Lift: The Fundamental State of Leadership, Second Edition

The best leaders make everyone around them better—and this kind of pervasive positive impact is something we all aspire to. But often, despite our best intentions, we’re tripped up by subtle psychological states of which we are not even aware. It does not have to be that way.

Just as the Wright Brothers combined science and practice to finally realize the dream of flight, Ryan and Robert Quinn combine research and personal experience to demonstrate how to reach a psychological state that elevates us and those around us to greater heights of achievement, integrity, openness, and empathy. It’s the psychological equivalent of aerodynamic lift, and it is the fundamental state of leadership.

Lift draws on recent advances in positive psychology and organizational science to describe four questions that, when asked in any situation, will help us experience the fundamental state of leadership. Engaging personal stories illustrate how the Quinns and others have applied these concepts at work, at home, and in the community.

This updated edition includes two new chapters. Chapter 12 describes a learning process and a social media platform the Quinns created to help people experience the fundamental state of leadership. In chapter 13 the Quinns share new insights into tapping into human potential. More than ever, this is a book that will enable anyone, in any position, to rise to the call to leadership.

About the Authors

Ryan and Robert (Bob) Quinn decided to pursue careers as professors of management because of the opportunities it would give them to lift others. Business professors conduct research, teach students, consult with organizations, and serve in the management of the units, committees, and projects of their schools and their professional organizations. Ryan works in the Management Department at the University of Louisville's College of Business. Bob is the Margaret Elliott Tracy Collegiate Professor in the Management and Organizations Department at the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business.

Management is an interdisciplinary topic, so Ryan and Bob draw on such fields as sociology, psychology, and economics in their research. Ryan's research focuses on the social impact of psychological states and on learning from success. Bob studies effectiveness and change; he developed the competing values framework, is one of the cofounders of the Center for Positive Organizational Scholarship at the Ross School of Business, and has published sixteen books, including Beyond Rational Management, Becoming a Master Manager, Deep Change, Change the World, Building the Bridge as You Walk on It, and Diagnosing and Changing Organizational Culture. Together Ryan and Bob drew on their complementary expertise to write this book.

Ryan and Bob put into practice the things that they learn through their research by trying to lift the students they teach and the clients for whom they consult. They have taught students in undergraduate, MBA, and executive MBA programs as well in executive education. They have also consulted for Fortune 500 companies, government agencies, and nonprofit organizations throughout the world. Their teaching and consulting focus on leadership and change.