Power and Politics - Into the Fray

2005 EXECUTIVE SUMMARIES LEADERSHIP

JANUARY I 46
COVER STORY
January 2005
Almost Ready: How Leaders
20 JANUARY Move Up
Dan Ciampa
24 FEBRUARY
Most designated CEO successors are tal-
27 MARCH ented, hardworking, and smart enough to
go all the way-yet fail to land the top job.
31 APRIL
What they don't realize is, the qualities that
35 MAY helped them in their climb to the number
two position aren't enough to boost them
38 JUNE to number one.

42 JULY-AUGUST In addition to running their businesses
well, the author explains, would-be CEOs
48 SEPTEMBER must master the art of forming coalitions
and winning support. They must also
52 OCTOBER
sharpen their self-awareness and their sen-
56 NOVEMBER sitivity to the needs of bosses and influen-
tial peers because they typically receive lit-
60 DECEMBER tle performance feedback once they're on
track to become CEO. I ndeed, the ability to
pick up on subtle cues is often an impor-
tant part of the test.
When succession doesn't go well-or
fails altogether-many people pay the
price: employees depending on a smooth
handoff atthe top, investors expecting con-
tinuous leadership, and families uprooted
when jobs don't pan out Among those at
fault are boards that do not keep a close
watch on the succession process, human
resource organizations that should have
the capacity to help but are not up to the
task, and CEOs who do a poor job coaching
potential successors.
But the aspiring CEO also bears some
responsibility. He can dramatically in-
crease his chances of success by under-
standing his boss's point of view, knowing
his own limitations, and managing what
psychologist Cerry Egan has called the
"shadow organization"-the political side
of a company, characterized by unspoken
relationships and alliances-without being
labeled "political." Mostof all, he must
learn to conduct himself with a level of
maturity and wisdom that signals he
is ready-not almost ready-to be chief
executive.
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ORGANIZATION & CULTURE SiLF-MANACEMENT SELF-MANAGEMENT

JANUARY I 15 JANUARY I 25 JANUARY I 35
HBR CASE STUDY The New Road to the Top The Best Advice I Ever Got
Into the Fray Peter Cappelli and Monika Hamori Daisy Wademan
M. Ellen Peebles By comparing the top executives of 1980's A young manager faces an impasse in his
"Psst, psst, psst."Tali< of cost cutting and iay- Fortune 100 companies with the top brass career. He goes to see his mentor at the
offs was already in the air in the New York of firms in the 2001 list, the authors have company, who closes the office door, offers
offices of international beverage company quantified a transformation that until now the young man a chair, recounts a few war
Legrand SA. But now everyone is imagin- has been largely anecdotal. A dramatic stories, and serves up a few specific point-
ing the worst after the sudden and mysteri- shift in executive careers, and in executives ers about the problem at hand. Then, just
ous resignation of Lucien Beaumont, the themselves, has occurred over the past two as the young manager is getting up to
company's president of U.S. operations. decades. Today's Fortune 100 executives are leave, the elder executive adds one small
The rumors are flying fast and furious younger, more of them are female, and kernel of avuncular wisdom-which the
about what prompted his departure and, fewer were educated at elite institutions. junior manager carries with him through
just as important, who will get Lucien'sjob. They're also making their way to the top the restof hiscareer.
Although Michael Feldstein is not one of more quickly. They're taking fewer jobs
Such is the natureof business ad vice. Or
the old guard at Paris-based Legrand-he along the way, and they increasingly move
is it? The six essays in this article suggest
joined the company as part of an acquisi- from one company to the next as their ca-
otherwise. Few of the leaders who tell their
tion two years ago-he's confident that he's reers unfold.
stories here got their best advice in stereo-
a top contender for Lucien'sjob. Michael, In their wide-ranging analysis, the au- typical form, as an aphorism or a platitude.
the global category director for rums, be- thors offer a number of insights. For one ForOgiIvy & Mather chief Shelly Lazarus,
lieves his stellar brand results and strong thing, it has become clear that there are profound insight came from a remark
track record might earn him the position. huge advantages to working in a growing aimed at relieving the tension of the mo-
Then, with a slightsenseof paranoia, he firm. For another, the firms that have been ment. For Novartis CEO Daniel Vasella, it
notices Danielle Harcourt-the global cate- big for a long time still provide the most was an apt comment, made on a snowy
gory director for vodka and liqueurs and extensive training and development. They day, back when he was a medical resident.
Michael's chief competitor for Lucien's also offer relatively long promotion lad- For publishing magnate Earl Graves and
job-networking with some of the Paris ex- ders-hence the common wisdom that Starwood Hotels' Barry Sternlicht, advice
ecutives at a launch party for one of these "academy companies" are great to they received about trust from early bosses
Michael's brands. She has also reached out have been/ro/D. took on ever deeper and more practical
to at least one of his direct reports. Before While women were disproportionately meaning as their careers progressed. For
he can confront her, Michael gets a call from scarce among the most senior ranks of Goldman Sachs chairman Henry Paulson,
CEO Pierre Hoffman and a proposition- executives in 2001, those who arrived got jr., it was as much his father's example as
but not the one he's looking for. there faster and at a younger age than it was a specific piece of advice his father
In this fictional case study, Michael must their male colleagues. Perhaps the career handed down to him. And fashion designer
weigh the advantages of taking an unex- hurdles that women face had blocked all Liz Lange rejects the very notion that
pected post in China against holding his but the most highly qualified female man- there's inherent wisdom in accepting other
ground In the politically charged New York agers, who then proceeded to rise quickly. people's advice.
offices of Legrand. Offering expert advice In the future, a record of good P&L per- As these stories demonstrate, people
are Nancy Clifford Widmann, an executive formance may become even more critical find wisdom when they least expect to, and
coach, and Amy Dorn Kopelan, the CEO to getting hired and advancing in the larg- they never really know what piece of advice
of Bedlam Entertainment, a conference est companies. Asa result, we may see a will transcend the moment, profoundly
management company; Fred Hassan, the reversal of the usual flow of talent, which affecting how they later make decisions,
chairman and CEO of Schering-Plough; has been from the academy companies to evaluate people, and examine-and
Allan Cohen, the Edward A. Madden Dis- smaller firms. It may be increasingly com- reexamine-theirown actions.
tinguished Professor in Global Leadership mon for executives to develop records of Reprint R0S01C
at Babson College; and Gary B. Rhodes, a performance in small companies, or even
senior fellow at the Center for Creative as entrepreneurs, and then seek positions
Leadership. in large corporations.
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SELF-MANACEMENT SELF-MANAGEMENT SELF-MANACEMENT

JANUARY I 54 JANUARY I 64 JANUARY I 74
Overloaded Circuits: Why What's Your Story? How to Play to Your Strengths
Smart People Underperform Herminia Ibarra and Kent Lineback Laura Morgan Roberts, Gretchen
Edward M. Halloweli When you're in the midst of a major career Spreitzer, Jane Dutton, Robert Quinn,
Frenzied executives who fidget through change, telling stories about your profes- Emily Heaphy, and Brianna Barker
meetings, lose tracl< of their appointments, sional self can inspire others' belief in your Most feedback accentuates the negative.
and jab at the "door ciose" button on the character and in your capacity to take a leap During formal employee evaluations, dis-
elevator aren't crazy-just crazed. They suf- and land on your feet. It also can help you cussions invariably focus on "opportunities
fer from a newly recognized neurological believe in yourself A narrative thread will for improvement," even if the overall evalu-
phenomenon that the author, a psychia- give meaning to your career history; it ation is laudatory. No wonder most execu-
trist, calls attention deficittrait, or ADT. It will assure you that, in moving on to some- tives-and their direct reports-dread them.
isn't an illness; it's purely a response to the thing new, you are not discarding every- Traditional, corrective feedback has its
hyperkinetic environment in which we thing you've worked so hard to accomplish. place, ofcourse; every organization must
live. But it has become epidemic in today's filter out failing employees and ensure that
Unfortunately, the authors explain in
organizations. everyone performs at an expected level of
this article, mostof us fail to use the power
When a manager is desperately trying of storytelling in pursuit of our professional competence. But too much emphasis on
to deal with more input than he possibly goals, or we do it badly. Tales of transition problem areas prevents companies from
can, the brain and body get locked into are especially challenging. Not knowing reaping the best from their people. After
a reverberating circuit while the brain's how to reconcile the built-in discontinu- all, it's a rare baseball player who is equally
frontal lobes lose their sophistication, as if ities in our work lives, we often relay just good at every position. Why should a natu-
vinegar were added to wine. The result is the facts. We present ourselves as safe- ral third baseman labor to develop his
black-and-white thinking; perspective and and dull and unremarkable. skills as a right fielder?
shades of gray disappear. People with ADT That's not a necessary compromise. This article presents a tool to help you
have difficulty staying organized, setting A transition story has inherent dramatic understand and leverage your strengths.
priorities, and managing time, and they appeal. The protagonist is you, of course, Called the Reflected Best Self (RBS) exer-
feel a constant low level of panic and guilt. and what's at stake is your career. Perhaps cise, it offers a unique feedback experience
ADT can be controlled by engineering you've come to an event or insight that rep- that counterbalances negative input. It
one's environment and one's emotional resents a pointof no return. It'sthis kind allows you to tap into talents you may or
and physical health. Make time every few of break with the past that will force you to may not be aware of and so increase your
hours for a "human moment,"a face-to- discover and reveal who you really are. Dis- career potential.
face exchange with a person you like. Get continuity and tension are part of the expe- To begin the RBS exercise, you first need
enough sleep, switch to a good diet, and rience. If these elements are missing from to solicit comments from family, friends,
get adequate exercise. Break down large your career story, the tale will fall flat. colleagues, and teachers, asking them to
tasks into smaller ones, and keep a section With all these twists and turns, how do give specific examples of times in which
ofyour work space clear. Try keeping a por- you demonstrate stability and earn listen- those strengths were particularly benefi-
tion ofyour day free of appointments and ers'trust? By emphasizing continuity and cial. Next,you need to search for common
e-mail. causality-in other words, by showing that themes in the feedback, organizing them
The author recommends that compa- your past is related to the present and, from in a table to develop a clear picture ofyour
nies invest in amenities that contribute to that trajectory, conveying that a solid fu- strong suits. Third, you must write a self-
a positive atmosphere. Leaders can also ture is in sight. If you can make your story portrait-a description of yourself that
help prevent ADT by matching employees' of transition cohere, you will have gone far summarizes and distills the accumulated
skills to tasks. When managers assign goals in convincing the listener-and reassuring information. And finally,you need to re-
that stretch people too far or ask workers yourself-that the change makes sense for design your personal job description to
to focus on what they're not good at, stress you and is likely to bring success. build on what you're good at.
rises. ADT is a very real threat to all of us. Reprint R0501F The RBS exercise will help you discover
If we don't manage it, it will manage us. who you are at the top ofyour game. Once
Reprint R0501E; HBR OnPoint 8789 you're aware ofyour best self, you can shape
the positions you choose to play-both
now and in the next phase of your career.
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SELF-MANAGEMENT SELF-MANAGEMENT SELF-MANAGEMENT

JANUARY I 82 JANUARY I 92 JANUARY I 100
Do Your Commitments Match Managing Your Boss Managing Oneself
Your Convictions? JohnJ. Gabarro and John P. Kotter Peter F. Drucker
Donald N. Sull and Dominic Houlder In this classic HBR article,first published Throughout history, people had little need
How manyof us keep pace day to day, up- in 1980, Cabarro and Kotter advise readers to manage their careers-they were born
holding our obligations to our bosses, fam- to devote time and energy to managing into their stations in life or, in the recent
ilies, and the community, even as our over- their relationships with their bosses. The past, they relied on their companies to
all satisfaction with work and quality of life authors aren't talking about showering chart their career paths. But times have
decline? And yet, our common response supervisors with flattery; rather, they ask drastically changed. Today we must all
to the situation is: "I'm too busy to do any- readers to understand that the manager- learn to manage ourselves.
thing about it now." Unfortunately, unless boss relationship is one of mutual depend-
What does that mean? As Peter Drucker
a personal or professional crisis strikes, ence. Bosses need cooperation, reliability,
tells us in this seminal article first pub-
very few of us step back, take stock of our and honesty from their direct reports.
lished in 1999, it means we have to learn
day-to-day actions, and make a change. Managers,fortheir part, rely on bosses for
to develop ourselves. We have to place
In this article, London Business School making connections with the rest of the
ourselves where we can make the greatest
strategy professors Donald Sull and Dom- company, for setting priorities, and for ob-
contribution to our organizations and
inic Houlder examine tPie reasons why taining critical resources. It only makes
communities. And we have to stay men-
a gap often exists between the things we sense to work at making the relationship
tally alert and engaged during a 50-year
value most and the ways we actually spend operate as smoothly as possible.
working life, which means knowing how
our time, money, and attention. They also Successfully managing your relationship and when to change the work we do.
suggest a practical approach to managing withyour boss requires that you have a It may seem obvious that people
the gap. The framework they propose is good understanding of your supervisor achieve results by doing what they are
based on their study of organizational com- and of yourself, particularly strengths, good at and by working in ways that fit
mitments-the investments, promises, and weaknesses, work styles, and needs. Once their abilities. But, Drucker says, very few
contracts made today that bind companies you are aware ofwhat impedes or facili- people actually know-let alone take ad-
to a future course of action. Such commit- tates communication withyour boss,you vantage of-their fundamental strengths.
ments can prevent organizations from re- can take actions to improve your relation- He challenges each of us to ask our-
sponding effectively to change. ship. You can usually establish a way of selves: What are my strengths? How do I
A similar logic applies to personal com- working together that fits both of you, that perform? What are my values? Where do
mitments-the day-to-day decisions we is characterized by unambiguous mutual I belong? What should my contribution
make about how we allocate our precious expectations, and that makes both of you be? Don't try to change yourself, Drucker
resources. These decisions are individually more productive and effective. cautions. Instead, concentrate on improv-
small and, therefore, easy to lose sight of No doubt, some managers will resent ing the skills you have and accepting as-
When we do, a gap can develop between that on top of all their other duties, they signments that are tailored to your indi-
our commitments and our convictions. must also take responsibility for their rela- vidual way of working. If you do that, you
Sull and Houlder make no value judg- tionships with their bosses. But these man- can transform yourself from an ordinary
ments about the content of personal com- agers fail to realize that by doing so, they worker into an outstanding performer.
mitments; they've devised a somewhat dis- can actually simplify their jobs, eliminat- Today's successful careers are not
passionate tool to help you take a thorough ing potentially severe problems and im- planned out in advance. They develop
inventory ofwhat matters to you most. It proving productivity. when people are prepared for opportuni-
involves listing your most important val- Reprint R0S01J ties because they have asked themselves
ues and assigning to each a percentage of those questions and have rigorously as-
your annual salary, the hours out of your sessed their unique characteristics. This
week, and the amount of energy you de- article challenges readers to take responsi-
vote. Using this exercise, you should be bility for managing their futures, both in
able to identify big gaps-stated values and out of the office.
that receive little or none of your scarce Reprint R0501K; HBR OnPoint 4444;
resources or a single value that sucks a OnPoint collection "Managing Yourself"
disproportionate share of resources-and 8762
change your allocations accordingly.
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