IN PRINT: New Year Reading List

Kick-start your year with a list of short articles (not to be confused with a shortlist of articles!) on leadership Parr Lamond believes are essential reading for the year ahead. They are concise and engaging, and offer insight into the leadership demands a new year and new economic reality will bring. We’ve done the hard work for you here.

Leadership in a (Permanent) Crisis (2009)
by Ronald Heifetz, Alexander Grashow and Marty Linsky
These three heavyweights of leadership thinking argue for a new mode of leadership essential for effective when the current economic crisis subsides. The article explores three simple yet challenging focus areas for the modern leader. Full article available from Harvard Business Review here.

How Resilience Works (2002)
By Diane L. Coutu
Now seven years old, this article remains an excellent summary of the body of psychological research on the most important quality that will see organisations through these tough economic conditions. The three factors for resilience, she argues, are realism, a sense of meaning and an ability to make do with what you have. Each of these give leaders a mandate to guide their people during tough times. Free excerpt available here. Full article available from Harvard Business Review here.

Here We Go Again: Leading in Tough Times (2008)
By Lee J. Colan
Have you been wishing for the good old days lately? Or at least to rewind the
economic clock 12 months? Leading a company during a slowing economy has plenty of challenges: What should you change, stop or continue doing? Available free from Change This here.

Managing Social Distance in "Flat" Companies (2006)
By Rob Goffee and Gareth Jones
A great read for new (or recently promoted) leaders looking to balance their humanistic approach with the need to have perspective. Available free from Harvard Business School here.

Leadership lessons for hard times (2009)
By Dennis Carey, Michael Patsalos-Fox and Michael Useem
From the McKinsey Quarterly; interviews with 14 CEOs and chairpersons of major companies who discuss the foundations of corporate leadership. Full article available from McKinsey here.