How to Lead, 5th Edition

Part 4

Skills of success: The tradecraft of leaders

Introduction

If you look at what leaders do all day, they do what everyone else does all day: they talk to people, go to meetings, write emails, read reports and work longer than is wise. At the bottom of the firm, few people suffer if you are not great at these day-to-day tasks. At the top of the firm, the stakes are much higher and the consequences of poor meetings, reports or emails are much greater. It pays to do the commonplace uncommonly well.

It is easy to assume that you can do all these things. After a long education we all know how to read and write, don’t we? And as professionals, we know how to hold a good meeting and make a good presentation, don’t we?

Now think of all the ...