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Sly and Mighty

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What to expect

The groundbreaking new book which exposes the psychology of destructive leadership and how to rise above it

 

 

'Rare and necessary... essential reading for anyone who leads, or is led.' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ - Jon Slade, CEO, Financial Times

 

'Every boss, every board member and every employed person should read this.' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ - Theo Paphitis, Dragon, Entrepreneur and Retail Champion

 

'An essential guide to power, politics and personality at work." ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ - Anna Jones, CEO, The Telegraph

 

'Indispensable... I will be recommending it.' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ - Prof. Andrew Stephen, Saïd Business School, Oxford

 

 


We are all, at times, awakened by the courage of another. 

Great leadership expands us: possibility, conviction, a sense of what we might become.

But where there is light, there is also shadow. 

Across boardrooms, staffrooms and communities, a corrosive style of leadership has taken hold, rooted in narcissism and Dark Triad traits, low in empathy, high in control and quietly destructive. It erodes confidence, silences dissent and leaves lasting harm.

'Sly and Mighty' names it, and shows you what to do next.

Drawing on an extraordinary triple perspective as a global board-level executive, leadership headhunter and acclaimed psychotherapist, Kathleen Saxton brings a uniquely full-spectrum lens to how toxic power operates, and why it is so often allowed.

Combining high-stakes case studies with the latest research on narcissism and workplace dynamics, this book helps you to:

    🐊 Spot the warning signs early

    🐊 Stop enabling what you know is wrong

    🐊Decide how to challenge, navigate or leave

    🐊 Reclaim your confidence and assert your agency

 

'Sly and Mighty' bears witness to recognition, resistance and recovery - because leadership should never diminish you, or anyone else.

Critics Review

Positive leadership is key to a successful business and fulfilled employees - if it's not working it needs to be brought sharply into focus. Kathleen Saxton names the challenges, explains them and, crucially, shows you how to deal with them. Every boss and every board should read this.
Theo Paphitis, Retail entrepreneur, Dragons' Den investor
Kathleen Saxton has done something rare and necessary. She has taken the lived experience of toxic power and given it both a clinical framework and a human face. Essential reading for anyone who leads, is led or sits on a board.
Jon Slade, CEO, Financial Times
A rare and important contribution, rigorous in its psychological grounding yet utterly accessible. Saxton bridges the gap between clinical insight and organisational reality with true authority.
Professor Andrew Stephen AM, Saïd Business School
Sly & Mighty is the book I wish had existed earlier in my career; for anyone in a leadership or management role, building a culture or simply trying to survive one, it will be hugely valuable. Saxton writes with authority, compassion and the hard-won wisdom that only comes from having seen this world from every angle.
Anna Jones, CEO, The Telegraph
Author Kathleen Saxton
Narrator Kathleen Saxton
Duration 9 hours and 13 minutes
Release Date
ISBN 9781399836890
Format Audiobook
Publisher John Murray Press
Genre Coping with stress, Office and workplace, Personality traits, Popular psychology
Availability AU, GB, IE, US

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