On the High Wire: How to Survive Being Promoted

by Robert W. Gunn, Betsy Raskin Gullickson

Overview

You've just been promoted and find yourself questioning your ability to pull off the new job. Now what? Virtually every leader recalls that make or break promotion when success depends on accessing inner capacities that lie just beyond prior experience. Taking on new challenges and responsibilities as a manager can be one of the most exhilarating and rewarding transitions in a businessperson's career. It can also be fraught with stress, self-doubt, isolation, and frustration. Bob Gunn and Betsy Gullickson draw on decades of executive coaching and human resource consulting experience to characterize the process of management promotion as walking the high wire-venturing into the unknown without a safety net. In this highly accessible guide, Gunn and Gullickson address the challenges and opportunities head-on and offer specific strategies and tactics for navigating the transition into leadership, delegation, conflict management, motivation, project management, and problem solving. Featuring thought-provoking questions and a listing of helpful resources, On the High Wire will engage and inspire new managers to become even more creative and effective leaders.

At the heart of the book is the notion that productive and fulfilling management is not simply a collection of skills and techniques, but a mindset. Illustrating this theme through many powerful first-hand examples, the authors guide you toward achieving the clarity of vision and purpose that comes from being aware of context, attuned to the feelings that influence behavior, and respectful of multiple points of view. Featuring thought-provoking questions and a listing of helpful resources, On the High Wire will engage and inspire new managers to become even more creative and effective leaders.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780313351556
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	03/30/2008
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	184
Product dimensions:	6.14(w) x 9.21(h) x 0.39(d)

About the Author

Robert W. Gunn is co-founder of Accompli, an advisory firm that helps executives achieve transformative goals while accelerating leader effectiveness. A pioneer in human resource outsourcing and a long-time executive guide, he created the administrative consulting practice at AT Kearney, and, in 1991, co-founded Gunn Partners, based on the principle of lean consulting. With Betsy Gullickson, he writes a monthly column for the executive-level magazine, Strategic Finance.

Betsy Raskin Gullickson is an executive coach and communications consultant. Previously, she was a partner at Ketchum, Inc., one of the world's largest PR firms, where she directed the San Francisco business unit and the Global Food & Nutrition Practice. She has also served as a writer/editor at several trade magazines. With Robert Gunn, she writes a monthly column for the executive-level magazine, Strategic Finance.

Table of Contents

Foreword
Preface: Authors' Perspectives
Acknowledgements
Introduction: Stepping Into the Unknown
Masterful Managers Artfully Balance Doing and Being
Grace in Change
The Productivity Paradox
Creativity and Strategy
Better Decisions
Letting Go To Get Ahead
Strong Connections Begin With Respect For Separate Thinking
Job One—Setting the Right Tone
Sales and Meetings
Teams—Working as One
Managing Conflict
Employee Relations
The Calmer You Become, The More Powerful You Become - And the More You Can Achieve
Focus & Clarity
The Antidote to Stress
Measuring Up
Wellspring
Afterword: Why Lead?
Appendix A: Additional Resources
Appendix B: Fundamentals
Notes
Index

What People are Saying About This

Tim OiConnor

"On the High Wire offers provocative and compelling ideas on leadership—and leaders are eminently more valuable to an organization than managers."

Mary Taverna

"A must-read for every supervisor, manager, and CEO. It is one of the very best leadership resources I have found. It should be read, reread, referenced, and kept in your personal library. The honest, practical advice is unbeatable."

Louis Patler

"On the High Wire is the ideal metaphor for how you feel the morning after you get the promotion and the greater leadership responsibilities that come with it: exhilarated, slightly scared, seemingly alone. This book is just what you need to move from the Panic Zone to the Comfort Zone—and Gunn and Gulklickson have filled an important gap in leadership development."

Andrea M. Booth

"The question is: do managers need yet another book on management? The answer is an emphatic yes if we are talking about On the High Wire. Because it puts the transition of being promoted into context, On the High Wire does so much more than cover the necessary tactical skills and knowledge. It provides what you really need in your attitude and abilities to be successful in your business world. And it shows you how to survive and thrive on that high wire!"

Jan Shivers

"Breathe. Read this book. Breathe and then read it again. This is a significant contribution to help people craft a work and personal life that feels worthwhile. It is chock full of good sotires, metaphors, and practical examples that reflect the collective years of wisdom, character and deep expertise of the authors."

Mary Adolph

"The fact that this book was written by two individuals who are speaking from real life/work experience, not theory, differentiates it from many others in this space. It will challenge your current thinking and give you the opportunity to look at things through a different lens. Very helpful."

Safi Jiroh

"On the High Wire provides a solid leadership framework by which to lead yourself, your staff, and your organization forward, especially during challenging times. Because it is experientially authentic, written to reflect the wisdom gained in the authors' leadership experiences, readers will be inspired to integrate its concepts."

Tim O'Connor

"On the High Wire offers provocative and compelling ideas on leadership—and leaders are eminently more valuable to an organization than managers."

Editorial Reviews

Gunn, a human resources consultant, and Gullickson, an executive coach, offer strategies for tackling leadership issues such as delegation and conflict management. At the heart of the book is the idea that productive and fulfilling management is not simply a collection of skills and techniques, but a mindset. Illustrating this theme with first-hand examples, the authors guide readers towards the awareness of feelings that influence behavior and respect for multiple points of view.” —Reference & Research Book News

“[A] manual for achievers who have reached their goal and need to transition to new responsibilities and challenges. The authors have decades of management leadership and executive coaching on their sides, and use their experience to outline common pitfalls and solutions managers face in their new position. From how to motivate people to identifying new resources and strategies. On the High Wire covers it all.” —MBR Bookwatch

“This book provides a guide to obtaining the skills, techniques, and, more important, the mindset of a great leader.” —T+D Training & Development

From the Publisher