When Execution Isn't Enough: Decoding Inspirational Leadership

by Claudio Feser, Manfred F.R. Kets de Vries (Foreword)

The definition of great leadership, backed by ground-breaking research When Execution Isn't Enough examines the essential leadership skills that go beyond simply executing strategies well. It examines the leadership skills that inspire excellence and drive growth. Great leaders think differently, but their secrets, values, and behaviors can't be bottled―or can they? Is leadership so contextual that it defies standardization? In this book, McKinsey's global head of leadership development draws on ground-breaking McKinsey research to uncover 20 distinct leadership traits. All are important, but some make all the difference in inspiring organizations to exceptional results and growth―and a select few create the vast chasm between strong and weak organizations in terms of leadership effectiveness. Structured as a business parable, this book employs a rich cast of corporate characters to illustrate the critical behaviors of inspirational leadership and the outcomes that become possible. Attempting to nail down exactly what makes a leader inspirational is like trying to capture lighting in a bottle, but new McKinsey research has identified the behavioral leadership catalysts that inspire greatness. This book describes the behaviors to inspire that can be learned―to turn a good leader into a great leader. The picture of leadership has changed over time. Today's great leaders are authentic, enthusiastic decision-makers with engaging visions, who are quick to communicate and take action. Less than half of all CEOs believe that their training investments will pay off, yet everyone agrees that leadership drives performance―where is the disconnect? It's in the belief that simple leadership behaviors equal results, forgetting that exceptional results only come from inspiration. When Execution Isn't Enough shows you how to attain the missing link of great leadership to bring exceptional results of your organization.

Genres: Leadership, Nonfiction

208 pages, Hardcover

Published September 19, 2016

Reviews

[Edwin Dalorzo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good starting point

I wanted to learn more about how a leader can inspire others. As a manager, I had already intuitively recognized that inspiring others to action is one of the most powerful tools in a leader’s toolbox. This book is the first I read on this topic explicitly and I believe it is an excellent starting point.

First, the subject is decomposed into its subatomic components such that every piece can be discussed individually, then you get a map of the territory and ideas on how to navigate it to go where you want to go. Finally, there's good advice on how to use this power for the greater good.

There's a lot of references at the end of every chapter with ideas on how to go even further on the subject, and these also constitute a positive aspect of this book because this means the authors are basing their advice in a lot of related research on the topics discussed in every chapter.

Finally, the book presents a fictional use case where some of the ideas learned in every chapter are put into action and it really helps to make these concepts stick into your mind a little longer.

However, this book does not seem enough to me to consider that I have learned what I need to become an inspirational leader. The book is short and lacks practical advice to implement these ideas. I still don't see clearly how I can use this knowledge to gradually grow into this inspirational leader they portrait in the book. So, this book needs to be complemented with others and I will continue my exploration of the topic.

This weakness manifests in some sections of the book that are simply too short as if the author didn't have enough insight to flesh them out, leaving me with the feeling that they could have been a little longer if some topics were expanded and covered in greater detail.