The reader will learn how the four leaders balanced these seven tensions ('mission', 'relationship', 'reciprocity', 'decision-making style', 'pace of change', 'development dilemmas' and 'loyalty'), with more or less successful results. The reasons for each leader's effectiveness are explored and analysed, allowing the authors then to extrapolate some general conclusions about the ways in which these tensions reveal themselves during all leadership transitions. The reader will find in the book a rich description of the main elements which he or she can learn to combine and balance in ways which are appropriate for the context and which will enable greater mastery of the transitional phase of leadership. 'Newly appointed leaders in today's internet world have to hit the ground running,and to know how to take early advantage of their very newness. I wish I had had the benefit of Amado and Elsner's insights before I faced the challenges of taking the official helm of a Government Department. The psychodynamic analysis they offer will help any new leader make sense of the conflicting tensions and mix of emotions that they are bound to encounter when they push down on the accelerator of change. The candid testimony of the leaders whose managerial journeys the authors followed provide telling personal insights into what works,and what both set-backs and ultimate success feel like,inspiring that extra confidence to strike out boldly.' - Sir David Omand GCB, ex Permanent Secretary of the Home Office and of the Cabinet Office 'Faced with the demands and stresses of challenging, unfamiliar roles even experienced managers need points of reference to guide them, and against which to analyse and assess their actions. The tensions identified in this book will be readily recognised by all managers who have ever sought to improve themselves and to understand how they can become more effective leaders. Practical, accessible and enlightening.' - Richard Barker, General Manager, Commercial Network, Post Office Ltd 'In a world of rather strident treatises on leadership the work of Gilles Amado and Richard Elsner stands out for its thoughtfulness, rigour and applicability to the complex, real-life work place. The research underpinning their findings is impressive but they never lose touch with the need to apply this to the professional challenges business leaders face today. This is a book which is thought-provoking, readable and useful – and one worth returning to whenever one faces a new leadership challenge.' - Deborah Loudon, Director General, Civilian Personnel, The Ministry of Defence 'Amado and Elsner bring us something readers so rarely get: no nonsense factual accounts of leaders taking charge in a range of contexts. Then the authors cut through the complexity of the data to show us what factors really made the difference between success and failure. This has got to be one of the most insightful and practical leadership books that I have read for a long time.' - Graham Prentice, Global Human Resources Director, Nestle Nutrition 'This is one of the rare management books which focuses on the extraordinary decisive first moments in a new position. Success effectively depends on the emotional intelligence that is applied to understand the specifics of the organisations rather than on the technical skills. In depth case studies are presented that make this book very useful and easy to read. I recommend it to all managers who wish to give a real boost to their own career.' - Concetta Lanciaux Advisor to the Chairman, LVMH Group Contents: 1 Diane, Pierre, Max and John: leaders confronting their own challenges 2 Tensions and dynamics 3 The context 4 Tensions and transitions: what the leaders think – Case study leaders: one year later Interviews with other leaders - David, a Senior Civil Servant in the United Kingdom; Deborah, a Senior Civil Servant in the United Kingdom; Roger Durantis, Managing Director, Essilor Instruments; Michel Raimbault, Programme Director, HEC School of Management; Michel Hidalgo, Former Coach of the French National Football Team 5 The psychology of transition Conclusion BIBLIOGRAPHY About the Authors: GILLES AMADO, Ph.D., is Professor of Organisational Psychosociology at HEC School of Management (Paris), a founding member of the International Society for the Psychoanalytic Study of Organizations (ISPSO) and the Centre International pour la Recherche, la Formation et l’Intervention Psychosociologiques (CIRFIP), an associate member of the Bayswater Institute, a chief editor of the Nouvelle Revue de Psychosociologie. RICHARD ELSNER is a consultant and a writer. He is the Managing Director of The Turning Point, a consultancy specialising in business leadership transitions, which he co-founded with Bridget Farrands and three other colleagues. He has played a key role in shaping The Turning Point’s approach to helping make leaders’ transitions a time of achievement and of learning.
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