Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done

by Larry Bossidy

Getting things done through others is a fundamental leadership skill. Indeed, if you can’t do it, you’re not leading. Yet how many leaders do you see who cannot? Some smother their people, blocking their initiative and creativity. They’re the micromanagers, insecure leaders who can’t trust others to get it right because they don’t know how to calibrate them and monitor their performance. They wind up making all of the key decisions about details themselves, so they don’t have time to deal with the larger issues they should be focusing on, or respond to the surprises that inevitably come along. Others abandon their people. They believe wholeheartedly in delegating: let people grow on their own, sink or swim, empower themselves. They explain the challenge (sometimes at such a high level of abstraction that it amounts to superficiality) and toss the ball entirely into their people’s court. They don’t set milestones, and they don’t follow through. Then, when things don’t get done as expected, they’re frustrated. Both types reduce the capabilities of their organizations. Some people are just temperamentally unable to work well with others.