2006, by David Rock.


I was first read “Quiet Leadership” after hearing Rock lecture at a coaching conference around 2008.  I routinely suggest this title to coaching clients who want to move away from an ineffective command and control leadership style they realize that having the right answer has little relevance if no one will take direction and do what they say.  In the current work environments, where constituents are highly capable knowledge workers in their own right, leaders need to focus on their staff’s mindset, their level of insight, and their learning.  By enhancing the capacity of the individuals and teams in their organizations, leaders expand the capacity of the whole organization to face daunting challenges.  The question is how.

Rock explores a “coach approach” to leadership that integrates principles of brain science and emotional intelligence with strategies on how to lead.  The book articulates how to become a developmental leader who focuses on facilitating learning of individuals and teams, which values process as well as outcomes.  The examples and stories flesh out the suggested approach in an accessible way.  None-the-less, I will caution you.  It’s the kind of book that makes perfect sense when you read it, and then, when you try and live it out, it proves to be more challenging than you may have realized.

Click here to order on Amazon.ca.

Click here for Rock’s introduction to Quiet Leadership.

Click here for Rock’s NeuroLeadership Institute.