How to Be a Positive Leader ─ Small Actions, Big Impact

This is a book about how to lead people and organizations in ways that unlock their greatness. It offers a potent assembly of ideas about how small actions leaders take can make a difference in changing the trajectory of individuals and organizations, moving them more rapidly and effectively toward being their best. The book is built on a foundation of cutting-edge research and transformational insights from the field of positive organizational scholarship.

How to Be a Positive Leader captures and clusters these transformational insights into four leadership action domains—tapping into the good, unlocking valuable resources, fostering positive relationships, and facilitating generative change—that encompass the full range of leadership abilities, from negotiating to inspiring to leading the ethics charge. Above all, each domain focuses on human relationships as the basis of any effective leadership. Proof that positive models of leading are the most productive means to lasting change, this book will give every leader the courage to make a positive difference in the workday.

Jane E. Dutton is the Robert L. Kahn Distinguished University Professor of Business Administration and Psychology at the Ross School of Business, University of Michigan.

Gretchen M. Spreitzer is the Keith E. and Valerie J. Alessi Professor of Business Administration at the Ross School of Business, where she is codirector of the Center for Positive Organizations.

Shawn Achor is the author of The Happiness Advantage.