The Elephant in the Room: How Relationships Make or Break the Success of Leaders and Organizations

The Elephant in the Room: How Relationships Make or Break the Success of Leaders and Organizations

by Diana McLain Smith
Released August 2011
Publisher(s): Jossey-Bass
ISBN: 9781118015421

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Book description

A systematic look at how relationships determine the success of leaders and their enterprises, along with tools to help strengthen and change them

Since time immemorial, relationships have determined the fate of leaders. But today they are more critical to success than ever. No longer can leaders count on long time horizons or sloppy competition to make up for the inefficiencies that poor relationships create. Leaders must make decisions and take actions quickly and well with others, even those with whom they share very little?perhaps not even a time zone. This new world puts relationships at the center of what leaders must understand and master to succeed.

  • Uses in-depth observational studies and clinical research to explore how relationships at the top of organizations work, develop, and change

  • Shows how to understand, strengthen, and transform these relationships, so they can withstand the most intense pressures and conflicts

This important book features a Foreword by Peter Senge, author of The Fifth Discipline.

Table of contents

  1. Cover Page
  2. Front Matter
  3. Title Page
  4. Copyright
  5. Contents
  6. Dedication
  7. Foreword
  8. Front Matter-1
  9. PART 1: Understanding Relationships
    1. ONE: Present and Unaccounted For
      1. Relationships: Strategic Asset or Liability?
      2. Relationships: Seemingly Familiar, Strangely Unexplored
      3. About This Book
      4. What This Book Is Not About
      5. The Heart of the Matter
    2. TWO: The Life and Death of a Relationship
      1. Stage 1: How a Relationship Forms
      2. Stage 2: How a Relationship Develops
      3. Stage 3: How a Relationship Dies
      4. KEY POINTS
    3. THREE: It's a Matter of Perspective
      1. The Individual Perspective
      2. The Relational Perspective
      3. Reality Check: The Power of Relationships
      4. KEY POINTS
  10. PART 2: Strengthening Relationships
    1. FOUR: Using the Heat of the Moment
      1. Founding Friends
      2. When Things Get Hot
      3. Reflecting and Reframing—First Alone, Then Together
      4. Reflecting and Reframing as Core Relational Capabilities
      5. KEY POINTS
    2. FIVE: Mapping Relationships
      1. The Story: Dangerous Times at SafetyNet
      2. The Anatomy of a Relationship
      3. A New Story to Tell
      4. KEY POINTS
    3. SIX: Focusing Investments, Managing Costs
      1. The Investment Matrix
      2. KEY POINTS
  11. PART 3: Transforming Relationships
    1. SEVEN: Navigating Change Over Time
      1. Principle 1: Use Dual Vision to Set Your Sights
      2. Principle 2: Build Resilience While Taking Stock
      3. Principle 3: Put the Fun Back in the Dysfunctional
      4. KEY POINTS
    2. EIGHT: Disrupting Patterns
      1. Step 1: Assess the Relationship
      2. Step 2: Map Patterns of Interaction
      3. Step 3: Design Action Experiments
      4. Stage 1 Results
    3. NINE: Reframing Each Other
      1. Step 1: Freeze Frame
      2. Step 2: Invent New Frames
      3. Step 3: Design Frame Experiments
      4. Stage 2 Results
    4. TEN: Revising What You Know
      1. Step 1: Revisit Past Events
      2. Step 2: Restructure Outdated Knowledge
      3. Stage 3 Results
  12. APPENDIX A: A Guide to Behavioral Repertoires
    1. Experiential Knowledge
    2. Interpretive Strategies
    3. The Three R's
  13. APPENDIX B: The Ladder of Reflection
    1. Using the Ladder of Reflection to Observe and Map Interactions
    2. On Ladders, Labels, and Frameworks
  14. NOTES
  15. BIBLIOGRAPHY
  16. ADDITIONAL READING
  17. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  18. THE AUTHOR
  19. INDEX
  20. This is a Continuation

Product information

  • Title: The Elephant in the Room: How Relationships Make or Break the Success of Leaders and Organizations
  • Author(s): Diana McLain Smith
  • Release date: August 2011
  • Publisher(s): Jossey-Bass
  • ISBN: 9781118015421