The Confident Leader: How the Most Successful People Go from Effective to Exceptional

by Larina Kase

"This groundbreaking book will become a classic. I'll be recommending it to all of my readers."
-Kevin Hogan, author of The Psychology of Persuasion

New York Times bestselling author Larina Kase explains how to accomplish the things you think you can't, but really wish you could . . .

Many people who want to advance in their career or business are faced with an innate fear of change--even positive change that could...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0071549889
• ISBN13: 9780071549882
• Release Date: August 2008
• Publisher: McGraw-Hill Companies
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 0.85 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.4" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

A Top-Notch Book

As a licensed psychologist, I read a lot of self-help books so I can make informed recommendations to my clients. This is one that I'll definitely recommend. Firmly grounded in cutting-edge research (which I found not only relevant but interesting and insightful) Kase lays out a clear and practical approach to help the reader go from "effective to exceptional" and then grounds it all in a variety of real-life applications. Her writing is highly engaging, accessible, and a pleasure to read. I particularly appreciated her willingness to share personal examples from her own professional journey: clearly Kase not only talks the talk, but has walked the walk. I also found the interviews with other leaders in different fields to be quite valuable. There's much here to benefit from. Well done!

Fabulous Book on Business Leadership

Dr. Kase has packed an amazing amount of information into this compact book on business leadership. As a psychologist, I am always on the lookout for books that I can recommend to clients who feel stuck as business owners or high ranking executives. At last, here is one that I can recommend with great enthusiasm. What's more, because Dr. Kase bases her book on sound psychological research, her written words reinforce concepts that I share verbally with my clients--a really welcome change from other leadership books that are based on anecdote. As for myself, even though I run a very small business, I definitely run into obstacles of my own making or otherwise, and I am certain this is a book I will pull off the shelf again and again to get perspective and ideas for moving forward with my vision.

A Powerful Perspective

I highly recommend this book. In it, Dr. Larina Kase reveals a powerful perspective on how we develop and what contributes to success in our lives and in our work. Weaving together stories from her clients with psychological research, Larina helps us see our own tendencies objectively. She explains that in a situation where you are reaching beyond what you have done before, natural discomfort arises in your experience. What we do with that discomfort or anxiety, is a key factor in how much we flourish in life. In my opinion, this objective perspective and insight is a gift, because it liberates our potential to change how we respond and grow. Where before we may have semi-consciously shied away or defended ourselves from this natural discomfort (in a myriad of ways detailed in the book), now we know how to interpret the experience differently. And Larina also lays out a simple, yet comprehensive system of development, or "GROWTH" process that enables us to change. Not only is the perspective powerful, but Larina takes care to help us immediately take action--for each insight revealed in the book, she gives us action steps. To top it off, the book is full of interviews with experts who have demonstrated the effectiveness of the growth mindset in their own lives. Sharing their insights on the subject matter fills out the book and makes it a rich resource that I will keep coming back to again and again. . This is no ordinary business book. Thank you Larina for bringing your depth of understanding as a business psychologist and executive leadership coach to bear on every page!

Misleading title - not just for "leaders"

I almost didn't order this book because the word "Leader" didn't particularly resonate with me. But I really liked Dr. Kase's other book, The Confident Speaker, so I decided to give this one a try. After glancing at the table of contents, it became clear to me that this book is for ANYONE who wants to grow. I liked that the book looks at the person as a whole and recognizes that everyone (including the most successful) has habits, fears, and beliefs that keep them from succeeding even more. I am impressed not only by the breadth of techniques the book covers, but by the clear, systematic, and well-defined action steps that walk you through fighting the usual things that keep us from being "exceptional". I am always looking for ways to grow myself, my business, and inspire my clients - this is a book I would definitely recommend.

Awesome! Everyone should read this book!

I am only halfway through the book and wish I would have read it much sooner. Everyone should read this book! I am an RN who has known for many years that if I explain the rationale behind why I recommend something to a patient, the more likely they are to adhere to it. If, for example, I want a patient to get up and walk after surgery and I told them "Your goal today should be to get up and walk" without any explanation, the patient is more likely to procrastinate about it all day dwelling on the pain and discomfort they feel from surgery. On the other hand, if I tell them that the goal will be to walk today because by just that one action they will be preventing pneumonia and blood clots, promoting circulation which promotes healing, preventing muscle atrophy, skin breakdown and ileus ( a twisting of the intestine which can sometimes be a problem for patient's who are not moving around much after receiving anesthesia), and that we will control their pain with medications in the beginning to get them over the hump, they are going to be more likely to walk not only once but maybe two or three times! Larina Kase does the exact same thing with how we think and make decisions in work and life. It now makes sense why I keep falling into the same habits even though they hold me back. Not only does she answer WHY we come to certain decisions but also HOW to change our thought patterns to make those decisions more effective, thus achieving greater success in life. This information is not just important for our business success but can be applied to any aspect of our life. This is the next best thing to her personally coaching you. Obviously, I highly recommend it. Wishing you success! Chris from Arizona