The Art of Strategic Leadership

Chapter 3The Leader

Alex wasn't surprised when Melissa told him the Dallas plant manager position was his. He was the only mid-level manager invited to join Victor for their due-diligence, prepurchase evaluations of both new sites, so Alex knew he was very much in the running for the job. No, what surprised him was that almost at the same moment as the sense of euphoria engulfed him, he found himself thinking, What have I gotten into? His excitement at the long-awaited opportunity returned in a flash, and he was confident that Melissa hadn't noticed any hint of his fleeting failure of confidence. He accepted the offer on the spot.

For months, Alex and his wife Julie had been talking about the possibility of leaving Seattle, ever since he'd woken up to the fact that if he remained there, it might be years before a chance to take on more responsibility materialized. Until recently, his progress at PSI had been swift, but that was due to his success with a number of special projects and assignments, like the Quality Without Borders initiative that had put him on Melissa's radar in the first place. Since then, he'd enjoyed similar successes with other special projects, but they hadn't opened any doors to new career opportunities and challenges. At length, Alex realized that although he was advancing the corporation's strategic goals, he was largely neglecting his own aspirations.

As he walked back to his office, he left a brief message for Julie: “Start packing!” though they wouldn't ...