Publishers Weekly
05/08/2023
Experts with technical background and experience make the best leaders, according to this cogent treatise. Goodall (Socrates in the Boardroom), a leadership professor at London’s Bayes Business School, laments the rise of “itinerant CEOs” and “all-purpose managers” who jump from company to company, suggesting that their ignorance of the industries they work in has disastrous consequences. According to the author, the core qualifications of an expert are industry experience and the ability to excel at the duties of those who report directly to them; when these are met, employees are happier and more productive. Case studies illustrate the failures of corporate “generalists,” as when Goodall tells the story of Andrew Hornby, who had no background in finance when he left his position running a supermarket chain to become the CEO of the British bank HBOS and pushed it to make risky investments that contributed to its demise in 2008. Contending that experts are just as important in government, Goodall shows that Canada’s decision in 2019 to replace epidemiologists with cheaper “generalist civil servants” in its pandemic readiness system impeded the government’s response to Covid-19. The stories of corporate and political folly enrage, and the case for how organizations can promote and reward expertise by fostering “informed dissent” and granting line managers “freedom and responsibility” is well made. This spirited defense of specialists convinces. (July)
From the Publisher
[A] cogent treatise…The stories of corporate and political folly enrage, and the case for how organizations can promote and reward expertise by fostering ‘informed dissent’ and granting line managers ‘freedom and responsibility’ is well made. This spirited defense of specialists convinces.” —Publishers Weekly
“A persuasive argument about the need for expertise in leaders… Citing many examples in areas such as health care, manufacturing, sports, and technology, Goodall has found that expert leadership leads to success … Well-grounded arguments for effective leadership.”—Kirkus Reviews
“This book presents many enlightening instances of the successes of companies with expert leaders and the failures of companies with generalist managers who had little or no knowledge of, nor experience with, their company's core business. A convincing argument that a company's success requires leaders to have specific industry expertise.”—Library Journal
“Engaging and powerful. Groups must have leaders, and these leaders must have deep knowledge about the group’s core mission. With many vivid examples from a range of industries and settings, Amanda Goodall shows how leadership and expertise must be reflected within both for-profit and not-for-profit firms.”—Nicholas Christakis, Sterling Professor of Social and Natural Science, Yale University
“An extremely convincing analysis of the crucial importance of expert leaders, supported by many fascinating on-the-ground stories. Goodall’s work will be the go-to landmark guide for the best leaders not just in my own field of health care but for every organization, from banks to basketball teams.”
—Major-General Marc Bilodeau, surgeon general, Canadian Armed Forces
“In her clear and invigorating book, Goodall lays out an essential message for our times: the very best leaders are those who are experts in what they are leading. If you’ve had nagging suspicions about the idea of generalist, all-purpose leaders, this well-researched book will validate your concerns. If you’re currently a leader, aspire to be a leader, or are responsible for selecting and assessing leaders, Credible is a must-read.”
—Donald C. Hambrick, Evan Pugh University Professor, Penn State University
“Based on years of renowned research, Credible convincingly demonstrates the superiority of organizations led by experts. A must-read for everyone interested in improving leadership in any type of commercial or public organization.”—Marcel Levi, former chairman and chief executive, University College London Hospitals
“Credible provides fascinating insight into the amount and kind of expertise required by leaders. Anyone in a senior leadership position should read this book and consider the implications for their own performance.”—Lord Gus O’Donnell, former head of the UK Civil Service and Permanent Secretary of the UK Treasury
“Credible offers conclusive proof that leaders with expert knowledge of their company’s product and methods make more informed and better decisions.”—Keith Griffiths, chairman and global principal designer, Aedas
Library Journal
05/01/2023
In this book, Goodall, a professor of leadership at London's Bayes Business School, questions the nature of management. Based upon 15 years of research on the managers of the most successful businesses and other organizations, the author has concluded that these workforces are predominantly comprised of "expert leaders," which is what she calls the people who have deep industry expertise along with the requisite management and leadership skills. The success of the expert leader might strike readers as unsurprising, and the author herself calls it common sense. Yet management orthodoxy in the United States and the UK, dating as far back as the 1980s, promotes a culture on generalized management practices, Goodall writes. She argues that expert leaders, on the other hand, understand the specifics of their industries and roles and can thus apply their skills and leadership practices appropriately and effectively. This book presents many enlightening instances of the successes of companies with expert leaders and the failures of companies with generalist managers who had little or no knowledge of, nor experience with, their company's core business. VERDICT A convincing argument that a company's success requires leaders to have specific industry expertise.—Shmuel Ben-Gad
Kirkus Reviews
2023-04-17
The benefits of an expert-led world.
Drawing on more than 15 years of empirical research, Goodall, a professor of leadership at London’s Bayes Business School, makes her book debut with a persuasive argument about the need for expertise in leaders. “When non-experts are put in charge of organizations,” she writes, “disaster often strikes.” She attributes the devaluing of expertise to a growing distrust of authority, a populist bent toward “majority decision-making,” and a belief “that everyone’s views are of equal validity.” While in the past, leaders emerged from those who rose through the ranks of an organization, leadership ability has come to be assessed “in terms of verbal skills” and an individual’s “personal characteristics or, more simply, their charisma.” Business schools, she asserts, have contributed to an “unfortunate shift towards generic management,” creating “business and management” as a separate academic field. Citing many examples in areas such as health care, manufacturing, sports, and technology, Goodall has found that expert leadership leads to success. Top universities are led by scholars, not outsiders recruited from business, and the best performing hospitals are led by clinicians. Basketball teams, too, “won more games if they were led by coaches who were former all-star players or had long playing careers in the NBA.” Expert leaders convey a clear sense of purpose, take a long view, create a productive work environment, perform to high standards, and signal excellence. They share their organization’s culture and values. Once experts are found, though, they often need to be persuaded to lead. Financial remuneration may help, as does their capacity “to identify psychologically as leaders.” They also need to know “that they will be developed and supported in the transition from expert to leader while being assured that they will be able to make tangible differences for the benefit of their teams, organizations, and stakeholders.”
Well-grounded arguments for effective leadership.
