So what should you leave behind?

Abstract

For a moment, put yourself in the shoes of someone who is looking for a leader who can operate beyond his or her authority. You’ve identified a task but, as chief executive, you know it’s not an issue you can resolve from the top, and you know it does not belong to a single division or function. You also know that it needs someone with energy and the ability to work right across the organization. You can back the right person and give encouragement, but you can’t clear the way. You think that there is someone who would have the passion to take it on (it may even be the person who first brought the issue to your attention). But: does that person have the right frame of mind — and the right set of skills — to do it?