Leading Leaders tackles a topic woefully under-analyzed in the literature: how to drive change when you lack compelling authority over other leaders. Salacuse states it bluntly, “Unless you are a total megalomaniac, you recognize, readily or grudgingly, that many of the people you are supposed to lead are smarter, more talented, richer, or more powerful than you are. . . . Many of the people you lead, whether you like it or not, are themselves leaders.”
This common fact of corporate life makes leadership efforts all the more touchy. Salacuse's solution is to break the challenge down into “seven daily tasks,” each of which merits a chapter in this book: 1) negotiate the vision, 2) make stars a team, 3) settle leadership conflicts, 4) teach the educated, 5) motivate other leaders, 6) lead outside the organization, and 7) create trust and capitalize on your leadership.
To make stars a team, for instance, he offers the practical suggestion of seeking common ground among all players. Lead by example: Demonstrate on a consistent basis that you put the interests of the group above your own ego. (Give up that reserved parking spot, highlight others' accomplishments, and roam the halls and chat with colleagues rather than hunkering down in your office.)
He also sprinkles in the wisdom of John F. Kennedy, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Marshall McLuhan.
Salacuse is a chaired professor at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, a former dean of both the Fletcher School and the Southern Methodist University School of Law, and a member of the Steering Committee of Harvard's Program on Negotiation.