Leading Yourself by Elizabeth Lotardo Summary

Leading Yourself provides actionable strategies to transform your work experience by mastering self-leadership, even in imperfect jobs. It addresses challenges like difficult bosses, workplace uncertainty, and reputation management, offering frameworks to navigate self-doubt, optimize time, and build meaningful relationships. Key themes include reframing self-talk, finding purpose in mundane tasks, and making intentional career moves.

Aspiring and current managers, executives, and professionals seeking greater joy and growth in their careers will benefit most. The book suits those facing micromanagers, erratic leadership, or organizational dysfunction, offering tools to reclaim control over their work experience. It’s particularly valuable for individuals navigating career transitions or workplace stagnation.

Yes, for its practical, no-nonsense advice on turning flawed work environments into opportunities. Readers praise its actionable tactics for handling feedback, managing difficult bosses, and preserving credibility during company missteps. The blend of humor, real-world examples, and concise frameworks makes it a standout in self-leadership literature.

• Self-doubt management: Reframe negative self-talk and embrace change.
• Boss dynamics: Scripts for micromanagers, indecisive leaders, and know-it-alls.
• Feedback mastery: Techniques to give/receive feedback confidently, even when it’s inaccurate.
• Reputation protection: Steps to stay credible amid team or company failures.

Lotardo provides "talk tracks"—pre-written dialogue templates—to address common boss archetypes like micromanagers or indecisive leaders. These scripts help set boundaries, clarify expectations, and redirect unproductive behavior while maintaining professionalism. The focus is on controlling your response, not changing the boss.

The book includes evaluation tools to assess when to stay in a role versus leave, weighing factors like growth opportunities, values alignment, and emotional costs. It also outlines methods to identify transferable skills and build a "career resilience" plan for uncertain economies.

Unlike broader leadership guides, Leading Yourself zeroes in on self-empowerment in flawed systems. It complements books like Atomic Habits (habit-building) and Dare to Lead (team leadership) by focusing specifically on personal agency amid external chaos.

Some readers note the advice assumes a baseline level of workplace stability, which may not apply to toxic or abusive environments. Others desire more examples for non-corporate roles. However, most praise its realism about imperfect organizations.

It tackles remote/hybrid work challenges, economic volatility, and AI-driven shifts by teaching adaptability. The 2025 edition includes updated case studies on maintaining influence in decentralized teams and managing reputation in digital-first workplaces.

• “Your job is a platform, not a prison.”
• “Manage your manager before they manage you.”
• “Feedback says more about the giver than you.”

These emphasize proactive self-leadership over passive victimhood.

Drawing from clients like Salesforce and Berkshire Hathaway firms, Lotardo blends academic theory with street-tested tactics. Her LinkedIn Learning courses on feedback and decision-making inform the book’s structured, workshop-style exercises.

Yes, it provides frameworks to evaluate risks, translate current skills to new roles, and build confidence during transitions. The “career resilience” chapter specifically addresses pivoting in uncertain markets or industries.