Cambridge Business Association
The Next Level
Book

The Next Level

What Insiders Know About Executive Success, 2nd Edition

Scott Eblin
Nicholas Brealey Publishing, 2010
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Editorial Rating

8

Qualities

  • Applicable

Recommendation

Scott Eblin's book offers valuable advice to the newly arrived member of the management team about how to navigate in unfamiliar, executive territory. He argues that your success will depend on how you operate at your peak level, and how you reach and maintain that optimal state, rather than on the actual nuts and bolts of getting projects done. He provides transcriptions of coaching sessions with executives in transition and each chapter ends with "ten tips" – a useful summary of the ideas and behavior you'll have to learn to succeed in your new role. getAbstract recommends this manual to managers who want to move up in the ranks, and to executives new and old – for whom its tips will still be useful.

Summary

From Manager to Executive

When managers are promoted to the executive level they often receive no guidance about what the organization expects from them. They must abandon their old habits of thinking and behavior, and develop "executive presence," which consists of these attributes:

  • "Personal presence" – Developing confidence, energy and communication skills.
  • "Team presence" – Working cooperatively, defining tasks and becoming accountable.
  • "Organizational presence" – Relying on peers, seeing the big picture and leading.

Developing Confidence

Being promoted to the executive ranks means making big changes in your attitude toward yourself and your work. You are bound to feel uncomfortable – if you don't, as the saying goes, you're not paying attention. However, try not to let the new experience undermine your confidence. Timid people make poor executives; they micromanage and dither, or they overcompensate and push people around.

Thus, you must develop "grounded confidence." As Aristotle said, "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit." Decide what you wish to achieve...

About the Author

Scott Eblin works with Fortune 500 companies as an executive coach. He runs leadership workshops and helps companies develop management strategies.

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