Credible: The Power of Expert Leaders

by Amanda Goodall

A leading business expert shows why expertise really matters, and how leaders who deeply understand the nuts and bolts of their industry and organization-- from businesses, to hospitals, to universities, to sports-- make all the difference for its success and the happiness of people who work there.

Amanda Goodall has spent a decade researching what makes organizations tick, everywhere from the business world to hospitals and healthcare systems, football and basketball teams, and Formula 1 organizations. By debunking the cult of managerialism (the notion that smart people can run anything and the emphasis on leadership personality), Goodall reshapes our understanding of bosses and the traits necessary for organizational success. She identifies the key characteristics of expert leaders and provides a real and grossly underappreciated model for career "go deep into a business, work hard, pay attention, and know your stuff." Those who run hospitals and healthcare systems, for example, should be physicians with deep clinical expertise, not financiers or people parachuted in from other industries. Those who run school systems and universities need to understand from experience the stress of balancing teaching, research, and student welfare

Credible demonstrates categorically that expertise matters more than ever and that we need our leaders to be experts with a deep, understanding of their organizations from many years spent learning the business and working their way up the ladder. The people who work for them are happier because they feel better understood and the organizations they lead are more successful.

 

Genres: Business, Nonfiction, Leadership

272 pages, Hardcover

Published July 11, 2023

Reviews

[Ken · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is an extremely narrow and repetitive book. Although the core thesis certainly makes sense, particularly in the egregious cases of incompetence cited, it makes the same point of expert vs generalist over and over as if it is a law of the universe rather than an obvious observation. I don’t think an entire book was warranted here, perhaps a documented blog post or an entertaining lunch keynote.

The author’s critique fails on nuance, either of the exceptional generalist who succeeds or the average expert who fails. There are as many examples of both as there clear case studies to support the author’s point. I completely believe in founder DNA and maintaining subject matter expertise in the C-suite at all times, especially in technology, but there are no broad conclusions here that will help anyone be a better business leader or hire and fire better executives. This is a strong opinion piece that doesn’t do much in my mind to improve dialogue on an important topic.

[Marie-Sharrane]

This is an interesting reaf discussing how expert leaders or lack there of, change the environments they are in or created. There is no distinct process on how to improve leadership, which is failing or how to do better besides generalizations or what we have known to be true: Diversity is key.