Six Paths to Leadership: Lessons from Successful Executives, Politicians, Entrepreneurs, and More

The paths that leaders walk significantly influence their success, offering differential opportunities and challenges. While conventional wisdom suggests that leadership styles and approaches may be equally effective across all situations, more recent research demonstrates the importance of employing strategies more specifically aligned with the context. 

This book offers critical insights and strategies, currently missing from the repertoire of leaders and their supporters, for managing across six distinct paths into leadership positions: promoted, hired, elected, appointed, founded, and family legacy. It illustrates lessons drawn from within and across paths, presented through themes, quotes, and stories drawn from interviews with over 60 successful leaders (executives, politicians, entrepreneurs, and more). While it is evident that these paths differ, those who study, hire, mentor, and coach leaders rarely consider the distinctions, nor suggest what may be learned across the paths. 

The emerging leaders, HR professionals, researchers, and coaches among the book’s readers will learn not only from those who have walked one particular path, but also from the experiences of those trekking in other directions. Most leaders will cross from one path to another over the course of their career. Some executives interviewed for the book worked their way up the ladder in one company, only to be recruited to fill a C-suite position in another company. Others were appointed to high-level government positions after stints as elected officials. The authors identify major distinctions when moving across the six paths. 

By reading this book, leaders and those who support them will develop greater self-awareness about each path so they can better leverage and manage their new challenges and opportunities from the first day in their new leadership position. 

Mark A. Clark, Ph.D., works with established and emerging business leaders to achieve high performance through teaching, research, and business consultancy. As Associate Professor and Management Department Chair in the Kogod School of Business at American University, he teaches courses on leadership, organizational change, teams, organizational behavior, and strategic human capital. His research similarly centers on leadership and team performance, investigating the effects of networks, design, culture, diversity, and human capital practices on knowledge processing and performance in a variety of applied contexts. Dr. Clark has published or presented over 100 scholarly papers and book chapters in top academic outlets internationally. His ability to translate research findings into practical execution has led him to consult with a wide range of private and public sector clients over the past 30 years, including in strategic planning, workforce analysis, program development, and team leadership training.

Meredith Persily is a sought after leadership expert across the public and private sectors, supporting C-suite executives and elected members of Congress alike. She is CEO of Aspire@Work, an executive coaching and leadership consultancy based in Washington, DC and also an Adjunct Professor at American University’s School of Public Administration. Persily specializes in the leadership challenges of complex, global organizations including technology, healthcare, financial services, nonprofit and government. She is regularly called upon by her clients to support the onboarding of executives into new roles, helping them to effectively lead a multi-generational workforce, and drive organizational change. She has delivered leadership programs in 17 countries across five continents and in 38 states and the District of Columbia. Meredith is an honors graduate from Brown University and earned an MBA from University of Chicago Booth School of Business. She is a Professional Certified Coach from the International Coach Federation.