Good Leaders in Turbulent Times How to navigate wild waters at work
‘You have to write a book about it’ said a third sector Chief Executive I had been coaching. ‘You have coached so many leaders through hard times and have facilitated so many boards. Come on, get on with it.’
That was the spark, in October 2016, that I needed. With a career of approaching six decades in civil society, the time had come to share. Eight years later 'Good Leaders in Turbulent Times' is out in the Big Wild World.
I knew that writing and publishing this idiosyncratic novel business book, with nine characters over seven years, with lots of advice was not going to be easy. And it wasn’t. Moments of despair, moments of elation like when the first endorsement came along or when creative ideas popped up.
It’s been a thrilling ride and has called on all my creativity and fortitude – just like when we’re in crisis. I know it will encourage, guide and maybe even inspire good leaders in the UK and worldwide; that’s why I have stuck with it and completed it.
‘Good Leaders in Turbulent Times: How to Navigate Wild Waters at Work’ is packed full of practical advice (actually 138 grouped as ‘Watch Out’, ‘Do This’ 'Remember This’ and 'Secret Sauce') woven through the pages of true-to-life stories and-in-their-own words advice from leaders who have been through crisis and emerged stronger. Act on the nuggets of advice which shine for you, and they will light your way.
The story which emerged from my inner pondering and struggles to find my voice is of characters navigating their wild waters experiences. It mixes the fantastical with the mundane, troubling night happenings with waking life, all based on the real experiences of many (including me).
There is hope - not a faint notion that things might get better one day, but the conviction that however wild the water gets, you can find your way out to a better place.
‘You have to write a book about it’ she said. So I did.
As well as to my wife Korinna ('my most long suffering and sharpest critic...'), it is dedicated to '... all the leaders whom I will never know who, facing the challenges of turbulent times, are courageously aspiring to be the good leaders who will sustain a decent, just and civil society, so we can all live together well for the foreseeable future.
Page last modified: 09 Oct 2025 08:58:31