Leader Interpersonal and Influence Skills: The Soft Skills of Leadership

This edited volume explores different models, conceptualizations, and measures of leader interpersonal and influence "soft skills" that are so necessary for effective leadership. These include the communication skills, persuasion skills, political savvy, and emotional abilities used by leaders to inspire, motivate, and move followers toward the accomplishment of goals. The book emanates from the two-day-long 21st Kravis-de Roulet leadership conference, which brought together top scholars working in this area. The intent of the conference and this edited volume is to increase understanding of the interpersonal and influence skills, or "soft skills," of the leader, to highlight state-of-the-art research on the topic, and to provide clear, research-based guidelines for the development of leader skills.Chapter authors are recognized experts in their respective areas, and each section of the book will be introduced by an editor-authored chapter reviewing the specific topic area in brief.

Ronald E. Riggio, PhD, is the Henry R. Kravis Professor of Leadership and Organizational Psychology and the former Director of the Kravis Leadership Institute at Claremont McKenna College. His research focuses on leadership, organizational psychology, and emotional and nonverbal communication, and he is the author/editor of more than a dozen books and more than 150 articles and book chapters. His leadership interests include charismatic and transformational leadership, the role of communication and social skills in leader effectiveness, and the early development of leadership in children, adolescents, and young adults. He has received awards for teaching and research, and is committed to "giving away" research on leadership and psychology through popular writings and his Psychology Today blog, "Cutting Edge Leadership."

Sherylle J. Tan, PhD, is the Director of Internships and KLI Research at the Kravis Leadership Institute at Claremont McKenna College. Her current research focuses on undergraduate leadership education and program evaluation of leadership development programs. Specifically, the research on undergraduate leadership education seeks to establish an ongoing assessment of the long-term impact of leadership development and training in higher education. Much of Dr. Tan’s research and publications focus on applying developmental theory and methods to understanding the issues of leadership development, women and leadership, work and family, and child development.