Leaders today travel many intertwined paths. CEOs may choose to run for elected offices, while elected officials may turn to a nonprofit leadership role after their term ends. The overlap between leadership paths and the importance of understanding avenues to success is what inspired Kogod professor Mark Clark and School of Public Affairs professor Meredith Persily Lamel to write their book Six Paths to Leadership: Lessons from Successful Executives, Politicians, Entrepreneurs, and More, set for release on June 15.
Leaders often transfer their expertise in roles across sectors, a phenomenon that sets the DC workforce apart from other cities. At Kogod, students may gain skills to take home to a family business, apply to their future entrepreneurial endeavors, or accelerate their climb to the C-suites of corporate America. Whichever direction they choose, Kogod students are on a journey to join society’s changemakers.
The six paths to leadership examined in Clark and Persily Lamel’s book are promoted, externally hired, elected, appointed, founder, and family paths. Each path differs by opportunity and challenge, and while there are stark differences between them, there are also undeniable similarities. Leaders who understand the relationships between the paths will hold the key to a successful tenure.
“Organizations are more fluid as people travel between different sectors,” says Clark.