Synopses & Reviews
Executive teams are a key ingredient of today's business world--from the charismatic CEO who relies on the operational expertise of a COO, to family businesses which trust in personal bonds to achieve professional results. This study examines duo and trio executive teams in practice to shed light on the personalities, relationships, and organizational principles characterizing the top echelons of corporate power, from international financial giants to creative industries. The book answers critical questions regarding how companies work and tackle issues of governance and accountability.
Review
"Even though popular images of power center on a solitary heroic figure at the top, the reality of power at the top is increasingly different. Power is often shared among a small group of co-leaders (think CEO-COO, co-CEOs, CEO-Chairman, etc). Alvarez and Svejevnova are pioneers in tackling this understudied leadership phenomenon. This book helps us understand shared leadership at the top both theoretically and practically. It is a must read for scholars interested in leadership and for practitioners who understand the necessity and difficulty of creating effective shared leadership." - Nitin Nohria, Richard P. Chapman Professor of Business Administration, Harvard Business School"The authors highlight the importance of roles and integration as key elements of organizational governance. They reveal the central roles of rules, politics and trust as central to strategic decision making amongst the corporate elite. Full of well-researched cases and examples, this book stands with the pioneering books of organization and contingency theories upon whose inspiration it draws. A must read for those interested in governance, power and stratgic decision making." - David C. Wilson, Professor of Strategy and Organization, University of Warwick Business School"...Alvarez and Svejenova convincingly and masterfully deconstruct the mechanics of small teams - tandems, trios or quartets - at the apex of the corporate world. This book fills a gap in leadership studies, pointing to the embeddedness and to the processes of power and leadership and not simply to their demographics and associated personal or psychological traits...[It] is a must read for all those, academics or managers, who want to go beyond superficial discussions of leadership and really understand what top corporate power is all about." -Marie-Laure Djelic, Professor of Management, ESSEC Business School"Alvarez and Svejenova take on and debunk one of the oldest beliefs in business - that there can be only once chief. More often than not, innovations in business happen between people, not within them; so why not apply that thinking to the top? Sharing Exectuive Power is a great read for anyone looking to creat more value from their leadership structure." - Jerry A. Greenberg and J. Stuart Moore, Co-Chief Ececutive Officers, Co-Chairmen of Sapient Corp.
Synopsis
Explores how and why executive teams work, and how to design them for the future.
Synopsis
There are numerous examples of two or three executives who share the responsibilities at the top. Their collaboration is indispensable in addressing the dilemmas of the top job and the demands of today's corporate governance. Sharing Executive Power examines the behaviour of such duos, trios and small teams, what roles their members play and how their professional and inter-personal relationships bind their work together. The book is essential reading for academics, graduates, MBAs, and executives interested in improving the design of corporate power structures and enhancing cooperation at the top.
About the Author
JoséLuis Alvarez is Professor of General Management at Instituto de Empresa Business School in Madrid, where he directs its Center for Corporate Governance.Silviya Svejenova is an Assistant Professor of Strategy at ESADE Business School in Barcelona and a Visiting Lecturer in Organisation Theory in the PhD and DBA programs at the Cranfield School of Management.