Leadership U

Book excerpt: Accelerating Through the Crisis Curve Leadership is all about others—inspiring them to believe, then enabling that belief to become reality. That’s the essence of Leadership U: it starts with ‘U’ but it’s not about ‘U.’ Those timeless words are timelier than ever today, as leaders look to accelerate through the crisis curve. As author Gary Burnison observes, “There will likely be more change in the next two years than we have seen in the last twenty.” Now, in Leadership U: Accelerating Through the Crisis Curve, Burnison lays out a framework—his “Six Degrees of Leadership”—to show leaders how to create change. Anticipate – foreseeing what lies ahead, amid ambiguity and uncertainty that are throttled up like never before Navigate – course-correcting in real time, to keep the organization on an even keel Communication – constantly connecting with others; the leader is both the messenger and the message Listen – breaking down the organizational hierarchy to gather insights at all levels—especially what the leader doesn’t want to hear Learn – applying learning agility, to “know what to do when you don’t know what to do” Lead – empowering others in a bottom-up culture that is more nimble, agile, innovative, and entrepreneurial than ever before. Only by embracing these truths can leaders master another ‘U’—the “crisis curve” that will completely disrupt the business landscape. The world has changed—forever. The old days are fine to reminiscence about, but you can’t stay there. Today leadership means becoming comfortable with being uncomfortable. As Burnison says, when a door closes, leaders cannot afford to stand there, staring at it. It’s a “get up or give up” moment. For leaders, the only choice is to find and open another door. Leadership U defines and inspires the pathway through that door.