Works
- Leadership on the Line: Staying Alive Through the Dangers of Leading, 2002
In Tactics of Organizational Politics
Ideas
Getting on the balcony. Heifetz and Linsky advise leaders to step back from the action, to get on the balcony, so they can see the larger pattern of what is happening, including their own part in it, before stepping back in.
Pacing the work. People can absorb only so much difficult change at once, so a leader who wants a change to last regulates how much is asked of people and when.
Thinking politically. Under the heading of thinking politically, they advise keeping the opposition close and working with opponents as well as allies, and accepting responsibility for your piece of the mess, acknowledging the leader's own contribution to the problem.
What it explains
Heifetz and Linsky explain how someone pushing a difficult change survives it: by watching the whole system from a distance, pacing what people are asked to absorb, staying close to opponents, and owning their share of the problem. The book is practitioner advice drawn from their teaching and consulting.