On the High Wire

Beginnings are always tough; first times, inexorably fussy. In this tremendously poignant book, Gunn and Gullickson relate the exigencies brought about by a spanking promotion at work. Both authors point to the experience of walking the high wire-venturing into the unknown without a safety net-as a seemingly disoriented stance of newly-appointed managers/leaders who confront the difficulty of transition into bigger responsibilities and who have qualms about their capabilities to pull off the new job. Explicit and equally provocative, the book is a pragmatic guide for people who have just advanced in the corporate ladder yet find themselves stumped and stuck in an eddy of self-doubt. It spurs optimism and assurance that the unknown can be unravelled, adapted to, and overcome. It inspires a new approach to leadership that goes beyond what a leader does: it is actually about becoming one. the moment heaps of technical reports and research proposals were handed in by your supervisor? You suddenly suffer incapacity-your brains empty and you are unable to act.