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Bookshelf Everyone's a Leader In the debate over what constitutes lead- ership, Joseph A. Raelin offers his theo- ry that everyone can— and should—be a leader. He lays out his premise in the open- ing paragraph of Creating Leaderful Organizations: "In the twenty-first century organization, we need to establish communities where every- one shares the experience of serving as a leader, not sequentially, but con- currently and collectively." Easier said than done. First, shared leadership requires disman- tling the traditional hierarchy, which Raelin notes is frequently difficult to do; even experts who currently espouse notions of collaborative lead- ership often fall back on classic defi- nitions of leaders and followers, he says. Second, it requires everyone who desires to be a leader to do a candid personal assessment of strengths, weaknesses, motivations, and belief systems. Third, creating universal leadership sometimes means overcoming the resistance some employees have to the very concept of becoming leaders—they find it much easier to go along doing what they're told, without having to invest any more of themselves into their jobs. "Individuals and communities are not generally standing by, primed to assume leaderful behavior," he warns. "They need to evolve both an appreciation for and an ability to adopt leaderful practice." However, all the hard work will be worth it, Raelin maintains. In Chapter 5, he quotes various studies that show how an engaged, satisfied workforce contributes significantly 54 BizEd SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2003 to a company's bottom line. His corollary conclusion is that a workforce consisting of all leaders is bound to have similar remarkable num- bers—and be a much better place to work. (Berrett- Koehler Publishers Inc., $22.95) The Future of China In China: The Race to Market, INSEAD professor Jonathan Story addresses the complex historical, financial, and cultural factors that have brought this great nation to its pres- ent status—and that might determine what role it plays in the future. In lucid, detailed formats he presents the most popular views on how China might transition into a more pre-emi- nent position. In one view, China emerges as a belligerent nation; in another, it subsides into a second- rank middle power. Story rejects the extreme views, saying, "I argue that Communist China is not dying but is morphing into something else; it gives priority to domestic affairs in order to emerge in the longer term as a pillar of global society. The factor of time is thus crucial to an understanding of China, and how to operate there." Story then takes a close look at China's global alliances and rela- tionships with near neighbors, always coming back to the strong influence of the U.S. "For the fore- seeable future, I argue, the USA is the vital partner for China," he writes. "To achieve social and economic development, China needs as peaceful and secure a domestic and global environment as possible. The USA is the best placed nation to offer or obstruct this." Of course, China's development is not solely a matter of U.S. interven- tion, and Story explores the coun- try's relationship to Japan, Russia, and other nearby nations. He also deconstructs China's financial mar- kets and political situation. The book is an excellent portrait of a country feeling its way cautiously, but with great potential force, into the 21st century. (Prentice Hall, $24.95) Quick Looks "Leadership is a relationship." That's one of the simple but valu- able insights James M. Kouzes and Barry Z. Posner offer in Academic Administrator's Guide to Exemplary Leadership. While building relation- ships, they say, leaders also model the way for others; inspire a shared vision among the people who work with them; challenge the existing process or system; enable others to act; and encourage the heart of their constituents "to continue even when they might be tempted to give up." By these criteria, virtually everyone can be a leader at some time—and that's exactly their point. The book originated in a study the authors did in which they asked "ordinary peo- ple to describe extraordinary experi- ences." While they put the resulting patterns of behavior into the aca- demic context for this book, it's clearly a treatise that applies to professions and profes- sionals across the board. (Jossey-Bass, $18) We all go through life judg- ing people and situations by our own preconceived notions of what is good and bad. When we take these