Positively Energizing Leadership: Virtuous Actions and Relationships That Create High Performance

This practical guide, the first to show how leaders can achieve extraordinary results through the positive energy generated by virtuous interactions with employees, is written by one of the giants in the study of positive leadership.

This book reveals one of the most important but frequently ignored factors that lead to spectacular performance in organizations. Kim Cameron, a true pioneer in the study of positive leadership, offers validated scientific evidence that all individuals are inherently attracted to and flourish in the presence of positive energy, a principle known in biology as heliotropism. Further, he shows that the positive relational energy generated by leaders' virtuous behaviors—such as generosity, compassion, gratitude, trustworthiness, forgiveness, and kindness—is tightly linked to extraordinary organizational outcomes like greater innovation, higher profits, and increased engagement and retention.

Cameron has not written a feel-good tome about the power of positive thinking, “happiology,” or unbridled optimism. This research-based explanation shows how to achieve performance that exceeds expectations. He provides practical suggestions, assessments, and exercises showing how leaders can improve their own positive energy and increase positive relational energy in their organizations. Positively Energizing Leadership is a major contribution to the theory and practice of leadership.

About the Author

Kim Cameron is professor of management and organizations at the Stephen M. Ross School of Business, cofounder of the Center for Positive Organizational Scholarship, and professor of higher education in the School of Education, all at the University of Michigan. Previously, Cameron served as dean and professor of management in the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University and associate dean and Ford Motor Company/Richard E. Cook Professor in the Marriott School of Management at Brigham Young University.