The New Leadership Paradigm: Social Learning and Cognition in Organizations

[The book] provides guidance on how managers can use theory to influence themselves and others. . . . Achieves its purpose quite well. . . . Each chapter in the Sims and Lorenzi book provides practical guidelines for management behavior. --Administration in Social Work "I began this book with considerable interest, an interest sustained throughout. . . . What makes this book especially valuable is that it deals with some of the most powerful psychological findings in the last 50 years. . . . There has not been a complete treatment of learning, reinforcement, social learning, and cognition available for the business and managerial audience. This book fills that gap admirably. . . . The continual use of situational vignettes makes the abstract theory concrete and useful. . . . The book′s usefulness is enhanced with the frequent use of charts and graphs and ′write bites,′ summary capsules sprinkled throughout the work. . . . There is much to be gained from a deep reading as many of the concepts have profound implications for management and management style. . . . This is an up-to-date and thorough work of solid scholarship which is a welcome addition to the management-practitioner literature and well worth the investment for those desiring a cogent and expansive interpretation of social learning and cognition as it applies to management. . . . It will be most beneficial for those wishing to develop corporate training programs or for managers themselves." --Academy of Management Executive "It is written for a multifaceted readership including researchers, executives, undergraduates, and graduate students and college professors, and its discussion of social learning and cognition in organizations is, as the authors set out to achieve, ′theoretically sound and eminently practical.′ . . . Part II of the book, which contains five chapters, provides a thorough examination of reinforcement theory in organizations, followed by Part III which delivers a comprehensive discussion of goal setting. . . . Sims and Lorenzi provide excellent vignettes which enliven what otherwise could become a barrage of unfamiliar terms and vocabulary for the novice. Readers will appreciate the implications for day-to-day leadership that are included in several recommendations/tips at the conclusion, as well as the lengthy, but important, discussion of the ethics of influencing behavior. The end-of-chapter notes are valuable, up-to-date and comprehensive. . . . For readers weary of pop-management literature but not eager for academic tomes, and who at the same time seek a framework of sound theory around which to build their notions of empowerment and leadership, The New Leadership Paradigm is an excellent choice." --Review of Public Personnel Administration "This is, without doubt, one of the most practical and informative books on leadership I have read. Perhaps it′s a latent scientific-practitioner inclination, but the most notable feature, in my view, is the excellent balance between theory and application provided by the authors. The book organizes theory and research into easily grasped and immediately applicable techniques for directing, motivating, and influencing subordinates. Short and well-placed vignettes depict believable managerial situations that clearly demonstrate the useful techniques and concepts. There is something in the book for everyone--practitioner, researcher, senior executive, beginning and advanced student of organization behavior. "As the title indicates, this book offers a ′new paradigm′ of leadership. The approach is new in that the authors examine contemporary management practices and philosophies of high involvement, empowerment, and self-management within the context of four social learning and cognition theories. . . . Though a lot of popular books have appeared on the topic, I′ve not seen a clearer and more practical presentation of skills, techniques, and concepts for achieving employee involvement, self-management, and building high involvement organizations. "This is an excellent book. For someone looking for a theoretically sound and pragmatic guidebook on leadership and performance management, this one is a good bet. I liked it for three reasons. First, the principles are sound. The techniques and strategies are well researched and have firm footings in the behavioral sciences. "Second, the material is very well written. It is concise yet complete. It effectively organizes theoretical principles with practical application, resulting in a clear understanding of behavior and how to effectively and ethically influence it. In doing so the book should appeal to a very broad audience. It should easily serve the needs of the aspiring manager, senior executive, research scientist, and student of organizational behavior. Each chapter can stand alone providing the practitioner with sound tips and tools for managing more effectively or the researcher with a solid grounding in current theoretical principles and research. "Finally, I like the philosophy of the book. The approach advocated replaces the outmoded practices of tight managerial control and assumes that people have the capability for self-control and self-management. The challenge put forth by the authors is for leaders to model self-management and encourage and reinforce self-management behavior of subordinates. The techniques for doing so are presented clearly and concisely in the book. . . . The book offers excellent insight, tools, and strategies for empowering people, promoting self-management, and building high involvement organizations." --Personnel Psychology "This useful book . . . provide[s] an expertly conducted tour through the tangle of reinforcement and cognitive theories, neatly combine(s) them, and illustrate[s] with numerous examples how the unified theory can be applied. As a theoretical and practical guide to leadership theory and practice, Sims and Lorenzi′s very readable book will amply reward academic readers as well as practitioners." --Choice "A badly needed new look at leadership. It should help managers be more effective in the high involvement organizations of the future." --Edward S. Lawler III, Director, Center for Effective Organizations, Graduate School of Business Administration, University of Southern California "Sims and Lorenzi have come forth with a much-needed and long-sought treatment of the managerial applications of social learning and social cognition models. Deftly combining theory with vignettes that crackle with realism, they offer a superb medium that will entertain as well as inform. Every page reflects both craftsmanship and imagination." (FOR ADOPTIONS, ADD --teacher and student alike will see much to appreciate.) --Dennis Organ, Professor, Graduate School of Business, Indiana University "One of today′s most severe challenges for management is to foster the kinds of leadership patterns that will help engage everyone throughout the organization. Fortunately, a great deal of academic work has been keeping pace with this need and an excellent result is The New Leadership Paradigm, by Henry Sims and Peter Lorenzi. It combines the disciplines of academia with the practicalities of the marketplace to provide many new ideas for managers seeking ways to help complement and sustain other fundamental changes taking place in their businesses." --Edward A. Brennan, Chairman of the Board, Sears, Roebuck and Co. "The book offers frameworks, concepts, and insights of value in structuring our research on leadership and our thinking about leadership practice." --Hal G. Rainey, The University of Georgia, Journal of Public Administration Research: Research and Theory What should managers do to manage performance more effectively in the workplace? Managers operating in a competitive, global, information-based business world often need to change their styles of leadership in order to meet changing demands. The social learning and cognition (SLC) perspective put forth in this volume provides both a proven and practical approach to managing performance. The distinguishing feature of this volume is its integration of both behavioral and cognitive approaches to managerial behavior. Sims and Lorenzi show how the concepts of reinforcement theory, goal setting theory, social learning theory, and social cognition theory can be applied by managers on a day-to-day basis to affect employee motivation, behavior, and performance. Highly practical case studies and on-the-job examples illustrate the managerial behaviors discussed and give both managers and students invaluable "real life" insights into managing employee behavior. Based on solid research, yet user-friendly with valid practical application, The New Leadership Paradigm significantly advances the concept and theories of leadership. For advanced students, sophisticated practitioners, and researchers.