BUILDING THE BRIDGE AS YOU WALK ON IT

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.

Robert E. Quinn is the Margaret Elliott Tracy Collegiate Professor at the University of Michigan. He cofounded and codirects Ross's Center for Positive Organizations. Katherine Heynoski is senior specialist, powerful practices, at Battelle for Kids. Mike Thomas is senior director, powerful practices, at Battelle for Kids. Gretchen M. Spreitzer is the Keith E. and Valerie J. Alessi Professor of Business Administration at the Ross School of Business, University of Michigan. Spreitzer is codirector of Ross's Center for Positive Organizations.