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Overview
Eight true stories show that Leaders today aren’t just bosses, they’re self-starters who take charge even when they haven’t been given a charge. Upward leaders get results by helping their superiors lead. They make sure that good ideas don’t die on the vine because a boss’s understanding doesn’t reach down deep enough into the organization. Upward leadership assures that advice arrives from all points on the corporate compass, not just from the top down. And it applies at every level: Even CEOs need to learn about leading up because they ultimately answer to their boards.In Leading Up, Michael Useem offers instructive accounts of this vital and unexplored facet of leadership. Drawing on the extraordinary experiences of real people, Useem shows us what happens when those not in charge rise to the challenge, and also what happens when those who should step forward fail to do so:
* Civil War generals openly disrespected and frequently misinformed their commanders in chief, with tragic consequences for both sides.
* COO David Pottruck learned how to lead with his superiors at Charles Schwab & Co. in order to radically change Schwab’s core business.
* Had he been able to convince his superiors of the dire situation in Rwanda, United Nations commander Roméo Dallaire might have prevented the genocide that claimed 800,000 lives.
* The CEOs of CBS, Compaq, and British Airways concentrated on leading down when they needed to lead up to their boards, too. The result: All three were fired.
* U.S. Marine Corps general Peter Pace reconciled conflicting priorities while reporting to six bosses with varying agendas by keeping all of them informed and challenging them when necessary.
* Mount Everest mountaineers admitted they might have protected themselves and others from harm during a fateful ascent if only they had questioned their guides’ flawed instructions and decisions.
* Even in government, representatives often need to first strike a deal, then lead their bosses to embrace it, as examples from the United States and Argentina illustrate.
* No one ever had a tougher job of leading up than Old Testament prophets Moses, Abraham, and Samuel, who interceded with the ultimate authority.
Leading up is not the same as managing up. Managing up is running the office; leading up is taking the reins and exceeding what’s expected. As hierarchies everywhere shed much of their rigidity, upward leadership at all levels becomes more possible—and more necessary. Leading Up is a call to action. It asks us to build on the best in everybody’s nature, and it offers a pragmatic blueprint for doing so.
From the Hardcover edition.
Editorials
From Barnes & Noble
The Barnes & Noble ReviewCompelling and highly readable, Michael Useem's insightful take on conventional ideas of leadership is quite definitely a worthy addition to your bookshelf. Here, in eight sometimes surprising stories, Useem demonstrates how second-in-commands can succeed (or fail) because of their ability (or inability) to keep their bosses properly on track.
Useem's book succeeds so well because of the variety of his chosen subjects and the accessible way he brings them to life. Even such potentially familiar material as the battle for Richmond, which occurred in the early days of the Civil War, becomes illuminating in his hands. In that campaign, generals George B. McClellan and Joseph E. Johnston kept their “bosses” -- presidents Lincoln and Davis, respectively -- in the dark, and the opportunity for a quick and decisive Union victory unfortunately became the prelude to a prolonged and bloody conflict.
Useem alternates such historical stories with examples from the corporate world, and the contrast is striking. Included in the book are David Pottruck’s efforts to bring Charles Schwab and Co. into the Internet age; U.S. Marine Corps general Peter Pace’s effective relationship with six different commanders; Charlene Barshefsky’s rocky negotiation of the U.S. trade agreement with China for President Clinton; and even an analysis of how the prophets Abraham, Moses, and Samuel worked with the ultimate authority, God.
Useem lets the unfolding stories bring out essential truths that you can prosper by. Each story is punctuated by several of these short and vital nuggets, labeled “Lessons in Leading Up.” Most truths seem simple (know what your boss wants, ask for clarification on inadequate instructions), but with the examples of failure provided here, it’s clear that many leaders don’t take them to heart as they should.
Useem walks a tightrope with this unconventional variety: After reading about the UN’s deadly failure in Rwanda, you may not feel ready to switch gears to examine Thomas Wyman’s strained relations with the board at CBS. Still, by retelling such graphic tales, Useem will keep your attention at every moment of the book. And the dramatic lessons make this a book for aspiring leaders everywhere. (Holly McGuire)
Holly McGuire is a book editor and consultant based in Chicago.