HBR's 10 Must Reads on Managing People, Vol. 2 (with bonus article “The Feedback Fallacy” by Marcus Buckingham and Ashley Goodall)

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 ...