Document Detail


Building a leadership brand.
MedLine Citation:
PMID:  17642128     Owner:  NLM     Status:  MEDLINE    
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
How do some firms produce a pipeline of consistently excellent managers? Instead of concentrating merely on strengthening the skills of individuals, these companies focus on building a broad organizational leadership capability. It's what Ulrich and Smallwood--cofounders of the RBL Group, a leadership development consultancy--call a leadership brand. Organizations with leadership brands take an "outside-in" approach to executive development. They begin with a clear statement of what they want to be known for by customers and then link it with a required set of management skills. The Lexus division of Toyota, for instance, translates its tagline--"The pursuit of perfection"--into an expectation that its leaders excel at managing quality processes. The slogan of Bon Secours Health System is "Good help to those in need." It demands that its managers balance business skills with compassion and caring. The outside-in approach helps firms build a reputation for high-quality leaders whom customers trust to deliver on the company's promises. In examining 150 companies with strong leadership capabilities, the authors found that the organizations follow five strategies. First, make sure managers master the basics of leadership--for example, setting strategy and grooming talent. Second, ensure that leaders internalize customers' high expectations. Third, incorporate customer feedback into evaluations of executives. Fourth, invest in programs that help managers hone the right skills, by tapping customers to participate in such programs. Finally, track the success of efforts to build leadership bench strength over the long-term. The result is outstanding management that persists even when individual executives leave. In fact, companies with the strongest leadership brands often become "leader feeders"--firms that regularly graduate leaders who go on to head other companies.
Authors:
Dave Ulrich; Norm Smallwood
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Publication Detail:
Type:  Journal Article    
Journal Detail:
Title:  Harvard business review     Volume:  85     ISSN:  0017-8012     ISO Abbreviation:  Harv Bus Rev     Publication Date:    2007 Jul-Aug
Date Detail:
Created Date:  2007-07-23     Completed Date:  2007-12-20     Revised Date:  -    
Medline Journal Info:
Nlm Unique ID:  9875796     Medline TA:  Harv Bus Rev     Country:  United States    
Other Details:
Languages:  eng     Pagination:  92-100, 192     Citation Subset:  H    
Affiliation:
RBL Group, Provo, Utah, USA. dou@umich.edu
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MeSH Terms
Descriptor/Qualifier:
Health Facility Administrators*
Humans
Leadership*
Professional Competence*

From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine


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