Rising to Power

Nearly two thirds of senior executives are insufficiently prepared for what awaits them when they take on their new role. And nearly 50% fail in the first 18 months of their mandate! This instructive observation reflects how challenging it is for managers to transition to an executive position. Indeed, reaching these high-exposure jobs radically changes the type of contribution expected, but also the way you are regarded by your counterparts and society at large.

This book thus helps future executives gain a better grasp of the realities they will experience. It stresses the importance of being able to see the big picture and grasping the complexity of organizational issues, notably by knowing how to change perspective. It also warns against the main pitfalls of executive roles. For example, it alerts the reader to the distortion effects in the way that information is perceived, from which senior executives naturally suffer, and suggests ways to counterbalance this. Moreover, reaching a high-level position naturally modifies the relationship a person has with the rest of the organization—both peers and team members. Newly-appointed executives must hence take active initiatives to establish their new positioning.

A well-supported book, which describes with finesse the professional and personal transformations for which newly-appointed executives should prepare themselves in order to succeed in this role.