In a working life of 35 years, a manager can expect to make at least 10 job changes - or 10 transitions - where the demands for rapid business delivery and effective leadership will only increase with each new job. According to recent research, upwards of 25 per cent of new leaders appointed from within fail (are ejected or sidelined) within 18 months; the figure is closer to 40 per cent for new leaders appointed from outside the company or sector. This rate of failure increases the more senior the promotion. The cost to both the individual manager and the company of this rate of failure is high, ranging from financial to performance to organisational disruption. This book identifies the sources of these failures and how to overcome them. The authors show that, whether the new leader was arriving as an external appointment or being promoted internally, the experiences were very similar. These experiences can be divided into three phases: Arriving, Surviving and Thriving. By analysing the different features of the leader's experience at each of these stages, the authors are able to provide a strategy for leaders to take charge successfully in their new roles.

Author Biography

Richard Elsner is the former managing director of Pearl & Dean, former Principal or Partner with Kinsley Lord, KPMG and DIAlogos, who has consulted widely on the leadership of organisations and of change. Bridget Farrands is a management consultant and chairman of Turning Point Consultancy.