What Happens Now?

About the Author

John F. Hillen, DPhil, is a leadership and strategy professor in the School of Business at George Mason University. He is a consultant and a director for numerous companies. Hillen is also a columnist for Washington Technology, where he writes regularly on leadership and strategy.

Mark D. Nevins, PhD, is a consultant and advisor to top executives, teams, and organizations. He has coached and advised a broad range of executives, from the C-suite to high-potential corporate vice presidents.

Main Idea

The book "What Happens Now? Reinvent Yourself as a Leader Before Your Business Outruns You" by John Hillen and Mark Nevins explores the concept of leadership sophistication and how leaders can overcome the inevitable stalls that occur when their skills are outpaced by the growth and evolution of their organizations. The authors emphasize that as organizations grow, leaders must develop new skills and behaviors to navigate the complex and sophisticated challenges that arise. This guide provides practical strategies to help leaders embrace these challenges and turn potential crises into opportunities for personal and organizational growth.

Table of Contents

• Introduction
• Why Leaders Stall
• Becoming Sophisticated
• Leader Without a Story
• Leader of Team Zero
• Asleep at the Stakeholder Wheel
• Nobody Gets It!
• Master of the Old Universe
• Hamster on a Wheel
• Coach of the B Team
• Conclusion

Introduction

The introduction sets the stage by highlighting the primary challenge faced by leaders: the growth of their organizations often outstrips their leadership skills. Hillen and Nevins explain that many leaders hit a "stall point" where they become ineffective due to unfamiliar challenges. The book aims to provide a roadmap for leaders to navigate these stalls by developing sophistication in their leadership approach.

Why Leaders Stall

Leaders often stall when they confuse the challenges of complexity with those of sophistication. Complexity involves managing systems and processes, which can be documented and measured. Sophistication, on the other hand, requires leaders to develop new thinking and behaviors to handle nuanced challenges that are not easily quantified. Stalls are often a consequence of success, making them hard to fathom. Leaders are challenged to build on their acclaimed records to deliver bigger or different results, often depending on skills they undervalue or didn’t think they needed.

"Facing challenges of fresh sophistication requires not just that you change your team or organization but that you change yourself and others." - John Hillen

Becoming Sophisticated

To become sophisticated leaders, individuals must first take stock of their capabilities. They need to recognize the diminishing efficacy of their technical skills and identify new skills that will drive their leadership success. This often involves mastering relationship management, raising outside funding, grooming new leaders, redefining purpose, and handling reputational risks or ethical challenges.

As a leader rises, they’ll need to master various new capabilities: