Book Review—The Leap to Leader by Adam Bryant
How Ambitious Managers Make the Jump to Leadership
The Bottom Line Up Front (BLUF): There is no perfect playbook for becoming an exceptional leader of people, but there are successful strategies.
Executive summary
Born in the newsrooms of The New York Times and Newsweek, Adam Bryant has created a remarkable guide on transitioning from an individual contributor to an organizational leader. Through his insightful columns, which showcase unique perspectives gathered from hundreds of leadership interviews with our nation’s most accomplished business figures, he outlines what it takes to embrace leadership. Rich with anecdotes, quotes, effective strategies, metaphors, and lessons, he clearly conveys the essential factors for this transition, the importance of understanding and sharing one’s “why,” and how to adapt in an ever-evolving business landscape.
The shift from being an individual contributor to taking on a leadership role is not seamless; it varies from person to person, and several factors can significantly impact one’s timing. However, it begins with excelling at managing others — a process that requires self-awareness and an understanding that people are both complex and predictable. Once mastered, great managers can begin to stand out and earn promotions without actively pursuing them, thereby accelerating their transition to leadership by accomplishing some simple yet challenging tasks: gaining broad experience, practicing patience, following through on commitments, building an authentic network, identifying the right champions, collaborating with colleagues, making tough personal decisions, using the appropriate tone, and acknowledging that it’s still not a flawless strategy.
Once there, the work begins. Leaders must embrace the importance of establishing a personal leadership philosophy by showcasing their authentic selves and unique traits. They should make decisions based on the value of team input, accept imperfection, acknowledge that the responsibility ultimately rests with them, take charge thoughtfully, and set a vision that helps others understand the “why.” Next, they should execute with clear expectations, navigate the nuances of leadership, gain self-awareness through reflection while maintaining an accepted feedback loop, invest in the next generation of leaders, and act with conviction based on the realities of our lives.
The content
In four simple chapters, the author guides readers from being individual contributors to reaching the top of an organization by sharing insights gained from years of relationship-building with accomplished business professionals. The text also features real question-and-answer summaries with seven different leaders, strategically placed within the four chapters to reinforce the author’s points and provide additional context to engage readers’ attention.
The journey to leadership begins with the desire to lead others. While the concept of guiding individuals may seem straightforward, the book demonstrates that even the most accomplished people find it to be a challenging task. Transitioning into leadership is less about acquiring a title and more about embracing a mindset that acknowledges the need to let go of the tasks that contributed to previous promotions, as those tasks have lost their relevance.
In Chapter One, the author asks a simple question: Do you really want to lead? The response to this question is crucial because being a leader can be lonely. “Stoplight moments” are common. What is a “stoplight moment”? It’s when you’re sitting in your car, your mind drifting to something significant that has occurred in your role as a leader, and suddenly you realize the light has turned green and that you’re genuinely all alone.
In Chapter Two, the author encourages readers to become effective managers as a prerequisite for transitioning into leadership. Based on the author’s experience, managers typically fall into one of two categories: selfless or self-centered. Recognizing the advantages of one style over the other is a crucial step toward achieving excellence in managerial roles, as each style has qualities that can significantly influence performance.
Given the complexity of human behavior, there is no universal formula for predicting how one personality will influence another’s performance. However, certain patterns can make these behaviors somewhat predictable. For instance, why do team members approach the manager? The author identifies three primary reasons and provides context for each: they may be seeking affirmation, wanting to protect the integrity of their work, or looking to delegate a problem.
Being a great manager also involves coaching people to perform their jobs effectively. How can one achieve this? Keep a leadership user manual, often called a personal leadership philosophy, readily accessible. Additionally, great managers should be prepared to share this from day one and review it regularly to ensure a level playing field. When likes, dislikes, expectations, and dos and don’ts are documented, the manager is more likely to encourage the desired performance behaviors.
Lastly, being a great manager involves having difficult conversations that begin with the manager’s own vulnerability. For instance, recognizing when to deliver messages verbally versus in writing and ensuring that annual performance reviews are no-surprise meetings are effective ways to engage in conversations appropriately and frequently enough to guide the team. Great managers can also step aside to facilitate movement through the trust-but-verify process, which is grounded in comfort with one’s role. The more comfortable a manager becomes working with different team members, and the better they understand each individual’s nuances, the more instinctive their decisions will be in achieving greatness. Finally, what’s the litmus test for knowing when you’ve excelled? It’s when your team volunteers to follow you as you move on.
In Chapter Three, the author explains how future leaders can earn promotions without directly requesting them. This is mainly accomplished by building a broad base of experience — think of it as the foundation of a pyramid — upon which further development can take place. Even at the higher levels of a pyramid, there are still wide bases. The significance of creating a base in relation to winning promotions is evident: a diversity of experience makes it easier to navigate challenging situations since you’re more likely to recognize what could otherwise catch you off guard. It also makes it harder for others who know your story to stereotype you as a one-size-fits-all teammate, as you will have shown that, at the very least, you’re willing to raise your hand and take risks on tasks that are beyond your comfort zone.
Winning promotions without requesting them requires a genuine commitment to mastering and enhancing one’s current role. As the author explains, organizations hire individuals to solve challenges, and achieving this necessitates a transformative mindset. Seeking job opportunities can hinder one’s ability to be transformative, as this approach demands time and patience. It also requires potential leaders to improve their “say-to-do” ratios, which means they should establish a reputation for consistently delivering on their promises.
Another way to earn promotions without explicitly asking for them is to genuinely build networks by stepping outside of comfort zones and seeking mentorship in unfamiliar areas. These actions encourage growth. Promotions also require exceptional relationship-building skills, which start with colleagues and peers and extend to supervisors. Managing up is a complex skill, and the author suggests that the sooner one masters their role, the faster they can address issues on behalf of their boss, thereby fostering advocacy and trust. Lastly, regarding advocacy, aspiring leaders must advocate for their own causes in a way that is both sincere and genuine. There are strategies for communicating success without crossing into arrogance and cockiness.
In the final chapter of the book, the author explores the concept of the whole person as a leader: who you are as a leader and what you represent. Reflecting on the leadership manual, leverage it to promote teamwork. One of the book’s most valuable insights addresses what leaders should do during both prosperous and challenging times. In successful moments, the leader gazes out through the window at their people, while in difficult times, they look in the mirror as a true test of accountability.
Adopting a personal leadership philosophy also establishes high standards. It enables leaders to compartmentalize effectively, delegate wisely, maintain boundaries, and serve as fiduciaries for both their team and the organization. Ultimately, when a leader achieves maximum self-awareness, they can create a lasting impact by nurturing others and using their stories to highlight the authenticity behind the mission’s “why.”
Ten insightful quotes from the book
1. On leadership complexity: “Leadership is complicated, so you should not be surprised to have a complicated relationship with leadership.”
2. On toxic leaders: “It is becoming harder to get away with being a bad manager these days. As companies fight to attract and retain the best talent, they can’t afford to have bad managers undermining those efforts.”
3. On selfless leaders: “Rather than hoarding talent, selfless managers encourage people on their teams to explore new opportunities.”
4. On followership: “If you engender so much loyalty that your team wants to follow you as you move to other roles, then you are on your way to becoming a leader.”
5. On reputation: “One of the easiest ways to set yourself apart is to build a reputation for reliability and follow-through — somebody who always does what they say they are going to do.”
6. On mentors: “You can find mentors anywhere. And you should look for people with backgrounds that are different from yours because you’re more likely to learn from them.”
7. On problem-solving: “If you want to move up quickly, develop a reputation as a problem-solver”
8. On decision-making: “You are making bets, and you have to become more comfortable in the uncertainty of whether they will pay off.”
9. On collaboration: “Create an environment where debate is welcomed and encouraged, and people don’t censor themselves out of fear that they might step on a colleague’s toes.”
10. On self-awareness: “There will be gaps between how you think you are showing up as a leader and how others are perceiving you. Self-awareness is particularly important for leaders because all your actions — everything you say and don’t say, everything you do and don’t do — carries an outsize impact.”
The wrap-up: why you should read The Leap to Leader
The world of business is vast, and leaders come and go with predictable frequency. While some within the workforce are content in their roles, others walk a predestined path filled with challenges and tests that only they can appreciate. Those who accept the challenge of leadership acknowledge that at some point, it’s one of the hardest roles in existence, either shying away from it or gravitating towards it. Adam Bryant’s “ The Leap to Leader “explores what aids one’s journey to leadership and what the best have done after achieving it.
So, who is this book intended for? To quote the author, he wrote it to “be useful to everyone who is interested in leadership, regardless of where they are in their career.” It’s for executives, directors, senior and junior managers, individual contributors, graduate business students, college students, and anyone aspiring to lead others. This is not just a business book, but a roadmap for understanding what leadership means and how to achieve it in virtually any environment. If you’re interested in pursuing a career in corporate leadership, this book is relevant to you. If you want to learn best practices for tackling challenges in people leadership, this book is full of them. If you’re seeking quotes and anecdotes about how others think and respond to tough leadership challenges, this book will not disappoint. Lastly, if you’re already in a leadership position and wondering what you might be missing, you’re sure to discover insights that resonate and could broaden your perspective.
Frankly, there’s nothing to dislike about this book. It features four straightforward chapters packed with valuable takeaways and ah-ha moments. A wealth of stories based on real interviews with genuine leaders serves as an ode to simply doing the right things once you arrive. People leadership is challenging, and this book not only acknowledges that but also goes further. It encourages readers to aspire to do better by broadening their perspectives and stepping outside their biases. This easy and thought-provoking read resonates with both current and aspiring people leaders. It’s the kind of book that should be a staple on every executive’s reading list. The proverbial leap to leader is not an exact science, but if it were, this book comes as close as one could get to perfecting it.
With that, thanks for reading!
About the book’s author
Adam Bryant is senior managing director and partner at the ExCo Group, where he works with hundreds of ambitious leaders rising through the ranks. As the creator and former author of the iconic Corner Office column in the New York Times, Bryant has mastered the art of distilling real-world lessons from his hundreds of interviews and turning them into practical tools, presentations, and exercises to help companies strengthen their leadership benches. He also works with executive leadership teams to help drive their transformation strategies based on a best-practices framework he developed for his widely praised book, The CEO Test: Master the Challenges That Make or Break All Leaders.
Follow Adam Bryant on LinkedIn
Book details:
Publisher: Harvard Business Review Press (July 11, 2023)
ISBN-10: 1647824893
ISBN-13: 978–1647824891
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Reading is one of my passions, and I hope you find this book review insightful! As a leader and educator, I love learning and sharing. With each book I read and summarize, I consider how its content can be applied to teams and organizations, searching for resonant elements such as impactful quotes while discerning who the ideal readers are. I seek opportunities to implement what I’ve learned from each book and share that knowledge to improve myself, my teams, colleagues, peers, and those pursuing personal and professional growth alongside me. I write these reviews partly because I love to read and write, but also to share leadership lessons.
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