Six Paths to Leadership
Description
The paths that leaders walk significantly influence their success, offering differential opportunities and challenges. While conventional wisdom suggests that leadership styles and approaches may be equally effective across all situations, more recent research demonstrates the importance of employing strategies more specifically aligned with the context.
This book offers critical insights and strategies, currently missing from the repertoire of leaders and their supporters, for managing across six distinct paths into leadership positions: promoted, hired, elected, appointed, founded, and family legacy. It illustrates lessons drawn from within and across paths, presented through themes, quotes, and stories drawn from interviews with over 60 successful leaders (executives, politicians, entrepreneurs, and more). While it is evident that these paths differ, those who study, hire, mentor, and coach leaders rarely consider the distinctions, nor suggest what may be learned across the paths.
The emerging leaders, HR professionals, researchers, and coaches among the book's readers will learn not only from those who have walked one particular path, but also from the experiences of those trekking in other directions. Most leaders will cross from one path to another over the course of their career. Some executives interviewed for the book worked their way up the ladder in one company, only to be recruited to fill a C-suite position in another company. Others were appointed to high-level government positions after stints as elected officials. The authors identify major distinctions when moving across the six paths.
By reading this book, leaders and those who support them will develop greater self-awareness about each path so they can better leverage and manage their new challenges and opportunities from the first day in their new leadership position.
Reviews / Votes
"This book is filled with recommendations for actions, strategies, and approaches that readers can apply to their own circumstances, both in the main text and in an appendix and companion website. Clark and Persily make a solid case in favor of their six categories and demonstrate the practical applicability of their theoretical approach. An informative and useful look at different types of leadership experiences." (Kirkus, kirkusreviews.com, June 15, 2021)
"The six paths and their industry exemplars provide a fascinating perspective for those among us who observe casino leadership in action." (asgam.com, September 6, 2021)
"Six Paths to Leadership offers insights based on commonalities and differences across six successful paths to leadership. . This book gives a range of different scenarios and a wealth of real-life examples. Most readers will find help to which they can relate in their unique situation. . I found this book a useful resource, demonstrating a structure for understanding how to develop your leadership skills and approaches to the challenges you encounter when leading a business or organisation." (Ian Garner, lancashiretimes.co.uk, July 10, 2021)
"Six Paths to Leadership offers insights based on commonalities and differences across six successful paths to leadership. . This book gives a range of different scenarios and a wealth of real-life examples. Most readers will find help to which they can relate in their unique situation. . I found this book a useful resource, demonstrating a structure for understanding how to develop your leadership skills and approaches to the challenges you encounter when leading a business or organisation." (Ian Garner, yorkshiretimes.co.uk, July 10, 2021)
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Persons
Meredith Persily is a sought after leadership expert across the public and private sectors, supporting C-suite executives and elected members of Congress alike. She is CEO of Aspire@Work, an executive coaching and leadership consultancy based in Washington, DC and also an Adjunct Professor at American University's School of Public Administration. Persily specializes in the leadership challenges of complex, global organizations including technology, healthcare, financial services, nonprofit and government. She is regularly called upon by her clients to support the onboarding of executives into new roles, helping them to effectively lead a multi-generational workforce, and drive organizational change. She has delivered leadership programs in 17 countries across five continents and in 38 states and the District of Columbia. Meredith is an honors graduate from Brown University and earned an MBA from University of Chicago Booth School of Business. She is a Professional Certified Coach from the International Coach Federation.