Human Leadership: The Courage to Face Ourselves and Each Other - Hardcover

by Kristen Hadeed (Author)

The hardest person to lead is yourself.

For more than a decade, Kristen Hadeed defined herself as a servant leader. As the founder and CEO of a company widely recognized for its compassionate culture and the author of Permission to Screw Up, she made sure her people came first, always.

But after years of pouring everything she had into her business and her leadership, Kristen came face-to-face with a hard truth: Behind closed doors, she felt trapped beneath the weight of carrying it all. She had built a career around putting others first and abandoned herself in the process. The work she once loved was now tangled up in a web of pressure and expectations.

From the outside, she appeared to have it all together. But inside, she was falling apart.

Human Leadership is Kristen's raw, personal account of losing herself in service to others and the difficult work of finding her way back. It's a story of burnout, ambition, resentment, grief, reinvention, profound self-examination, and the courage it takes to share what you discover with the people around you. By learning to face herself, tell the truth, and take ownership of her choices, Kristen became a more courageous, compassionate leader and built a life and business that would take care of her, too.

Kristen's journey shows that leadership doesn't have to mean endless sacrifice or self-abandonment. Human Leadership offers a different path--one where courage, honesty, and humanity become the foundation of meaningful leadership and a meaningful life. Part memoir, part invitation, Kristen's story will empower you to:

• Recognize the values, fears, and limiting beliefs driving your leadership choices
• Communicate more honestly with yourself and the people you lead
• Navigate change, guilt, and difficult decisions with greater compassion
• Build trust and connection without abandoning your boundaries or yourself
• Recognize when frustration is pointing to an unmet need or necessary change
• Create a fulfilling and authentic version of success

Human Leadership is for anyone who has ever poured everything into others and woken up wondering where they went. Kristen reminds us that our relationship with ourselves informs our relationships with others and that the most human way to lead begins with refusing to abandon yourself.

Front Jacket

The hardest person to lead is yourself.

Kristen Hadeed appeared to be at the height of her success. Student Maid, the student-powered cleaning company she founded in college, had grown into a globally recognized business and was celebrated for its culture of building future leaders. Her first book, Permission to Screw Up, had hit shelves, and her career as a speaker was taking off. But privately, she was burned out, resentful, and drowning in six figures of business debt.

A glimpse of an unrecognizable reflection on a lonely night forced Kristen to confront a painful truth: She was miles away from the person and leader she wanted to be.

As she searched for a way out of her misery, Kristen realized she'd spent her life believing that her self-worth depended on her ability to keep everyone happy no matter the cost to herself. What looked like generosity and strong leadership had become self-abandonment. Letting go of that belief became the key to transforming both her life and her company.

Part memoir, part invitation, Human Leadership is the unfiltered story of Kristen's journey from disengagement and depletion to freedom and fulfillment. It rejects the idea that people-first leadership requires putting yourself last and asks leaders to challenge the assumptions that keep them exhausted, lonely, and disconnected from the work they once loved. Through candid scenes from coaching sessions, team meetings, interventions, and painful decisions, Kristen shows what it takes to build a business that takes care of its people--and its leaders, too.

By learning to meet herself with honesty and take responsibility for her choices, Kristen gave her team permission to do the same, creating a culture where people could grow without sacrificing who they are. Her story shows that good leadership comes not from endless self-sacrifice but from having the courage to be more human--and to face ourselves and others with an open heart.

Back Jacket

PRAISE FOR HUMAN LEADERSHIP

"Through honesty, humility, and hard-earned wisdom, Kristen Hadeed demonstrates that lasting leadership growth begins with the courage to face who we are and who we can become."
--Marshall Goldsmith, Thinkers50 #1 Leadership Thinker and New York Times bestselling author

"This book is generous, courageous, and what's most meaningful to me: deeply human."
--Jennifer Pastiloff, bestselling author of On Being Human and Proof of Life

"Human Leadership shows that to lead others well you must lead yourself well. I highly recommend this book!"
--Jon Gordon, 19x bestselling author of The Carpenter and The One Truth

"Kristen Hadeed gives language to an experience countless leaders share but rarely admit, and in doing so, reminds us that achievement means little if it comes at the cost of ourselves."
--Morra Aarons-Mele, podcast host and author of The Anxious Achiever

"If you're a leader who wants permission to be human, grab a copy of this book today."
--Erica Keswin, bestselling author and workplace strategist

Author Biography

KRISTEN HADEED believes that authentic, human leadership can change the world. She helps leaders and teams around the world build cultures rooted in connection, courage, and humanity. Her work has been featured in Fast Company, Forbes, TIME, and NBC's Today. Her first book, Permission to Screw Up, has sold more than 50,000 copies worldwide.