Review: Leading Professionals: Power, Politics, and Prima Donnas

Leading Professionals: Power, Politics, and Prima Donnas by Laura Empson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A semi-academic book based on more than 500 interviews with professionals working in professional services (such as management consulting or law).

It gives a conceptual structure to what leaders in such professional partnerships experience. And the quotations and case studies arising from various interviews help to visualise that.

I found several of the concepts there novel and intriguing. And something I could very much relate to.

The authority in a professional partnership is contingent on your success as a partner, it is not given.

The leaders in professional partnerships need to build consensus using political skills - yet without being perceived to do corporate politics.

The leadership in professional partnerships is very much plural (a so-called leadership constellation) as opposed to traditional strong CEO archetype.

A leadership dyad (two leaders collaborating on top management) can be surprisingly effective.

Organisational dynamics between management professionals (such as Heads of HR, Marketing, Strategy, CFO etc) and partners requires careful equilibrium.

A professional partnership has its own lifecycle. It can experience development from one stage to another: from a founder-focused through collegial and delegated to corporate / federated / dispersed.

Facilitating post-M&A acclimatisation of two merged cultures requires leaders to be like the organisers of the school dance: you set the stage but never decide who dances with whom.

Overall ambiguity in roles, hierarchies and structures can function surprisingly well in professional partnerships. Order and structure is not always desired as in the regular corporate way.

Recommended to those building or working in professional partnerships, especially if substantiated research is appreciated.