Book Review: Learning to Lead: A Handbook for Postsecondary Administrators

Learning to Lead: A Handbook for Postsecondary Administrators by James R. Davis. Westport, CT: American Council on Education and Praeger Publishers, 2003. 249 pages, $39.95. Reviewed by John A. Downey.Community college administrators can finally consult a volume that affords a wide-ranging summary of the essential qualities of effective leadership. James R. Davis provides such a volume in his Learning to Lead, which is a practical guide, rooted in the literature, for those who aspire to the highest levels of college administration. The book is arranged as a series of brief literature reviews about critically insightful topics that community college leaders will find especially instructive. Each chapter begins with an engaging description of a day in the life of Mary, a fictitious college administrator, and it ends with a list of leadership truisms Mary would do well to remember. In between, Davis provides an overview of specific leadership topics arranged around the chapter theme. Reflective questions that force readers to apply leadership concepts to the context of their own institutions help make the theoretical practical. The most important leadership themes are reinforced by the author's summary of each section, presented in boldface type. A comprehensive list of references is included for each chapter, allowing readers to pursue the themes in greater depth. Far from being repetitive, this structure helps readers reflect on, and perhaps internalize, the leadership skills that are advanced throughout the book.Davis envisioned the book to be useful for any higher education official charged with administrative responsibilities, but the content is particularly significant for community college leaders to assimilate. Much more than a mere cookbook of administrative skills, the text promotes a general set of abilities administrators can employ to become more effective leaders in higher education settings. Community college administrators will find ample subject matter to reflect on, with the goal of further developing the myriad of leadership skills discussed in the book. For the novice community college administrator in need of guidance, or the seasoned public servant in search of the most up-to-date literature on a specific leadership topic, Davis provides both with a valuable resource.The author makes four assumptions about leadership that set a framework for the book's themes. Davis takes for granted that leadership is an authentic administrative trait, rather than a mere symbol for administrative figureheads trying to function in inflexible academic organizations. Davis also views leadership as a necessary quality in academe, an attribute that emerges both in the academic hierarchy and in surprisingly diverse recesses of the organizational chart. Finally, the author makes the vital assumption that leadership can be learned, and he promotes the lifelong learning of leadership theory as an imperative obligation of effective administrators.The first two chapters of Learning to Lead are subsumed under the broader category entitled "Understanding the Context of Leadership." The author distinguishes between mere administration and true leadership by providing definitions of both terms and offering several insights from the literature about the nature of leadership excellence. Whereas the term administration implies sustaining the organization's mission, leadership is characterized by the promotion of positive movement and change. Concluding that "there is currently no unified theory of leadership" (p. 10), Davis presents a number of modern theories and advocates the careful study of each. He then proceeds to advise readers to apply applicable leadership behaviors within the context of the particular organization they serve. At community colleges, such leadership behaviors may include the ability to articulate how the dual missions of access and excellence coexist and flourish.In Chapter 2, the importance of institutional context is emphasized. …