Leading the Team You Inherit
by Michael D. Watkins
DAVID BENET HAD PROBLEMS TO SOLVE when he came in to lead the highest-growth unit at a large medical devices company. Although sales had increased when two new products launched the previous year, the numbers still fell short of expectations, given all the evidence of unmet customer needs. The company’s future hinged on the success of both products—an instrument for inserting stents into blocked arteries and an electronic implant for stabilizing cardiac rhythm.
So the long-term stakes were high, and the team wasn’t exactly humming. Stories about missed opportunities and hints of a toxic culture had drifted upward to senior management.
All those factors had prompted the decision to replace the ...
Get HBR's 10 Must Reads for New Managers (with bonus article “How Managers Become Leaders” by Michael D. Watkins) (HBR's 10 Must Reads) now with the O’Reilly learning platform.
O’Reilly members experience books, live events, courses curated by job role, and more from O’Reilly and nearly 200 top publishers.
