Description
Is the path to leadership in corporate America more open now than it was one hundred years ago? The answer may surprise you.
WHO MADE IT TO THE TOP of corporate America in the twentieth century? And what do their experiences mean for the next generation of business leaders? In Paths to Power: How Insiders and Outsiders Shaped American Business Leadership, Anthony J. Mayo, Nitin Nohria, and Laura G. Singleton answer these questions.
The authors explore the nature of access to business leadership opportunities. In particular, they show how select "insiders" possess advantages (based on factors such as birthplace and family background) that facilitate the challenging journey to the top. Meanwhile, "outsiders" on those same dimensions face disadvantages that make their path to leadership positions much more difficult.
Yet throughout the history of American business, the composition of insiders and outsiders has shifted. Examining data on leader birthplaces, nationality, religious affiliation, educational background, socioeconomic status, gender, and race, Paths to Power explains how the demographics of leadership have changed over the twentieth century-and how they're changing now. In addition, the authors discuss the mechanisms of advancement for insiders and outsiders and show how these mechanisms, too, have evolved.
As just one example, while religious affiliation (predominantly Episcopalian and Presbyterian) previously facilitated the personal networks essential for business success, it appears to have lost its power to open doors for careers in business. In its place is a new differentiator: higher education, particularly the MBA degree. When it comes to promotions, professional degrees take precedence over family pedigree for today's business people.
With its wealth of stories about leaders from a wide array of industries and firms, this book offers a provocative assertion for any aspiring business leader: though white men still hold most of the power positions in business, the gates of access aren't as tightly closed as they may seem.
ISBN:9781422101988
