Senior Leadership Teams May 16, 2008 What It Takes to Makes Them Great (Harvard Business School Publishing Corporation, $29.95)
By Melissa F. Thompson
The heroic CEO—we long to believe in the romantic idea that great things are accomplished by larger-than-life people. Just look at the latest business magazine cover, and there's the shot looking up at the man or woman in the dark suit with arms crossed mid-chest, standing proudly on top of the organization. But the truth is, the demands of those at the top are outdistancing personal capabilities, and senior managers are being called upon to help meet these organizational demands. For this, senior teams need to be properly created and thoughtfully led.
In "Senior Leadership Teams," the authors present the results of their multiyear research project, collected from more than 120 senior leadership teams, and describe the conditions that make top teams great.
It's an excellent book, written for those who lead executive teams, as well as the general reader curious about leadership at the top of an organization. This book can help you create teams whose members are invested in not only the success of the team but the success of each other, and who will learn from each other to meet the leader's personal goals, as well as organizational goals and objectives.