Writing, Editing and Publishing I had thought my writing days were over. I thought I’d said all I had to say about leadership and people and workplaces. It appears I was wrong about that. I am now the author of a book about leadership.

Three years after I stopped writing regularly for my blog, “You’re Not the Boss of Me”, I found myself writing a book. Of course it was a book about leadership, but also about the zoo that is life.

One of the reasons it took so long for me to make up my mind is there are so many books about leadership I saw little point in adding to the mix. I didn’t want to do it simply to feed my ego. I wanted to, well, write with purpose. A more useful purpose.

And then it occurred to me.

A Book for Which Leaders?

There are people who write leadership books for executives because there’s a lot of leverage there. If you can influence executives, help them become better leaders, it has a positive impact on those who follow them. Not only that, but good executive leaders are thought to make a greater impact on economies and create stability in the marketplace. It’s also where the money is.

There are people who write for the new generation of leaders. These are the newly minted, the young and inexperienced who have great ideas and even greater ambitions. The world is waiting for them to blossom and people who write books for them are there to help them do it. This is where the future is, and for some, where the hope lies.

I hazard to say that fewer people write books about leadership for the ones in the middle. The leaders who reach middle management in middle age and wonder if that’s all there is. I began writing for them, the ones looking for renewal in some way because their potential for greater contribution and greater fulfillment should not be discounted.

Leading From the Middle

I have written a book about leadership for these middle leaders because, frankly, being in “the middle” career-wise, age-wise, and a few other “wises” is not for the faint of heart. This is often a time when we come to a cross roads of some sort, the kind that demands we either fish or cut bait. The decisions we make at this time of life shape what happens over the course of the rest of it.

My book is designed to help these mid-career leaders expand their ideas about leadership; increase self-awareness, and reflect on their own lives and leadership; plan for change and learn some practical responses to everyday leadership challenges.

It is also a book to inspire readers to take considered risks; achieve their intended goals, and move closer to the attainment of their ideal future.

I know. It sounds rather lofty doesn’t it? Writing a book about leadership. The thing is, I believe it possible for all of us to do more than we feel capable of. It’s hard, but possible. I just want to help.