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Case Study 137|Synthesis 142|Life’s Work 148|

When a fledgling|How envy damages|Historian David|

partnership|the American Dream|McCullough on what|

becomes an IP risk||makes a great leader|

Experience

Managing Your Professional Growth hbr.org

Illustration: Kelly Blair|

Managing yourself

Strategic Leadership: The Essential Skills

by Paul J.H. Schoemaker, Steve Krupp, and Samantha Howland

he storied British banker and|allow leaders to think strategically and|

financier Nathan Rothschild noted|navigate the unknown effectively: the|

Tthat great fortunes are made when|abilities to anticipate, challenge, interpret,|

cannonballs fall in the harbor, not when|decide, align, and learn. Each has received|

violins play in the ballroom. Rothschild|attention in the leadership literature, but|

understood that the more unpredictable|usually in isolation and seldom in the|

the environment, the greater the oppor-|special context of high stakes and deep|

tunity—if you have the leadership skills|uncertainty that can make or break both|

to capitalize on it. Through research at|companies and careers. This article de-|

the Wharton School and at our consulting|scribes the six skills in detail. An adaptive|

firm involving more than 20,000 execu-|strategic leader—someone who is both|

tives to date, we have identified six skills|resolute and flexible, persistent in the face|

that, when mastered and used in concert,|of setbacks but also able to react strategi-|

cally to environmental shifts—has learned to apply all six at once.

Do you have the right networks to help you see opportunities before competitors do? Are you comfortable challenging your own and others’ assumptions? Can you get a diverse group to buy in to a common vision? Do you learn from...