Leadership on the Line Staying Alive through the Dangers of Change

Abstract

Every day the opportunity for leadership stands before you. • A father gets drawn into the same old destructive argument at the dinner table, but one day breaks out of the pattern and seeks family counseling. • An investment banker nearly closes a $100 billion acquisition, but confounds everyone by putting the whole deal at risk when she asks, “Can these companies create synergies fast enough to satisfy the investors, given the current talent and diff erent cul tures within each of the businesses?” • A politician challenges constituents to accept responsibility for locating a prison in their community, rather than chant the same old slogan, “Not in our backyard!” • A neighbor watches the nice kid down the street getting lost in his teenage years long aft er his mother dies, and organizes a weekly coff ee for parents in the neighborhood in order to pro vide support for the father and his family. • You sit through a meeting, watching people avoid the real issues, and decide that you will be the one who puts them on the table.