Leading the Way: Three Truths from the Top Companies for Leaders [Hardcover]

Robert Gandossy (Author), Marc Effron (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 26, 2003

In Leading the Way, Hewitt Associates’ business leaders Robert Gandossy and Marc Effron present their findings from the largest research project ever conducted on leadership, the "Top Companies for Leaders." Using data from more than 600 companies around the globe and interviews with senior executives at the top companies, they present a compelling business case for investing in growing leaders. Their stories, examples, and tactics provide tangible, practical tools for leaders everywhere.

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

Sustained earnings growth ranks at the top of every company’s performance objectives but, despite heroic efforts, all too few ever realize this goal. Their investments in technology, marketing, new products, or logistics bring temporary benefits at best. The top companies for leaders start with the value proposition that great performance begins with great leadership–and they have the financial results to prove it!

In Leading the Way, Hewitt Associates’ business leaders Robert Gandossy and Marc Effron present their findings from the largest research project ever conducted on leadership, the "Top Companies for Leaders." Using data from more than 600 companies around the globe and interviews with senior executives at the top companies, they present a compelling business case for investing in growing leaders. Their stories, examples, and tactics provide tangible, practical tools for leaders everywhere.

Their "three leadership truths" define the fundamental building blocks used by top companies to build a sustainable pipeline of great leaders:

• The CEO and Board of Directors provide leadership and inspiration: Going beyond lip service to active and passionate involvement in building leaders’ capabilities
• A maniacal focus on high-potential leaders: Carefully identifying and aggressively developing your absolute best talent
• Doing the right programs the right way: Creating programs and processes that enhance the few differentiating leader-ship capabilities in a nonbureaucratic, measurable way

While many organizations successfully execute one or two of the truths, top companies differentiate themselves by consistently executing all three.

Going far beyond a simplistic best-practices approach, Leading the Way shows how growing great leaders begins with understanding the type of leaders your business strategy demands. Gandossy and Effron also highlight the "little things that count"–the secrets that allow the top companies to sustain their success.

Leading the Way drives home its conclusions with financial analysis that shows how the three leadership truths translate into sustained financial success for the top companies, and how they can do the same for your organization as well. Put the knowledge of how IBM, Johnson & Johnson, Pepsi, FedEx, and other top companies build great leaders and great financial results to work for you.

From the Back Cover

Praise for Leading the Way

"Leading the Way leaps beyond tired debates about whether leaders are born or made to show that they can be shaped, perfected, and polished. This persuasive book is packed with practical lessons about how the best companies turn gems of talent into crown jewels that enrich the whole enterprise."
–Rosabeth Moss Kanter
Harvard Business School, bestselling author of Evolve!, When Giants Learn to Dance, and The Change Masters

"Leading the Way offers actionable insights for business leaders of enterprises both large and small. Gandossy and Effron focus on the things that matter: leadership, talent, and programs that work."
–Dave Cote
CEO, Honeywell International

"When I first read the manuscript of Leading the Way, I was beside myself with excitement. I quickly dashed off notes to colleagues saying ‘This is a very important book. You have to read it.’ Good leaders will be in very short supply very shortly. Either you implement what Gandossy and Effron recommend, or you risk watching from the sidelines. The good news is that the prescriptions in Leading the Way are clear, credible, proven, and doable. Be forewarned, however. This is not a fad-diet book for business. No quick fixes here. It will demand absolute dedication and tireless commitment. It will take time to work. But you have no choice. Do not hesitate. Read it now, and act on it immediately."
–Jim Kouzes
coauthor, The Leadership Challenge and chairman emeritus, Tom Peters Company

"Through anecdotes and examples stressing the importance of the leader’s attitude toward people, philosophy, and process, Leading the Way provides the road map to building strong leaders and motivates the reader to promote leadership as a critical part of their company’s DNA. An important and compelling book for leaders everywhere."
–Randy MacDonald
Senior Vice President, Human Resources, IBM

"Effective leadership is the difference between winning and losing in the marketplace. It is what makes strategy come to life. Creating a culture of leaders is an organization’s best investment and competitive advantage. Gandossy and Effron offer useful insight into the patterns that top companies are using to attract, select, and develop organizational talent."
–Robert L. Nardelli
Chairman, President, and CEO, The Home Depot

"All companies produce goods or services, but only a few produce leaders. From studying the best, Robert Gandossy and Marc Effron have nailed the three great drivers of leadership development. To learn what companies require to become leader makers, Leading the Way is the way."
–Michael Useem
Professor and Director, the Wharton Center for Leadership and Change, University of Pennsylvania, and coauthor of Upward Bound

"Leading the Way . . . is a must-read for all leaders. It provides clear direction on how to build a strong leadership team at all levels, and leaves the reader with thought-provoking ideas to pursue. Both current and future leaders will benefit from the valuable suggestions in this book."
–Susan Peters
Vice President, Executive Development, GE

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 220 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (December 26, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 047148301X
• ISBN-13: 978-0471483014
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,748,952 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A useful book on developing leadership capabilites, April 21, 2004

By 

Janice (Arlington, VA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Leading the Way: Three Truths from the Top Companies for Leaders (Hardcover)

"Leading the Way: Three Truths from the Top Companies for Leaders" by Robert Gandossy and Marc Effron, deals with the three leadership truths which they believe provides "critical foundation" to build strong leaders. The three leadership truths are: 1) The CEO and Board of Directors should provide leadership and inspiration (actively involved in leadership processes) , 2) A maniacal focus on high-potential leaders (identify the best talent and providing challenging assignment for them) and 3) Doing the right programs the right ways (developing programs that would help enhance leadership skills). However there are other "Little Things" that organizations should also considered in terms of building leaders such as communication, paving the way for social networks, fostering reciprocity and others which are seemingly unimportant issues or frequently overlooked, but are actually crucial for organizations. These are explained in great details in the book. Finally, the authors feel that leadership programs in general should be link directly to the organization's business strategy.

The last chapter in "Leading the Way" deals with future trends that organizations need to face in order to be successful and five rules that the authors feel were curcial to develop leadership capabilities. I think overall, this is a useful book to learn and understand about developing leaders as the authors provided examples, and anecdotes which are useful in terms of illustrating the authors' point of view. My only criticism of this book is that I wish the authors had structured it better within each chapters. There are many subtopics within each chapter which can be a little confusing and can be combined. However, I do find the short summary in each chapters helpful. Anyone who is interested to know more about developing leaders should definitely read this book.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent description on how leading companies develop leaders, March 20, 2006

By 

Jose Solera (Durham, NC USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Leading the Way: Three Truths from the Top Companies for Leaders (Hardcover)

Well organized, "Leading the Way" describes how leading companies develop their leaders. In particular, I valued the analysis on Total Return to Shareholders (TRS) increase that the participation of CEOs on leadership development can have. Very useful in communicating why leadership development is important. Highly recommended.