Among the reviews of the book on the dust cover, Warren Bennis writes, "This is a gem of a book." I humbly agree with him.
I'd read Quinn's earlier book, "Deep Change", where he explores the choice for individuals and organisations between 'Slow Death' and 'Deep Change', and where choosing the latter it is courageous and feels like 'walking naked into the land of uncertainty'. This new work picks up this theme and explores what Quinn calls 'The Fundamental State of Leadership'. There were several aspects of Quinn's thinking that I found very helpful. He threads his argument throughout with stories, most of which illustrate ordinary people entering this heroic 'Fundamental State of Leadership' in different circumstances. From these stories the author shows how all truly effective change must start within the leader themselves; that this state means putting the good of the organisation before themselves.

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Product Description

Building the Bridge As You Walk On It tells the personal stories of people who have embraced deep change and inspired author Robert Quinn to take his concept one step further and develop a new model of leadership—“the fundamental state of leadership.” The exploration of this transformative state is at the very heart of the book. Quinn shows how anyone can enter the fundamental state of leadership by engaging in the eight practices that center on the theme of ever–increasing integrity—reflective action, authentic engagement, appreciative inquiry, grounded vision, adaptive confidence, detached interdependence, responsible freedom, and tough love. After each chapter, Quinn challenges you to assess yourself with respect to each practice and to formulate a strategy for personal growth.

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #184303 in Books
• Published on: 2004-05-11
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 256 pages

From the Inside Flap
When it was first published, Robert Quinn’s best–selling book Deep Change revealed that anyone can become a leader of change, but to do so requires the transformation of self. The book struck a chord with thousands, and inspired readers wrote Quinn to share their stories of how his book guided them on their journeys to deep change.

Building the Bridge As You Walk On It tells the personal stories of people who have embraced deep change and inspired author Robert Quinn to take his concept one step further and develop a new model of leadership–"the fundamental state of leadership." The exploration of this transformative state is at the very heart of the book. Quinn shows how anyone can enter the fundamental state of leadership by engaging in the eight practices that center on the theme of ever–increasing integrity–reflective action, authentic engagement, appreciative inquiry, grounded vision, adaptive confidence, detached interdependence, responsible freedom, and tough love. After each chapter, Quinn challenges you to assess yourself with respect to each practice and to formulate a strategy for personal growth.

Building the Bridge As You Walk On It emphasizes that developing leaders is not a simple matter of imparting a set of concepts or reaching into a toolkit of strategies and behaviors. To become a leader requires engagement in the process of deep change in oneself, thereby inviting others to do the same. Once this process is in motion, we truly begin to transform one another to become the type of leaders we strive to be.

From the Back Cover
Dare to become a leader who inspires others

"Quinn’s work captures a crucial truth about great leadership–that it is about who we are and not what we do. In facing our fears and harnessing our uniqueness, we bring forth the capacity for inspired leadership and for enduring change. Robert Quinn is a gifted storyteller. This is his best book to date."
–Peter J. Frost, Edgar F. Kaiser Professor of Organizational Behavior, Sauder School of Business, University of British Columbia, and author of Toxic Emotions at Work

"Quinn′s fundamental state of leadership is fundamentally uncommon. Rather than focusing on how to lead others, he has served up authentic insights on how leaders can best lead themselves."
–Jim Haduan, CEO, Root Learning, Inc.

"Read this book only if you are willing to address the fear that keeps you from leadership, and from profound change in yourself and others."
–Allan R. Cohen, Distinguished Professor of Global Leadership, Babson College, and coauthor of Power–Up: Transforming Organizations Through Shared Leadership

"Quinn takes us to the chasm where deep change is lived and led–then guides us over it. Practical scholarship. Masterful teaching."
–Philip Mirvis, coauthor of To the Desert and Back: The Story of One of the Most Dramatic Business Transformations on Record

"A gem of a book, as wise and practical a guide on individual and organizational transformation as you’ll find anywhere."
–Warren Bennis, University Professor, University of Southern California, and coauthor of Geeks and Geezers: How Era, Values, and Defining Moments Shape Leaders

"The process of becoming a leader or revitalizing yourself is chaotic and frightening. Readers will find the courage to embrace a truly transformative change."
–Richard E. Boyatzis, professor and chair of the Department of 0rganizational Behavior, Case Western Reserve University, and coauthor of Primal Leadership: Realizing the Power of Emotional Intelligence

About the Author
Robert E. Quinn is the author of Deep Change and Change the World, both from Jossey–Bass. Quinn helps business and government leaders understand and manage organizational life through his teaching, consulting, books, and numerous published articles. He holds the Margaret Elliott Tracy Collegiate Professorship of Business Administration and is Professor of Organi–zational Behavior and Human Resource Management at the Graduate School of Business, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

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Customer Reviews

Leadership from the Inside Out
I've just finished reading this book and here's what I think.
Among the reviews of the book on the dust cover, Warren Bennis writes, "This is a gem of a book." I humbly agree with him. I think its up there in my top ten business books.

I'd read Quinn's earlier book, "Deep Change", where he explores the choice for individuals and organisations between 'Slow Death' and 'Deep Change', and where choosing the latter it is courageous and feels like 'walking naked into the land of uncertainty'.

This new work picks up this theme and explores what Quinn calls 'The Fundamental State of Leadership'. There were several aspects of Quinn's thinking that I found very helpful. He threads his argument throughout with stories, most of which illustrate ordinary people entering this heroic 'Fundamental State of Leadership' in different circumstances. From these stories the author shows how all truly effective change must start within the leader themselves; that this state means putting the good of the organisation before themselves, and how, in some stories, the leader 'loses' but their influence goes on to infect successful transition in the organisation.

From this Quinn develops his model of the Fundamental State of Leadership as something that:
1. Has ever-increasing integrity at its core, with its corollary of reducing our hypocrisy - our 'integrity gaps'. (Quinn asserts that we are all hypocrites(!).)
2. Entering the Fundamental State of Leadership can be through living any one (ultimately all) of eight paradoxes: Grounded Vision, Reflective Action, Responsible Freedom (as opposed to Foolish or selfish Freedom), Detached Interdependence, Appreciative Inquiry, Authentic Engagement, Tough Love and Adaptive Confidence.

For me, this all has the ring of truth about it. Quinn argues that one cannot distil leadership to a superficial list of behaviours, tools and techniques, as so many of us have tried to do. Ultimately it is about the inner struggle of courage and honesty that so often communicates itself non-verbally to those we are seeking to influence.

I will be recommending this to all in Change Leadership, particularly to those in MSP programme management and to those taking up the role of Business Change Managers.