Constance Dierickx - High-Stakes Leadership: Leading Through Crisis with Courage, Judgment, and Fortitude

Constance Dierickx takes you on a journey through courage that starts with your intellect, enters your heart, and refreshes your soul. High-Stakes Leadership is the alchemy that combines smarts, guts, and courage that produce brilliance, a quality not in great abundance in business today. What struck me most is that all of us are in high-stakes businesses, but too many of us act as if we can succeed in some safe zone. Constance pulls away the safety net and teaches us how to soar.

Alan Weiss, PhD, author of Million Dollar Consulting, Lifestorming (with Marshall Goldsmith), and over 60 other books

Constance Dierickx illustrates high-stakes leadership with stories of leaders who exemplify key leadership qualities of courage, judgment, and fortitude. Id add another quality to this list: Her leaders show a degree of grace that is uncommon in the business world. These examples, backed by research, show what makes a leader great during turbulent times.

Daniel H. Pink, author of Drive and To Sell Is Human

Constance is the only person I know who transitioned from a stockbroker to a psychologist. Perhaps that is why her insights and advice are so relevant and pragmatic. I deeply appreciate her insight and wise counsel which she captures in this book.

Walt Rabe, PE, President and Chief Executive Officer, Schnabel Engineering

High-Stakes Leadership is straightforward, uncomplicated, and full of real world examples that illustrate the qualities that distinguish great leaders. Especially valuable are the stories of leaders who made mistakes or failed before achieving success. Constance shows us that the right attributes help leaders learn, face reality, dust themselves off, and snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.

Bob Lamm: Co-Chair, Securities and Corporate Governance Practice, Gunster, Yoakley & Stewart, P.A.; Independent Senior Advisor, Deloitte Center for Board Effectiveness

Constance Dierickxs High-Stakes Leadership informs, entertains, and most of all teaches timeless lessons. Her pragmatism and deep knowledge of behavior are a powerful combination and will add lasting value to the reader.

Katherine Jackson, PhD, former Chief Technology Officer, Westinghouse

Constance combines strategic thinking and pragmatic advice in a way I find absolutely unique. She asks difficult questions that need to be asked. Her qualities and style come through clearly in High-Stakes Leadership making it a valuable guide for executives responsible for major changes with far reaching consequenceshigh-stakes situations.

Colin Boyd, Chief Information Officer, Komatsu Mining Company

Constance Dierickx, PhD

First edition published in 2018
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2018 by Constance Dierickx

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International Standard Book Number-13: 978-1-138-08860-3 (Hardback)
International Standard eBook Number-13: 978-1-315-10974-9 (eBook)

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Library of Congress CataloginginPublication Data

Names: Dierickx, Constance, author.

Title: High-stakes leadership : leading through crisis with courage, judgement, and fortitude / Constance Dierickx.

Description: New York : Taylor & Francis, [2017] | Includes bibliographical references and index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2017010330 (print) | LCCN 2017010928 (ebook) | ISBN 9781138088603 (hardback : alk. paper) | ISBN 9781315109749 (ebook)

Subjects: LCSH: Leadership. | Crisis management.

Classification: LCC HD57.7 .D554 2017 (print) | LCC HD57.7 (ebook) | DDC 658.4/092dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017010330

Visit the Taylor & Francis Web site at www.taylorandfrancis.com

I wish to extend my deepest thanks to colleagues, friends, and family for their encouragement and support. I especially want to thank my clients, past and current, who work earnestly to add value, make the tough decisions, and do the right thing.

The colleagues with whom I learn, collaborate, and explore are among the finest consultants and people I have ever met:

Linda Henman, PhD, dear friend and wicked smart colleague, who supports, pushes, and makes me laugh until my sides hurt.

Linda Popky, excellent writer, marketer, and loving Jewish mother to everyone in her purview.

Alan Weiss, PhD, who has taught me more about consulting than I ever thought possible and without whose insistence I would not have written this book. He once called me a fearless learner. I am inspired to live up to that description.

Frank Ricker, my grandfather. I was lucky to grow up with so much of his influence. I learned by hanging around his office, eavesdropping on business conversations, and watching him spot opportunities in the marketplace in our small town. If anyone was a fearless learner, it was he.

Robert Cialdini, PhD, excellent researcher and expert on influence. I use his research daily and cannot recommend his books highly enough. He graciously spoke with me to help me integrate his research with the ideas in this book.

Peter Economy and Mark Levy, who helped me formulate my ideas and get them written.

I thank, too, the many leaders with whom I spoke for this work. Some are named while others preferred anonymity. Each has a lesson from which we can all learn.

Michael Dierickx, Amy, and April, for making my life more interesting, meaningful, and fulfilling than I would have ever dared hope. Eric and Lance, who are the reasons I say, We hit the son-in-law lottery!