Publisher's description (Harvard Business School Press)
It's not enough to lead everyone out of the mud. As a leader you need to ask yourself—honestly—what you did to get everyone into a bad spot to begin with. In this excerpt from their new book Leadership on the Line: Staying Alive Through the Dangers of Leading, two Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government faculty pool ideas to look deeper at the hard work of leading others.
When you belong to the organization or community that you are trying to lead, you are part of the problem. This is particularly true when you have been a member of the group for some time, as in a family. Taking the initiative to address the issue does not relieve you of your share of responsibility. If you have been in a senior role for a while and there's a problem, it is almost certain that you had some part in creating it and are part of the reason it has not yet been addressed. Even if you are new, or outside the organization, you need to identify those behaviors you practice or values you embody that could stifle the very change you want to advance. In short, you need to identify and accept responsibility for your contributions to the current situation, even as you try to move your people to a different, better place.