When Execution Isn't Enough Decoding Inspirational Leadership

When Execution Isn't Enough examines the essential leadership skills that go beyond simply executing strategies well. It examines the leadership skills that inspire excellence and drive growth. Great leaders think differently, but their secrets, values, and behaviors can't be bottled—or can they? Is leadership so contextual that it defies standardization? In this book, McKinsey's global head of leadership development draws on ground-breaking McKinsey research to uncover 20 distinct leadership traits. All are important, but some make all the difference in inspiring organizations to exceptional results and growth—and a select few create the vast chasm between strong and weak organizations in terms of leadership effectiveness. Structured as a business parable, this book employs a rich cast of corporate characters to illustrate the critical behaviors of inspirational leadership and the outcomes that become possible.

Attempting to nail down exactly what makes a leader inspirational is like trying to capture lighting in a bottle, but new McKinsey research has identified the behavioral leadership catalysts that inspire greatness. This book describes the behaviors to inspire that can be learned—to turn a good leader into a great leader.

• Understand the neuroscience of inspiration
• Tailor your inspirational approach to different leadership scenarios
• Initiate an inspiration cascade to influence people at scale

The picture of leadership has changed over time. Today's great leaders are authentic, enthusiastic decision-makers with engaging visions, who are quick to communicate and take action. Less than half of all CEOs believe that their training investments will pay off, yet everyone agrees that leadership drives performance—where is the disconnect? It's in the belief that simple leadership behaviors equal results, forgetting that exceptional results only come from inspiration. When Execution Isn't Enough shows you how to attain the missing link of great leadership to bring exceptional results of your organization.

CLAUDIO FESER is a senior partner in the Zurich office of McKinsey & Company. He is the leader of McKinsey Academy, a practice of the firm that focuses on helping organizations develop leaders. He is the author of Serial Innovators: Firms That Change the World, published by Wiley.

Foreword by Manfred Kets de Vries xi

Introduction 1

Part One Inspiring and Influencing 5

Chapter 1 Influ—The Prologue 7

Chapter 2 Inspirational Leadership Matters 13

Chapter 3 The Science of Influence 19

Chapter 4 The Neuroscience of Inspirational Leadership 35

Chapter 5 Influ—The Consultations 47

Part Two Inspiring Others 57

Chapter 6 Influ—“I hate school” 59

Chapter 7 How to Inspire 61

Chapter 8 Influ—Finding Empathy 79

Part Three Targeting Inspirational Appeals 85

Chapter 9 Influ—“They want you out” 87

Chapter 10 What Are People Like? 99

Chapter 11 Tailoring Influencing Approaches 117

Chapter 12 Influ—Winning Carl Back 125

Part Four Inspiring at Scale 131

Chapter 13 Influ—“We have an offer” 133

Chapter 14 Inspiring at Scale: The Influence Model 137

Chapter 15 Influ—The Epilogue 147

Afterword 157

Appendix I Leadership Behaviors 161

Appendix II Organizational Health Index 163

Appendix III Personality Markers 167

Appendix IV Emotional Disposition Markers 169

Acknowledgments 171

About the Author 173

Index 175

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