Responsibility at Work

September 1, 2007
Any work authored or edited by Gardner (Harvard professor, author of Changing Minds, 2006, among other works) is worth investigating. This collection of essays is no exception. What Gardner and esteemed colleagues (such as Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi and William Damon) have developed is a definition and taxonomy of good work after a decade interviewing more than 1,200 professionals representing a variety of work environments. The questions are thought-provoking; the responses, profound. What constitutes responsible leadershipother than the concept of servant leadership? How can individuals determine alignment between personal and organizational ethics? What are the limits of responsibility, such as time and psychological boundaries? Just as many little-known as celebrated leaders and institutions are featured; the contributions of Max dePree of Herman Miller, Morehouse College in Atlanta, and Mary Skipper (founder of Tech Boston Academy) are described and integrated into the exploration of both responsibility and its opposite, irresponsibility. Of highest interest is the tool kit that the GoodWork Project has developed.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2007, American Library Association.)