The Next Level: What Insiders Know about Executive Success

by Scott Eblin

Book Overview

REVISED AND UPDATED 3RD EDITION Drawing on the secrets of a top executive coach, The Next Level is an indispensable guide to executive success, full of simple, practical, and immediately applicable... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1857885554
• ISBN13: 9781857885552
• Release Date: October 2010
• Publisher: Nicholas Brealey Publishing
• Length: 234 Pages
• Weight: 1.08 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.3" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

An operations manual for navigating upward mobility in executive development

Business careers proceed from one level to the next and these levels are frequently identified by titles, with CEO being the highest. What intrigued me about Scott Eblin's book as I began to read it is that he thinks of a career progression in terms of a series of levels of personal as well as professional development. Obviously, he agrees with Marshall Goldsmith (author of What Got You Here Won't Get You There) that new opportunities are accompanied by new challenges. Therefore, the ascending executive must leverage her or his strengths while at the same time abandoning any mindsets, beliefs, and habits that are inadequate, if not self-defeating. According to Eblin, "Through my research, I have defined nine sets of key behaviors and beliefs that executives need to pick up [e.g. `custom-fit' communications] and let go of [e.g. `one-size-fits-all' communications] to succeed. This process of picking up and letting go, I've learned, is central to succeeding at the executive level." He notes that a strength when used to excess can become a weakness. So, the ascending executive must know when and under what conditions she or he is performing best. "Operating from that base of confidence" enables her or him "to have the clarity of thought needed to make smart strategic choices" about what to pick up - and what to leave behind - when advancing into the "unchartered terrain" of the next career level. In his most recent book, Executive Warfare, David D'Alessandro (former chairman and CEO of John Hancock Financial Services) observes that "the single greatest reason why otherwise talented people get stuck in mid-career is because they believe that the same rules that applied for the first part of their careers still apply. They don't. You have to master a much subtler set of rules. You'll need to learn how to acquire the global perspective your peers lack, when and how to deliver bad news, when to take a shot at your rivals and when to be gracious, and, most important, how to handle the many new influences on your [career] trajectory...Intelligence, imagination, and cunning are all required here - but not underhandedness...I don't believe you need to be devious to succeed. In fact, I think being excessively political is a mistake." The same advice should also be considered by those who aspire to an executive position. For all executives, the rules of engagement change as they proceed into the "unchartered terrain" of the next career level. The nine sets of key behaviors and beliefs that Eblin examines in his book serve as the framework of what amounts to both a self-assessment and a game plan for executing necessary initiatives. He devotes a separate chapter to each set, providing a checklist ("10 Tips") for consideration and execution at the end of each chapter. Of special interest to me is his discussion of "perspective transference" in Chapter 9, urging his reader to replace an "inside-out" view of her or his current duties and responsibilities with a

What they don't tell you until you are there

Scott Eblin takes a great approach to describing the traits that you need to let go of and those you need to develop in order to make it at the executive level in an organization. Until I read Scott's book I believed that I had already made the adjustment. Scott applies his own experiences and those of corporate leaders to make his points in a clear, concise, and well organized manner. It is an easy read that can serve as a handbook as you move through an organization.

A Practical Guide to Getting it Right

After reading through countless leadership and management books over the years (and trying to get all of this right in my career), it is great to finally see someone release a book that is practical and provides insight into the leadership qualities that are critical, but not so obvious. This book is less theory, and more leadership-action oriented. It is about time someone did this! This is a very good book that is well written and a joy to read. I like the way the author compares and contrasts what leadership should do and shouldn't do, as well as draw distinctions such as responsibility vs. accountability (a subtle delineation, but very important). I recommend this book for anyone who has poured through dozens of leadership books and has lost faith that all new leadership books talk about the same thing - this one does not, and will give you new leadership tools for your arsenal. Also, for those just starting their careers, this is a must read.

The next read for people trying to get to "the next level"

I appreciate this book as someone that has excelled at the functional level, but struggled to get to the supervisory level. This book gives concrete suggestions about how to transition from being an employee to being a leader. It is constuctive in that it points out how stengths at one level can be weaknesses or obstacles at "the Next Level" and then offers a path to "pick up" new behaviors and "let go" others as part of a self-development strategy. The book also has a handy referenece at the end where you can look up a challenge and it refers you to the pages that address that specific aspect of management. However, the book is so well-written and readable that you will proabably enjoy reading it in order. The framework as well as the specific suggestions are original and substantiated with research and great examples. Mr. Eblin is an executive coach and this book has a serier of great "executive coaching" lessons for a fraction of what a personal session might cost. Well worth it!

A Must-Read for Every New and Rising Leader

Here's a well-kept secret from corporate America: Nine out of ten new senior-level hires say they don't have the know-how or tools to do their job. Now, Scott Eblin -- a 20-year veteran of the executive suite -- shares the sink-or-swim realities and shows how to succeed in spite of them. Full of hands-on tips and revealing, tell-it-like-it-is stories from well-known executives, this book is a must-read for every leader who wants to survive and thrive at the next level.