Bestselling Author Marshall Goldsmith Examines Problems of Executive Transition
WATERTOWN, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--With CEO tenure on a rapid decline, many CEOs will soon be faced with the challenge of handing the baton over to a successor. But it's not only CEOs that go through tough transitions. Any leader, as they move up, around, or out of the organization, will eventually be planning a transition and preparing their successor for the job. How should an incumbent prepare to let go? When is the right time to start identifying potential successors and what is the best way to groom them? How should stakeholders be managed during a leadership transition?
In “Succession: Are You Ready?” bestselling author Marshall Goldsmith offers candid analysis and advice on the problem of succession from the outgoing executive's perspective. Goldsmith, ranked among the top 10 executive educators by the Wall Street Journal, has coached over 80 major CEOs through a leadership transition. Based on his experience, Goldsmith addresses the following succession issues:
• Why leadership transition is the greatest challenge for any leader;
• Why thinking about succession as early as possible will ensure an effective transition;
• How to identify and mentor potential successors and build a solid pipeline;
• How to avoid internal political disasters when more than one candidate is being considered;
• How to understand the personal dynamics of developing a successor and how to overcome the predictable biases and blind spots;
• How to know when it is time to step down;
• How to work with the board and other stakeholders, and what to expect from them during the succession;
• How to let go and hand over responsibility with class and grace.
From choosing and grooming a successor while sidestepping political minefields, to finally handing over responsibility, “Succession: Are You Ready?” walks leaders through each step in the succession process.
About the Author
Marshall Goldsmith is a world authority in helping successful leaders achieve positive, lasting change in behavior – for themselves, their people, and their teams. Goldsmith is the New York Times bestselling author or coeditor of 24 books, including “What Got You Here Won’t Get You There,” which won the Harold Longman Award for Best Business Book of 2007. His major professional acknowledgements include: BusinessWeek’s most influential practitioner in the history of leadership development; The Economist’s most credible advisers in the new era of business; The Wall Street Journal’s top 10 executive educators; Forbes’ five most-respected executive coaches; Fast Company’s preeminent executive coach in America; The Times’ 50 most influential living business thinkers; and the American Management Association’s 50 great thinkers who have most impacted the field of management over the past 80 years.
Goldsmith is the cofounder of Marshall Goldsmith Partners. In 2006, Alliant International University named its schools of business and organizational psychology the Marshall Goldsmith School of Management. He is one of the few executive advisers who have been asked to work with over 100 major CEOs and their management teams.
His weekly columns appear on BusinessWeek.com and HarvardBusiness.org. Almost all of his articles, videos and audio are available online at www.marshallgoldsmithlibrary.com.
“Succession: Are You Ready?” by Marshall Goldsmith; Harvard Business Press; February 10, 2009; Hardcover: $18.00/HC; 110 pages; ISBN: 978-1-4221-1823-8
Showing posts with label marshall goldsmith. Show all posts
Showing posts with label marshall goldsmith. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Clinging to the Past
Business Week book excerpt from What Got You Here Won't Get You There by Marshall Goldsmith, number one business book January 2007 in both Wall Street Journal and USA TODAY.
ANNOYING HABIT NO. 1: CLINGING TO THE PAST
There is a school of thought among psychologists that we can understand our errant behavior by delving into our past, particularly our family dynamics. This school believes "when it's hysterical, it's historical."
If you're a perfectionist, it's because your parents never said you were good enough. If you operate above the rules, it's because your parents doted on you and inflated your importance. If you freeze around authority figures, it's because you had a controlling mother. And so on.I refuse to attend any school that clings to the past--because going backward is not about creating change. It's about understanding.
One of my earliest clients spent hours telling me, "Marshall, you don't understand. Let me explain why I have these issues. Let me explain my mother and father." It was one long unendurable whine. Finally, I reached into my pocket for a coin and said, "Here's a quarter. Call someone who cares."Don't get me wrong.
There's nothing wrong with understanding. Understanding the past is perfectly admissible if your issue is accepting the past. But if your issue is changing the future, understanding won't take you there. My experience tells me that the only effective approach is looking people in the eye and saying, "If you want to change, do this."
It takes me a long time to convince clients that they can't change the past, or make excuses for it. All they can do is accept it and move on. But for some reason, many people enjoy living in the past, especially if going back there lets them blame someone else for anything that's gone wrong in their lives.
That's when clinging to the past becomes an interpersonal problem. We use the past as a weapon against others.I learned this from my daughter Kelly. She was 7 years old. We were living in a nice house in San Diego (still my home).
One day, annoyed over a professional setback, I came home and took out my annoyance on Kelly. I trotted out the speech that begins, "When I was your age..."I started yammering about growing up in Kentucky and how we didn't have money and how hard I had to work to become the first person in my family to graduate from college.
Contrasting this, of course, with all the wonderful things Kelly had. She listened to my diatribe, instinctively letting me vent. When I was finished, she said: "Daddy, it's not my fault you make money."That stopped me in my tracks. She was right. How could I expect her to know what it's like to be poor--when I was damn sure she never would be?
I chose to work hard and make money. She didn't. In effect, I was bragging about how clever I was to have triumphed over adversity--and masking that boasting by dumping my frustrations on her. She called me on it.
Stop blaming others for the choices you made.
ANNOYING HABIT NO. 1: CLINGING TO THE PAST
There is a school of thought among psychologists that we can understand our errant behavior by delving into our past, particularly our family dynamics. This school believes "when it's hysterical, it's historical."
If you're a perfectionist, it's because your parents never said you were good enough. If you operate above the rules, it's because your parents doted on you and inflated your importance. If you freeze around authority figures, it's because you had a controlling mother. And so on.I refuse to attend any school that clings to the past--because going backward is not about creating change. It's about understanding.
One of my earliest clients spent hours telling me, "Marshall, you don't understand. Let me explain why I have these issues. Let me explain my mother and father." It was one long unendurable whine. Finally, I reached into my pocket for a coin and said, "Here's a quarter. Call someone who cares."Don't get me wrong.
There's nothing wrong with understanding. Understanding the past is perfectly admissible if your issue is accepting the past. But if your issue is changing the future, understanding won't take you there. My experience tells me that the only effective approach is looking people in the eye and saying, "If you want to change, do this."
It takes me a long time to convince clients that they can't change the past, or make excuses for it. All they can do is accept it and move on. But for some reason, many people enjoy living in the past, especially if going back there lets them blame someone else for anything that's gone wrong in their lives.
That's when clinging to the past becomes an interpersonal problem. We use the past as a weapon against others.I learned this from my daughter Kelly. She was 7 years old. We were living in a nice house in San Diego (still my home).
One day, annoyed over a professional setback, I came home and took out my annoyance on Kelly. I trotted out the speech that begins, "When I was your age..."I started yammering about growing up in Kentucky and how we didn't have money and how hard I had to work to become the first person in my family to graduate from college.
Contrasting this, of course, with all the wonderful things Kelly had. She listened to my diatribe, instinctively letting me vent. When I was finished, she said: "Daddy, it's not my fault you make money."That stopped me in my tracks. She was right. How could I expect her to know what it's like to be poor--when I was damn sure she never would be?
I chose to work hard and make money. She didn't. In effect, I was bragging about how clever I was to have triumphed over adversity--and masking that boasting by dumping my frustrations on her. She called me on it.
Stop blaming others for the choices you made.
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