Hidden Truths What Leaders Need to Hear But Are Rarely Told

Complete your leadership toolkit with this inside look at high-level, executive positions  Hidden Truths: What Leaders Need to Hear But Are Rarely Told delivers profound and rarely discussed insights about C-suite jobs that provide aspiring leaders with practical, new skills that will equip them for the immense challenges of their desired jobs. Through 14 illuminating chapters, accomplished Harvard Business School faculty member and former Senior Partner of McKinsey & Company sets out the essential habits that help leaders create success, time and time again.  You’ll learn: 

• How to recognize the limits of monetary incentives for employees and colleagues 
• To manage your relationships with members of the Board of Directors 
• How to value and realize true diversity 
• How to manage mergers and acquisitions properly, one of the most difficult parts of business leadership 

Perfect for managers, executives, and other business leaders with an eye on the C-suite, Hidden Truths also belongs on the bookshelves of people who already find themselves in a C-level position and wish to learn how to better manage the stresses and challenges of the job. 

DAVID FUBINI is on the faculty at the Harvard Business School. He is a Senior Lecturer and Henry B. Arthur Fellow in the Organizational Behavior Faculty Unit and teaches MBAs as well as executives. He is the leader of the Leading Professional Services Firm Program and is a core faculty member of the Mergers & Acquisitions and Board of Directors Programs for Harvard Business School's Executive Education Efforts. Prior to Harvard Business School, David spent 34 years at McKinsey & Company where he was a Senior Partner and Managing Director of the Boston office and founder of its Merger Management Practice.

1. Arrive prepared- new CEOs must hit the ground running with a game plan and a core team; time is now of the essence and Board patience is limited

2. Avoid, half-truths, and misperceptions- the reality for CEOs is they are rarely told the whole truth by their teams: it arrives with shades of meaning and many misperceptions and political posturing

3. Adopt a Constituent Consciousness- new CEOs are easily overwhelmed by the sheer volume, breadth, and intensity of the constituencies they now must personally handle

4. Start change management by changing the management- to lead in new directions and create momentum for change means you best start by changing key executives

5. Avoid becoming isolated- being a CEOs is a lonely job- most are cut off from prior support teams and colleagues- far too few are available to deliver unvarnished advice

6. Use Role Modeling as Change Tool- How one acts, speaks, allocates their time and sets priorities is one of the most effective and least used CEO management tools

7. Recognize the limits on monetary incentives - use psychic ones - monetary awards have natural limits, better to use other means that appeal to one’s sense of self and belonging to sustain change

8. Learn to Acquire: Successful M&A is critical in an era where organic growth is challenging, yet few CEOs are experienced (or good) at transactions even fewer will admit their weakness

9. Mange the “Mentorship Conundrum”- CEOs need to manage the conflict between their desire to build a team that follows their agenda and the Board of Directors expectation the CEO will build a successor that is able to create their own leadership agenda

10. Getting on Board with your Board; The CEO /Board relationship is one of the most complicated and challenging of all CEOs relationships.  Most CEOs underinvest in this relationship- often to their determinant

11. Doing Good while Doing Well: CEOs must now balance the needs of Shareholders and Stakeholders- “talk is cheap” and real action is hard

12. Embrace the Value and Reality of Diversity- Leaders need to deeply embrace the Long-term value of diversity, commit to outsized efforts, welcome demanding constituencies, and commit to the personal leadership this goal requires-all while meeting short term commitments

13. Know when to leave- Too few leaders are self-aware to know when they have plateaued and need to leave

14. What to do now? - There are real challenges and limits to former CEOs – being successful after departure is not assured 

15. SEEK TRUTHS IN THE FUTURE