Leadership is in crisis. Scandals are commonplace, only 20% of employees claim they trust their leaders, two in three think politicians are only motivated by self-interest, three-quarters of firms say they don’t have the leadership bench that they need today, and major societal problems are not being resolved.
In the context of this scenario, this book answers two important questions:
- What skills do you need to be successful as a leader today that are different from those required previously?
- How can you develop these differentiating skills and mindsets?
The antidote to the crisis, according to the book, lies in four attributes:
- Aspire: Make clear personal choices of what purpose to pursue, what values to resolutely promote and which stakeholder interests to represent.
- Ally: Form mutually respectful, supportive relationships with others within and beyond the organization.
- Adapt: Navigate through turbulence, flexing the enterprise and flowing resources to the priority issues.
- Accelerate: Continually learn to remain relevant and heighten impact.
The author Stephen Wyatt, currently a professor of Leadership and Strategy at the University of Bath, UK, has included many quotes, vignettes and encouragement contributed by over 50 leaders from a broad variety of backgrounds, sectors, and countries. Each chapter of the book includes commentary, draws on the most relevant theory and reference texts and concludes with suggested exercises to increase your impact.
More about the author here. The book is available at amazon.com
