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Cynthia D. McCauley, Russ S. Moxley, and Ellen Van Velsor (Editors). The Center for Creative Leadership Handbook of Leadership Development. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1998, 481 pages, $65.00.
Reviewed by David W Bracken, President, dwb assessments, inc., Dunwoody, GA.
"Well," I thought, "it's about time! A handbook on leadership development, and from the Center for Creative Leadership no less! This should be good!" And I was right; it is good! Now here's the good news and not-so-good news: The good news is that a book like this from CCL is going to be well written, comprehensive, drawn from a strong foundation of research and experience, and in touch with contemporary issues in the field. The not-so-good news is that it is from CCL, and only CCL. This is not the handbook on leadership development; it is CCL's treatment of this important topic. In fairness, that's what the title of the book says and it's a point reinforced in the preface. As such, it represents a view of the field that is somewhat narrow, sets aside some major trends in the field, and reflects some approaches that are uniquely theirs. In my mind, calling it a "handbook" is a little misleading. It might be a handbook for CCL practitioners with some gems that the rest of us mortals can use, but it might be better called "CCL's 101 Ways to Make a Better Leader." But that doesn't diminish its value; we just need to appreciate it for what it is and is not.
The book is divided into four sections. The first section is the introduction by the editors, called "Our View of Leadership Development." It sets out the themes that run throughout the book, particularly the CCL view of development that includes assessment, challenge, and support. These concepts are referenced repeatedly in the succeeding chapters, creating a cohesiveness that is unusual for a "handbook" by multiple authors.
The next section reviews some leadership "experiences," some of the tools of the trade so to speak. It begins, unfortunately, with something of a whimper with a chapter...