I’ve just been reading a blog by Dev Patnaik at Fast Company as part of a series of articles on Reinventing the MBA. It examines the approach of Roger Martin and the Rotman School of Management in Canada – to develop business leaders who are well-grounded in multiple disciplines.

I was particularly struck by this:

“Most people, whatever their background, are more comfortable reapplying a formula that has worked in the past than at generating new possibilities. They just try to use a template from an existing success . . . ”

This is one of the limitations that, time and again, is a major hurdle to overcome for leaders new to board level leadership. You can’t deliver an effective contribution if you are using a template or behaviour that belongs to a different role or task.