NAKED AT WORK

A leadership manual offers readers an unusual twist.

Knaupp takes an innovative and mind-expanding look at leadership, examining concepts that few people ponder or are even aware of. She encourages readers to undertake intense self-explorations. Although readers can’t help but improve by applying her principles and insights, the author insists this is not “a self-help book” but rather “a leadership manual.” The volume features a different mode of leadership, which requires one to get naked (figuratively) in the workplace. Under her system, revealing oneself goes far beyond the standard tenets of transparency. Getting naked means that readers must trust that they are good enough to lead and at the same time strip off their protective armor. The program requires that readers expose their backgrounds, thoughts, and mistakes. That can be scary, but Knaupp removes the intimidation factor by laying herself bare in these pages. She shares both her successes and what she calls her “spectacular” failures. Readers meet the “leader who has built three very successful, six-figure careers, each from the ground up.” They also see a woman who was driven to file for bankruptcy early in her entrepreneurial career. It’s surprising to see the topic of shame addressed in a leadership manual, let alone two chapters delving into it. Another instructive chapter teaches readers how to rewrite their stories, which she poignantly illustrates with an inspiring and detailed passage about how Monica Lewinsky changed the script of her life. The author expands on executive coach Tim Gallwey’s inner game theory, which is based on a simple equation: Performance = Potential – Interference. She shows at length how to identify and eliminate interference, which she explains can be many things, “internal or external, real or imagined.” In a refreshing manner that sets her book apart from many business guides, she delivers her message with compassion but remains no-nonsense (“This is hard work. You’re going to get it wrong before you get it right”). Her advice is simple to embrace and implement, which makes for easy, even delightful reading.

An effective approach that will resonate with aspiring business leaders.