Barry Posner, Accolti professor of leadership, Leavey School of Business, Santa Clara University
HR Most Influential 2012 International Thinker - position 17
"His contribution to leadership studies has been immense"
Posner is co-author of the award-winning leadership book, The Leadership Challenge, which combines keen insights with practical applications. It has been named one of The Top 100 Business Books of All Time, and Book of the Year by the American Council of Health Care Executives, and translated into more than 20 foreign languages.
Posner, along with his co-author Jim Kouzes, received the American Society for Training and Development’s highest award for their Distinguished Contribution to Workplace Learning and Performance. He is named as one of the nation’s top management and leadership educators by the International Management Council and recognised as one of the Top 50 leadership coaches in America.
The Leadership Practices Inventory, which he and Kouzes devised, has been called ‘the most reliable, up-to-date leadership instrument available today,’ and the online version has been completed by over three million people around the globe. Posner has also co-authored several other books on leadership including Credibility: How Leaders Gain and Lose It, Why People Demand It; and The Truth About Leadership: The No-Fads, Heart-of-the Matter Facts You Need to Know.
He has also published more than 85 research and practitioner-oriented articles in such journals as the Academy of Management Journal, Journal of Applied Psychology, Human Relations and Personnel Psychology and is currently on the editorial review boards of the International Journal of Servant-Leadership and Leadership and Organizational Development Journal.
At Santa Clara he has received the President's Distinguished Faculty Award and the School’s Extraordinary Faculty Award. He has been a visiting professor at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Sabanci University (Istanbul), and the University of Western Australia.
As a conference speaker and workshop facilitator, Posner has worked with such organisations as Alcoa, Apple, Applied Materials, Australian Institute of Management, Charles Schwab, Conference Board of Canada, Dow, HP and IKEA. He has made presentations and conducted workshops across the US and around the globe.
He has served on the board of directors for both publicly-listed and privately-held companies, and for a number of public and community organisations, such as the American Institute of Architects, San Jose Repertory Theatre, Global Women’s Leadership Network, and EMQ FamiliesFirst.
HR Most Influential 2011 International Thinker - position 9