Credible

Critics Review

• In her clear and invigorating book, Amanda Goodall lays out an essential message for our times: The very best leaders are those who are experts in what they are leading. If you’ve had nagging suspicions about the idea of generalist, all-purpose leaders, this well-researched book will validate your concerns. If you’re currently a leader, aspire to be a leader, or are responsible for selecting and assessing leaders, Credible is a must-read

  Donald C. Hambrick, Evan Pugh University Professor and Smeal Chaired Professor of Management, The Pennsylvania State University

• Credible provides a fascinating insight into the amount and kind of expertise required by different leaders. Anyone in a senior leadership position should read this book and consider the implications for their own performance

  Lord Gus O'Donnell, former Head of the UK Civil Service and Permanent Secretary of the UK Treasury

• Credible is engaging and powerful. With many vivid examples from a range of industries and settings, Amanda Goodall shows how two essential qualities of our species that we evolved to manifest – leadership and expertise – must actually be reflected within both for-profit and not-for-profit organisations

  Nicholas A. Christakis, Sterling Professor of Social and Natural Science, Yale University

• Based on years of renowned research, Credible convincingly demonstrates the superiority of organizations led by experts. A must-read for everyone interested in improving leadership in any type of commercial or public organization

  Marcel Levi, former chairman and chief executive of University College London Hospitals

• Credible explains why organisations work when experienced people are given responsibility to make wise decisions independently. This has been a key factor in building Handelsbanken for over 150 years

  Carina Akerstrom, President and CEO, Handelsbanken

• The analysis in support of expert leaders is extremely convincing and supported by many real-world examples. This piece of work will become a reference for future generations regarding the selection of the best leaders in health care and other fields

  Major-Général Marc Bilodeau, Surgeon General, Canadian Armed Forces

• Deep expertise has been much maligned in recent years. In her insightful and well-researched book, Credible, Goodall offers a wealth of evidence to remind us how and why expertise matters. Read this book to learn to put the power of expertise to work for you and your organization

  Herminia Ibarra, Charles Handy Professor of Organisational Behaviour at London Business School and author of ACT LIKE A LEADER, THINK LIKE A LEADER

• Credible offers conclusive proof that leaders with expert knowledge of their company’s product and methods make more informed and better decisions

  Keith Griffiths, chairman and global principal designer, Aedas

• This book presents many enlightening instances of the successes of companies with expert leaders and the failures of companies with generalist managers who had little or no knowledge of, nor experience with, their company’s core business. A convincing argument that a company’s success requires leaders to have specific industry expertise

  Library Journal

• A persuasive argument about the need for expertise in leaders . . . Citing many examples in areas such as health care, manufacturing, sports, and technology, Goodall has found that expert leadership leads to success . . . Well-grounded arguments for effective leadership

  Kirkus Reviews

• [A] cogent treatise . . . The stories of corporate and political folly enrage, and the case for how organizations can promote and reward expertise by fostering ‘informed dissent’ and granting line managers ‘freedom and responsibility’ is well made. This spirited defence of specialists convinces

  Publishers Weekly