Leading With Care in a Tough World

Bob DeKoch and Phil Clampitt, long-time collaborators, draw on their years of innovative practice and research to describe with vivid, real-world experiences, how leading with care enriches people and transforms organizations in our challenging times.

DeKoch, with over 40 years of diverse executive leadership experience, which included 20 years leading The Boldt Company, a $1 billion construction services and real estate development company, has developed novel insights into leadership thinking and practice. Clampitt, an endowed, award-winning communication and information science professor at University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, has over 40 years of experience in university teaching, ground-breaking research, and business consulting. His lifelong passion is to explore the dynamic relationship between leadership, communication, and big ideas.

Gallup recently reported that only 15% of employees in the United States are truly engaged in their workplace. Yet nearly 70% of employees say they would work harder if they felt more appreciated. Over 90% of employees surveyed believed their leadership “lacked communication skills to lead.” The gloomy stories behind sobering statistics reveal employees’ disappointment with current leadership approaches. Leaders can do better.

That’s why the authors sought to go beyond the laudable sentiments of the “servant leadership” movement by envisioning, creating, and testing a new leadership platform based on a set of guiding beliefs and actual day-to-day practices.

The authors’ unique perspective transforms traditional practices, like employee coaching and collaboration, into dynamic self-actualizing workplaces. How? By sharing how caring leaders adroitly blend visible and subtle practices to realize the aspirational benefits of coaching and collaboration. The authors use a similar approach to share insights about less frequently discussed leadership issues such as how to build an empowering network of relationships and transform pushback into progress. Anyone who wishes to craft their own distinctive, compelling, and empowering leadership style that unleashes the latent energy of people and their organizations will discover a robust and enriching framework for doing so in Leading with Care in a Tough World.

This discussion guide was shared and sponsored in partnership with Rodin Books

Book club questions for Leading With Care in a Tough World by Bob DeKoch and Phillip G. Clampitt

Use these discussion questions to guide your next book club meeting.

What makes leading with care tough? How can leaders still lead with care when things are tough?

How do successful leaders blend humility and confidence?

What do you think are the hardest lessons for leaders to learn? Why are they so hard to learn?

Can you identify a lesson you had to unlearn? How did you do it? How difficult was the process or unlearning?

How can leadership kindness be misunderstood and misinterpreted?

How does your HR department help or hinder leaders who take on a coaching role?

What do you think are the most misunderstood dimensions of a high-performance workplace?

In your organization, does the pushback tend to be more destructive or constructive? What factors drive it in that direction?

What is the optimal use of social media for a leader in your position?

If you had to create a magic formula for getting “the right people in the room,” what would be the major factors in your formula?

The media drumbeat about diversity, engagement, and inclusivity is relentless. What are the most misunderstood aspects of building an inclusive workplace?

How do you think the idea of servant leadership has been misunderstood? Why? Could you name a movie or sitcom where servant leadership has gone awry?

What are the three most important and actionable lessons you learned in the book?

Leading With Care in a Tough World Book Club Questions PDF

Click here for a printable PDF of the Leading With Care in a Tough World discussion questions

“This book offers a simple yet powerful promise: caring leaders can produce extraordinary outcomes. With extensive research and sparkling details, DeKoch and Clampitt reveal how leaders at all levels can enlist our basic humanity to bring out the best in their teams.” --Daniel H. Pink, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Power of Regret, When, and Drive

“Leading with Care in a Tough World is a masterful book!!! It is pragmatic, thought-provoking, and exceptionally well-written. Effective leadership today requires you to grapple with a broad range of variables. DeKoch and Clampitt provide a framework, reinforced with real-world examples and self-assessment tools, that will help you turn ideas into effective action. If you’re a leader, or aspiring to become one, I strongly recommend this book.”--Frank Sonnenberg, Award-winning author of nine books, including Managing with a Conscience and The Path to a Meaningful Life

"Unlock the keys to successful leadership in Leading with Care in a Tough World. Filled with inspiring stories, practical advice and years of tried-and-true methods, DeKoch and Clampitt will teach you how to be the leader of the future. An excellent read!"--Dr. Marshall Goldsmith is the Thinkers50 #1 Executive Coach and New York Times bestselling author of Triggers, Mojo, and What Got You Here Won’t Get You There.

"How can we lead others - and ourselves - in an uncertain and fast-changing world? This humane, thoughtful, and practical new book shows the way." --Dorie Clark, Wall Street Journal bestselling author of The Long Game and executive education faculty, Duke University Fuqua School of Business

“Brilliant insight into the realities of leadership. DeKoch and Clampitt expose the manipulations that pass for emotional intelligence and the toxicity of fake positivity. Grounded in the difficult truths of human relationships, this excellent book illuminates the values and beliefs that guide a leader to success.” --Robert McKee, Fulbright Scholar and Globally Renowned Screen Writing Lecturer, Coach and Best Selling Author

“An island of innovative insight amid an ocean of leadership BS.” --Professor James Barker, Herbert S. Lamb Chair in Business education, Dalhousie University