This was an interesting read about new leadership in time of COVID. I thought the author had some good points but also some of it I’m not sure applies in my workplace.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a copy to honestly review.

Lots of interesting topics covered in this book. Takes a perspective of contemporary leadership. Thanks to NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

Leadership Reimagined attempts to address a modern leader, post-COVID, dealing with the new normals and the changing demands of the workforce. I am unsure if this book is a work-in-progess or if this is supposed to be the finished product, as it only has four very disconnected chapters, and abruptly ends after addressing, yet again, communication challenges. Not that I was sad to see this book end; in was a mental slog to make it through the content.

What I liked about this book: I appreciate the sentiment that leaders need to adapt and break out of the traditional thinking/definitions of a workplace, a workforce, and the value an employee provides to your team. I assume the author, a former Army Officer and a multi-decades member of the civilian workforce, would have a unique perspective and an arsenal of training/education/experience to leverage in his argument. I do appreciate that there is use of citation, though found many to be weak sources or not directly supportive of the argument as quoted.

What I found lacking:
Foremost, this book is a disjointed mash-up of what feels like blog posts, stitched together without transitions and lacking of a heavily-needed editor's hand. Outlining the chapters shows the lack of pattern, argument, and clarity of points. There is not a clear thesis to the argument. Most importantly, the cover seems to outline this 6-phased shape that represents the Six Foundations of the Reimagined Workplace and Workforce. You'd assume that this would be the anchor points and organizational model for the argument. Nope; the author spends about 1/4 of one chapter outlining the ideas -- and this doesn't pop up until the third chapter.
Secondly, I found the author's voice to be disconnected from reality (or, at least, lacking true empathy) and disingenuous, especially when talking about DEI subjects. Several references are made to virtual employees and a perception of being too casual. To quote, "...employees increasingly wear pajamas in front of the camera, children contest the camera while mom is in a visual meeting, and so forth." TWICE, the author uses this passage and EACH TIME uses "Mom" as the person these children are interrupting. Wholly tone-deaf and ridiculous to imply or assume that women with kids at home were the only ones who had this problem. It's statements like that, that make me (as a reader) question whether or not the author has self-awareness (which, ironically, he claims leaders need to have) to understand his own unconscious biases.
Lastly, as a leader I expected big deliverables with a title "Leadership Reimagined" and was very disappointed. Nothing, absolutely nothing, this author provided in their argument is new -- not innovative, not mind-blowing, and half the time not even an advancement made in leadership studies within the last decade! I think there is okay advice, it's just recycled content from many other leadership books that, honestly, cover it better. I believe the author's over-use of tying his argument to new realities driven by COVID especially disappointing -- as, again, nothing provided is a novel idea sprung up due to the shifts in workplace environments from COVID.

I cannot in good faith recommend this book to be added to a serious curriculum for those studying leadership, at least as it's currently presented.

I thank NetGalley for the opportunity to review this book in exchange for a free eARC. My opinions are my own.

Great read. This book has helped me open my eyes on different areas of my life that's need to refocus.