Firing back: how great leaders rebound after career disasters

Citation

Sonnenfeld, J.A. (2007), "Firing back: how great leaders rebound after career disasters", Development and Learning in Organizations, Vol. 21 No. 5. https://doi.org/10.1108/dlo.2007.08121ead.002

Firing back: how great leaders rebound after career disasters

Firing back: how great leaders rebound after career disasters

Sonnenfeld J.A., Ward A.J. Harvard Business Review, January 2007, Vol. 85 No. 1, Start page: 77, No. of pages: 8

Purpose – to consider how business leaders recover from career setbacks. Design/methodology/approach – draws on extensive research into how chief executives who have been fired and other professionals deal with their difficulties. Observes that more than one-third of such chief executives returned to an active executive role within two years, although even more effectively ended their careers. Argues that leaders can recover their position, provided they take deliberate steps to do so. Identifies five key elements in this process: deciding how to fight back; recruiting the support of others; recovering reputation and restoring stature (described as “recovering your heroic status”); demonstrating the ability to perform; and single-mindedly pursuing a lasting legacy (“rediscovering your heroic mission”). Offers advice to help dismissed executives to move beyond rage and denial and concludes that comeback is possible in all industries, although the challenges vary according to the leadership norms of the prevailing culture. Originality/value – points out that in every culture, the ability to transcend adversity is an essential feature of becoming a great leader and reworks the hero myth in a business setting.ISSN: 0017-8012Reference: 36AE030

Keywords: Career development, Chief executives, Dismissal, Leaders, Problem based learning