Leadership Passages

This book concerns an often neglected aspect of leadership development, namely, transitions.
When most companies think about leadership development, they tend to reason in static terms: assigning a manager to a particular job will give him or her a chance to learn a given skill and acquire a certain type of experience, before he or she moves on to another assignment, etc. Companies therefore try to provide diverse experiences to ensure that managers develop a wide range of skills. Without denying the value of this form of learning, the authors point out that adversity is an even greater opportunity for learning than diversity. Indeed, it is by dealing with difficult situations that managers have the greatest opportunities to develop their leadership qualities, provided they are able to react appropriately. The authors thus identify thirteen “passages” required to become an accomplished leader, e.g. assuming management responsibilities, changing companies, accepting a very ambitious assignment, experiencing failure, confronting a difficult boss or a very competitive environment, being passed over for a promotion, going through a merger or acquisition, etc. In each case, they offer many suggestions on how to respond effectively to the challenge and draw lessons from the experience in order to “grow” as a result. However, in addition to these useful tips, the value of this book lies mainly in the fact that it makes people aware that going through these types of experiences is an opportunity to learn and reinforce their ability to respond to similar challenges in the future. Many managers would do well to leaf through this book from time to time at different stages of their careers!