1-Page Summary1-Page Book Summary of The Leadership Pipeline
When it comes to training the next generation of leaders, most organizations are fundamentally misguided. Their idea of what makes a good leader is hazy and simplistic: They hire and promote people indiscriminately, judging them based on arbitrary personality traits or how well they’ve done an unrelated job in the past. Consequently, most businesses end up full of unqualified managers at every level—managers who bungle their jobs in ways that nobody notices. In the end, weak leadership greatly impedes these organizations’ missions and increases the risk of total collapse.
According to Ram Charan, Stephen Drotter, and Jim Noel—authors of The Leadership Pipeline—many companies struggle to define an ideal leader because every level of an organization requires a different kind of leadership. To solve this problem, these authors have created the Leadership Pipeline, a model describing the mindset and skills needed to work effectively at six different levels of management. With this tool to guide them, organizations can effectively train their employees for leadership roles, identify and resolve their current leaders’ flaws, and hire and promote the right people at the right times.
(Shortform note: The authors call their model of the ideal management structure a “Pipeline” because it’s a streamlined path that serves as a reliable source of new proficient leaders—in the same way that a water pipeline is a reliable source of fresh water. However, this isn’t the only valid way to conceptualize ideal management training. For instance, in Built to Last, Jim Collins and Jerry I. Porras describe a [management training...
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The Leadership Pipeline Summary How to Use the Leadership Pipeline
The authors contend that understanding the Leadership Pipeline is the key to running an effective organization. But how can this simple tool make such a big difference? Let’s establish a clearer definition of the Leadership Pipeline, then look at three ways that organizations can use the Pipeline to improve.
What Is the Leadership Pipeline?
As mentioned, the Leadership Pipeline is a theoretical model for categorizing the various leadership responsibilities that employees must fulfill to keep an organization healthy. This model structures the management path into six stages or roles that employees fill in sequence as they rise through an organization. These roles are: line manager, second-level manager, functional manager, company manager, multi-company manager, and conglomerate CEO (we’ll explore each in detail later in this guide). Managers at any level who understand the Leadership Pipeline can use it to guide their decisions, helping them improve the organization.
The Leadership Pipeline is objective and universal: It describes the leadership tasks that managers in any organization need to get done to keep the system functioning, as well as the characteristics...
The Leadership Pipeline Summary The Six Stages of the Leadership Pipeline
So far, we’ve discussed how you can use an understanding of the Leadership Pipeline to improve any organization. Now, let’s explain this model in detail, describing the specific requirements for managers at each of its six stages: line manager, second-level manager, functional manager, company manager, multi-company manager, and conglomerate CEO.
Note that the authors created these six stages to describe the hierarchy of management in the largest organizations—business conglomerates with a multitude of subsidiary companies. If you work in a smaller organization, you may need to leave out or adapt some stages of the Pipeline to more closely match your existing corporate structure.
(Shortform note: If your organization is very small—if you’ve just founded a startup, for instance—some experts recommend forgoing a formal corporate structure entirely. In their early years, startups must be prepared for rapid organizational change. If you hand out formal, titled corporate positions to every employee you hire, they may become attached to those positions and resist necessary...
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Shortform Exercise: Where Are You in the Leadership Pipeline?
The authors explain how organizations can use the Leadership Pipeline to improve, but it’s arguably an equally valuable tool for individuals looking to assess their own work. Try viewing your current professional situation through the lens of the Pipeline.
Which stage of the Leadership Pipeline are you in now? Which skills and responsibilities of that stage are you fulfilling as required, and which might you need to improve? (For example, if you’re a line manager, you may realize that you’re good at delegating and executing work, but you lack the interpersonal skills necessary to create a more collaborative culture.)
