that the vast majority of senior executives feel “that their organizations need to develop global leadership capabil- ities” but that only a tiny minority “think they are doing so effectively” (p. 47).

A chapter on motivation starts on a weak note by stating, “Behavior- ists such as Skinner explored how animals’ actions could be influenced by external stimuli . . . a change of behavior that became known as classical conditioning” (p. 54). The author is apparently confusing stimuli with rein- forcements, classical conditioning with operant conditioning, and Skinner with Ivan Pavlov. The chapter improves however by reviewing the key el- ements of three old theories of motivation (Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, McGregor’s X-Y theory, and Herzberg’s hygiene and motivation factors) and effectively discussing how these theories are relevant and applicable to motivating today’s employees. In addition, a newer approach to un- derstanding motivation, namely positive psychology, is covered in depth. Cutler effectively integrates his thinking about these various motivational theories and then uses this material in an insightful fashion to develop “a nine-point blueprint for leaders to apply as a means of enhancing the levels of motivation of their people” (p. 77), including advice to ensure that followers’ needs are met, believe in people, set a personal example, find ways to create high levels of job satisfaction, offer additional respon- sibility, allow followers to succeed, recognize and celebrate achievement, provide fair financial rewards, and finally identify people’s strengths and utilize their potential.

Cutler provides an interesting discussion of emotional intelligence (EI) defined as the “ability to perceive, evaluate and control one’s emotions, and those of others” and highlights its strong connection to the effectiveness of leaders, stating that, it “is a crucial skill required of leaders at all levels” (p. 81). He convincingly argues that, “Leaders . . . determine to a large extent the emotional health of their people: they are the group’s emotional guide” (p. 84), and cites studies showing high correlations between EI and

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overall managerial performance. He reasonably supports the proposition that EI testing should routinely be done to assess business leaders and that leadership development programs “should include the identification, enhancement and application of EI skills” (p. 87).

Cutler provides an in-depth look at various tools and interventions such as psychometric tests, 360-degree assessments, personality audits, and executive coaching that can be utilized to expedite leader develop- ment. In addition, he carefully examines the psychological contract (PsyC) that exists between employers and employees, and applies this concept constructively to “the very different expectations of the three main gen- erations currently engaged in employment: baby boomers, Generation X and Generation Y” (p. 167). Moreover, the author examines the essential skills for strategic leaders and offers a very interesting look at effective leadership under extreme and life threatening conditions, with the polar explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton’s inspiring example figuring prominently here.

In sum, the book is clearly written, very readable, refreshingly free of obfuscating jargon, logically organized, comprehensive, and informative. It will certainly be of value to anyone interested in the field of leadership either from a theoretical and conceptual perspective on the one hand or from a practical, hands-on, and developmental perspective on the other.