Marty Linsky is Co-Founder and Principal of Cambridge Leadership Associates, a leadership consulting practice serving public, private and non-profit clients in the US and abroad. Linsky has been a faculty member at Harvard’s Kennedy School since 1982, except for 1992-5 when he was Chief Secretary to the Massachusetts Governor. A graduate of Williams College and Harvard Law, Linsky has been a journalist, lawyer and politician. He was Assistant Minority Leader of the Massachusetts House of Representatives, reporter and editorial writer for The Boston Globe, and Editor of The Real Paper.

He is the author of many books, chapters and articles on leadership, politics and the media. His first book was Impact: How the Press Affect Federal Policymaking. His most recent book is Leadership on the Line, co-authored with Ronald Heifetz. He is co-author with Heifetz and Alexander Grashow of The Practice of Adaptive Leadership, to be published by Harvard Business Press this spring. He blogs at Linsky on Leadership and on the Washington Post’s leadership blog. He exercises daily (9 marathons but never again), enjoys good beer and Mexican food (reward for the exercise) and collects baseball cards (over 25,000).

He lives in New York City with his wife, Lynn Staley, a retired graphic designer who was Assistant Managing Editor for Design at Newsweek for 12 years. He has three children: Alison a graphic designer; Sam, Vice President of TNT Original Movies; and Max, a journalist who has just become Managing Editor of a start-up public affairs website.



Alexander Grashow is a member of CLA's Executive Committee and Managing Director of its consulting practice. As such, he is responsible for the overall design and content of CLA programs as well as the recruitment and development of CLA associates and affiliates.

Having used and delivered programming, consulting, and coaching in the Adaptive Leadership framework for many years, Alexander has worked extensively with executive teams and is experienced in delivering adaptive leadership in a variety of formats. Among the CLA clients with whom he has worked are Watson Wyatt, CARE and the United Jewish Communities. Regardless of client, Alexander focuses on what change and impact are possible within the context of the assignment, whether it is a two-day or a two-year program.

Prior to joining CLA, Alexander was at The Synergos Institute, where he was the co-founder and director of the Bridging Leadership Program, which worked in partnership in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the United States to develop collaborations across sectors. In this capacity, he developed training, research, and communities of practice among international businesses, business schools, and national non-profits.

He is the co-author, along with Ron Heifetz and Marty Linsky, of a forthcoming book to guide practitioners in the hands-on, day-to-day work of exercising leadership and doing more for what they most care about. A graduate of Wesleyan University and a serious Japanese printmaker, Alexander derives "both joy and courage" from his wife and daughter.

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