Take the Lead Motivate, Inspire, and Bring Out the Best in Yourself and Everyone Around You

This life-changing book from White House insider and leadership expert Betsy Myers "is a perfect read for anyone seeking to understand, develop, or unleash his or her genuine leadership potential" ( Publishers Weekly). From the Oval Office to the playground, cabinet meetings to kitchen tables, in public life and private, Betsy Myers has seen firsthand the emergence of a new leadership model where having all the answers up front is less important than asking the right questions, where strength is derived less from the power you wield than from how you make the people around you feel. With personal stories from her time in government, in academia, and on the campaign trail, as well as her experiences as a wife, daughter, and mother, Myers helps all of us learn to set the right priorities for ourselves; to connect on a deeper level with the people around us; to uncover problems early when they are still easy to fix; to collaborate with those whose points of view are different from our own; and to push through our fears and live our most authentic lives. Myers demonstrates that more than simply making people feel good, this kind of leadership can have a profound effect on the results achieved: it is how initiatives are launched, profits are made, and work gets done. Provocative, practical, and profoundly inspiring, Take the Lead is a book for anyone who wonders where all the great leaders have gone. Betsy Myers helps us see that true leadership is all around usand within us.

Betsy Myers served as chief operating officer and senior adviser to Barack Obama's first presidential campaign, and in the Clinton administration, she was the first director of the White House Office for Women's Initiatives and Outreach. Currently serving as the founding director of Bentley University's Center for Women and Business, she lives with her family near Boston. Visit her online at BetsyMyers.com.