Most leadership advice asks you to perform a version of yourself that doesn't fit. This book club uses great fiction to explore a different way—leading with self-awareness, curiosity, and honesty.
Free. Online. Starting February 2025.
Join the book clubYou've read the books. You've sat through the training. You've tried to "speak up more" and "be more confident" and "executive presence" your way into the leader you're supposed to be.
But something doesn't fit.
Maybe you're neurodivergent and the advice assumes a brain that works differently from yours. Maybe you're an introvert in a world that rewards volume over depth. Maybe you've just never seen yourself in the leaders you're told to emulate.
This book club is for you.
We use fiction—not frameworks—to explore what it actually means to lead well. Stories teach you things case studies can't: how to sit with ambiguity, how to understand people different from you, how to act with integrity when the right answer isn't obvious.
You won't find competency grids here. You'll find characters making hard choices, and a small group of thoughtful people to discuss them with.
We're not reading business books. We're reading literature—stories that don't tell you how to lead, but make you feel what it means to lead well, or badly.
A master class in reading with intention. Saunders unpacks seven Russian short stories to reveal how great writers make us think and feel—and why that matters for how we show up in the world. This book will change how you read everything else.
A quiet, devastating novella set in 1980s Ireland. A coal merchant sees something he can't ignore. What do you do when doing the right thing costs you? Keegan's spare prose asks big questions about courage, complicity, and conscience.
A play about a man who's performed respectability so long he's trapped by it. Consul Bernick is a pillar of his community—but his success is built on secrets and lies. What happens when the mask finally slips? Ibsen wrote this in 1877 and it still cuts close.
We'll meet, set expectations, and talk about what we're hoping to get from the six weeks together. You'll already have started reading Saunders.
A Swim in a Pond in the Rain (Saunders)
Small Things Like These (Keegan)
The Pillars of Society (Ibsen)
This isn't a passive experience. The value comes from the discussion, which means it depends on everyone doing the reading and being willing to share their thoughts. If now isn't the right time for that commitment, no hard feelings—there will be future rounds.
"It delivered on every front - it offered insights I hadn't considered before, created a space to connect with people from across the world, and invited me to reflect on leadership in new ways."
— Lenka Berkowitz, Senior Evaluator at Apex Consulting
"I've become more aware of how and why I react to others, and take more time to reflect on the context surrounding my interactions rather than just the event itself."
— Alec McKay, Workforce Analyst at Auckland University of Technology
"Anyone who feels like they want an alternative way to approach leadership in their business and life will benefit from what you're teaching."
— Christiane David, Co-founder of Green Wealth Legacy
I spent years feeling like I was doing leadership wrong.
I have an English lit degree and ended up in data and product. I've led teams, shipped products, and built things with AI. But for a long time, I carried a quiet shame—I struggled in ways I didn't think I should. I masked. I performed. I read the leadership books and tried to follow the advice, but it never quite fit.
Then I learned I'm autistic. And suddenly, a lot of things made sense.
Now I help people—especially neurodivergent professionals—develop as leaders without pretending to be someone they're not. We use fiction, not business books, because stories teach you things frameworks can't: how to sit with ambiguity, how to understand people different from you, how to lead with integrity when the right answer isn't clear.
I read about 50 books a year, most of them fiction. I have a master's degree in English Literature from the University of Exeter. I work part-time at Auckland Council while building this. And I believe the best leadership development doesn't ask you to become someone else—it helps you become more fully yourself.
If you've ever felt like an outsider in traditional leadership spaces, this is for you.
I'll send you the full schedule and reading guide once you sign up. You'll have time to get the books before our first session.
The book club is valuable on its own. You'll read great fiction, have meaningful conversations, and leave with new ways of thinking about leadership. That's the whole point.
But for those who want to go deeper, I'm building a paid cohort—a more structured, more intensive program that uses literature to explore leadership, self-awareness, and how we show up for others. It's for people who are ready to do the real work.
There's no obligation to do anything beyond the book club. But if the cohort interests you, this is a good place to start.