Custom-Built Leadership: Three Critical Decisions Only You Can Take

176 Pages·2008·1.095 MB·English

by  Robin Ryde (auth.)

CUSTOM-BUILT LEADERSHIP: Three Critical
Decisions Only You Can Take
Also by Robin Ryde
THOUGHT LEADERSHIP: Moving Hearts and Minds
CUSTOM-BUILT
LEADERSHIP
Three Critical Decisions Only
You Can Take
Robin Ryde
© Robin Ryde 2008
All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this
publication may be made without written permission.
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save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of
the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any
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Agency, Saffron House, 6-10 Kirby Street, London EC1N 8TS.
Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication
may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
The author has asserted his right to be identifi ed as the author of this
work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
First published 2008 by
PALGRAVE MACMILLAN
Palgrave Macmillan in the UK is an imprint of Macmillan Publishers
Limited, registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills,
Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS.
Palgrave Macmillan in the US is a division of St Martin’s Press LLC,
175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010.
Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies
and has companies and representatives throughout the world.
Palgrave® and Macmillan® are registered trademarks in the United States,
the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries.
ISBN 978-1-349-30067-9 ISBN 978-0-230-22722-4 (eBook)
DOI 10.1057/9780230227224
This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from
fully managed and sustained forest sources. Logging, pulping and
manufacturing processes are expected to conform to the environmental
regulations of the country of origin.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Ryde, Robin.
Custom-built leadership : three critical decisions only you can take /
Robin Ryde.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Leadership—Psychological aspects. 2. Decision making. 3. Executive
ability. 4. Self-management (Psychology) I. Title.
HD57.7.R935 2008
658.4(cid:2)092—dc22 2008037737
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 09 08
This book is dedicated to Frankie and Jackson, who bring
excitement, humor and more than a little chaos into my life.
My greatest thanks go to Lisa. I have no idea how
I would have written this book if it hadn’t been for your support,
inspiration and insight – thanks.
v
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Contents
List of Figures ix
No One Way xi
1 Sympathy for the Devil 1
A personal manifesto for how you will lead 3
Leadership may cause harmful side effects 6
Leadership is an emotional business 33
A dashboard of self-awareness 35
What does good leadership feel like? 41
2 Your First Decision – How Long Have I Got? 43
Tenure, legacy and unfi nished business 44
Leadership, time ambition and the tools for the job 47
Shorter-term leadership ambition 51
Longer-term leadership ambition 66
Case Study: Robert Swan OBE 78
Knowledge review and reminders 89
3 Your Second Decision – How Grand Is My Plan? 90
Analytic pitch 91
Your appetite 93
Your freedom to operate 94
Your inheritance 95
Leadership, scale of ambition and the tools for the job 97
Modest leadership ambition 98
Grand leadership ambition 108
Knowledge review and reminders 123
4 Your Third Decision – How Broadly Will I Lead? 124
Mapping your system 127
Authority, perspective and fl ux 129
Leadership, breadth of ambition and the tools for the job 131
Narrower leadership ambition 131
vii
viii CONTENTS
Broader leadership ambition 141
Knowledge review and reminders 154
5 Extended Moments of Clarity 155
Notes 161
Index 163
Figures
Figure 1.1 The personal implications, costs and side effects
of leadership 9
Figure 1.2 Polarities that express different features of
organizational life 29
Figure 2.1 An example of important sub-questions relating
to tenure, legacy and unfi nished business 48
Figure 2.2 Skills and qualities that have particular value for
different levels of leadership time ambition 49
Figure 2.3 An illustration of the range of generic leadership
characteristics identifi ed by some of the leader
thinkers 50
Figure 2.4 Example answers to the question “how can I
establish relationships of greater trust?” with key
internal infl uencers 56
Figure 3.1 Floor plans of the New York Metropolitan
Museum of Art 92
Figure 3.2 Illustrations of different heights/levels of
leadership ambition 93
Figure 3.3 Skills and qualities that have particular value
according to the scale of leadership ambition 97
Figure 3.4 Different levels of risk appetite 111
Figure 3.5 How self-critical are you? – strength and
frequency of self-criticism 113
Figure 3.6 Some questions to help you build a self-care
strategy 117
Figure 3.7 Ideas to help you identify potential strategic allies 121
ix