Learning How to Realize Potential: How Great Leaders Tap into the Innately Human Need to Achieve

Synopsis

Great leaders demand the best of themselves in their dual quest to realize their own potential and steer their organizations to enduring success. But the constant change and uncertainty that define enterprise today require them to go a step further to achieve their goals: they must create a context in which the people they lead also strive to realize their own inner potential. The ability to realize potential--both your own and that of others--requires a deep understanding of human beings and what drives them. In this chapter, psychologist and executive assessment expert Justin Menkes profiles Fred Hassan, CEO of Schering-Plough, as a leader whose ability to realize potential began in childhood and became a lifelong practice. With Hassan's story as a springboard, Menkes presents three "catalysts" great leaders use to unleash people's innate thirst for achievement: 1) Make the real world palpable; 2) Encourage a belief in the underlying purpose of the enterprise; and 3) create a sense of ownership over achievements. Filled with the personal insights of highly successful CEOs--Ralph Larsen (Johnson & Johnson), A.G. Lafley (Procter & Gamble), Herb Kelleher (Southwest Airlines), and others--this chapter will show you how great leaders build high-performing, highly adaptive organizations that have remained competitive despite the daunting challenges of doing business in the twenty-first century. This chapter was originally published as Chapter 1 of "Better Under Pressure: How Great Leaders Bring Out the Best in Themselves and Others."

Copyright:

2011

Book Details

Book Quality:

Publisher Quality

Publisher:

Harvard Business Publishing

Date of Addition:

08/03/16

Copyrighted By:

HBS Press

Adult content:

No

Language:

English

Has Image Descriptions:

No

Categories:

Nonfiction, Business and Finance

Submitted By:

Bookshare Staff

Usage Restrictions:

This is a copyrighted book.