FOUR

Read—and Rewrite—the Context

THE EXERCISE OF LEADERSHIP is contextual. Always. This undermines the notion of a universal leadership formula. Effective leaders understand that there are no universals, no guaranteed ways of ensuring your leadership impact. On the contrary, they practice and hone their context-reading skills and realistically appraise their ability to rewrite that context.1

In the next two chapters, we will explore and illustrate just how leaders do this. We begin by examining the immediate context of the leader: the individuals and teams they interact with on a regular basis. This notion is captured in some formulations of emotional intelligence.2 For example, Richard Boyatzis refers to a cluster of competences around the ...

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