Leadership on the Line, With a New Preface

Leadership requires taking risks that can jeopardize your career and your personal life. Ronald Heifetz and Marty Linsky show how it's possible to make a difference without getting 'taken out' or pushed aside, and present straightforward strategies for navigating the perilous straits of leadership.

To lead is to live dangerously. It's romantic and exciting to think of leadership as all inspiration, decisive action, and rich rewards, but leading requires taking risks that can jeopardize your career and your personal life. It requires putting yourself on the line, disrupting the status quo, and surfacing hidden conflict. And when people resist and push back, there's a strong temptation to play it safe. Those who choose to lead plunge in, take the risks, and sometimes get burned. But it doesn't have to be that way, say renowned leadership experts Ronald Heifetz and Marty Linsky.

In Leadership on the Line they present everyday tools that give equal weight to the dangerous work of leading change and the critical importance of personal survival. Through vivid stories from all walks of life, the authors present straightforward strategies for navigating the perilous straits of leadership. Whether you’re a parent or a politician, a CEO or a community activist, this practical book shows how you can exercise leadership and survive and thrive to enjoy the fruits of your labor.

About the Author

Ronald Heifetz is a cofounder of the international leadership and consulting practice Cambridge Leadership Associates (CLA) and the founding director of the Center for Public Leadership at the Harvard Kennedy School. He is renowned worldwide for his innovative work on the practice and teaching of leadership.

Marty Linsky is a cofounder of CLA and has taught at the Kennedy School for more than twenty-five years.