Executive Leadership

By converting proven theories into practical advice, Executive Leadership helps aspiring leaders make sound decisions that raise productivity and fatten the bottom line; negotiate with vendors, competitors, employees and clients; innovate and inspire creativity in their teams; and delegate authority so that they can manage their time and achieve at a higher level. Learn more about Executive Leadership and the three free reports you’ll get when you subscribe...

Ask senior executives to decode leadership for you and you’ll probably get a long, useless list of qualities. For this reason, three students of management set about grouping together what happens when leadership happens:

Shaping the future. Whether through vision, mission or strategy, leaders want to answer the question, “Where are we going?”

Firing up talent. This includes identifying talent, developing it, avoiding demotivators and retaining the best people while losing the worst.

Following through. It’s also known as getting results, or execution.

Planning for successors. By figuring out who will guide your organization into the next generation, and by working on the transition, you’ll honor your team and sustain your legacy.

Being true to yourself. In a fundamental sense, who you are shapes everything you accomplish.

—Adapted from “Decoding Leadership,” Norm Smallwood, Harvard Business Publishing, blogs.harvardbusiness.org.