CEOs Don’t Read and Other Stories
TLDR - Many of you asked for it, so I recently did one of my least favorite things: I spent many days in a studio reading lots of words out loud. Over and over and over again. And it's a wrap! I JUST FINISHED RECORDING THE AUDIOBOOK VERSION OF THE LEADER'S JOURNEY. And it's pretty good! Stay tuned for a release date. But first...
A Story
A while back, I gifted a copy of The Leader's Journey, to a former client, the CTO of a fast-growing tech company. I wanted him to give it to his boss. This CTO loves my book, has found it immensely helpful as he leads his own growing organization, and wished his CEO could adopt the same growth mindset so that she could be a better boss to him and the entire company. He knew she could do it. She just needed a little nudge and inspiration.
"She'll never read it," he countered as he handed the book back to me. "Maybe one of my engineers wants a copy?" he offered.
If I had a nickel for every time I heard but CEOs don’t read while I was writing *The Leader’s Journey...*a book I wrote for for brilliant folks who are catapulted into senior leadership before they’re ready—like most new executives, founders, and especially new CEOs—I’d have a lot of nickels.
Spoiler: she read the book, loves the book, and is now on her way to being the boss she didn't know she could be while seeing an impact on her business that she only used to dream of making.
The Other Story
Did you know that 25-40% of CEOs are dyslexic? Neither did I until I started working with them. Walt Disney, Steve Jobs, and Richard Branson are a few you might know of who were and are. And countless non-famous women CEOs you’ve never heard of (but that’s a story for another time), as well.
50% of the CEOs I work with are dyslexic.
Another 50% somewhere on an ADHD+ spectrum.
There is some overlap, but not always.
And 100% are incredibly busy.
The science is clear: being a visionary leader has a cost. We struggle to see little things like little characters, shapes, or words. And we're a mile a minute.
But we make up for that by thinking BIG. We think in pictures and in stories, spatially and through time. And do it fast.
When we harness our superpowers and avoid our kryptonite, we create the future.
But not all kryptonite can be avoided.
As an executive coach, I know how to work effectively with and get the best out of the visionary, sometimes neurodiverse leaders I work with. We talk, we play, we draw, we improvise, we experiment, we try, we learn, we transform.
But I also sometimes teach. And writing books is one way I do that.
And the CEOs I work with love to learn.
But many admit that they struggle to do so in written form.
Because reading is hard.
Or they’re busy.
Or they just prefer to listen to books on the go.
Or all of the above.
Needless to say, I am SO excited to finally get over my own struggle with reading giant blocks of text out loud and can proudly say: I narrated my audiobook! And it will be out soon for you to listen to!
I came so close to hiring a narrator to do it for me. Plenty of authors do that. And it would have been great. But through some trial and error, I figured out how to not just own, but read my story 🤗. This is a very big deal. And I think you'll enjoy and get so much more out of listening to it this way.
It was hard. It was cathartic. And it is incredibly rewarding to overcome my own fears and do something scary.
When it comes out, I hope you all enjoy listening to it as much as I (shockingly) ended up enjoying recording it.
And may it inspire you, too, to level up your leadership in a style that feels powerful and authentic to you, your business, and the world.
xoxo,
d
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