HBR's 10 Must Reads on Leadership, Vol. 2 (with bonus article "The Focused Leader" By Daniel Goleman)

Nimble Leadership

by Deborah Ancona, Elaine Backman, and Kate Isaacs

NOBODY HAS REALLY RECOMMENDED command-and-control leadership for a long time. But no fully formed alternative has emerged, either. That’s partly because high-level executives are ambivalent about changing their own behavior. They know perfectly well that their companies need to become more innovative—and they suspect it won’t happen unless they’re willing to push power, decision making, and resource allocation lower in the organization. But they’re terrified that the business will fall into chaos if they loosen the reins.

In our research at MIT we’ve sought to understand how that tension gets resolved in organizations with a strong track record of continuous innovation. Most ...