Leading Lightly: Lower Your Stress, Think with Clarity, and Lead with Ease

I have read a lot of business/leadership books and they are all really great lists of things that our idealized version of our selves might be able to accomplish. A lot of these things we even already know. This book gets to the why feel like we often don’t and gives practical strategies that can be applied to immediately help change the way we experience stressors and in turn be more effective in our day.This book does a great job of guiding you to step outside a moment and regain control of your own experience and responses. It helps reframe the experiences, making them less overwhelming and less draining. Leaving us in a better position to handle the next thing.The concept of mental fitness, and the on going pursuit of building resilience is something I was able to learn in depth from Jody directly from her coaching sessions. I can attest to the fact that it has completely changed my ability to manage the complex operations of my business while also balancing the needs of my clients and employees, and still come home with energy for myself and my family at the end of the day. It has been such an improvement in my life professional and personally that I try to share her strategies as much as I can.I am thrilled Jody has been able to capture the core of her coaching strategy in this book so effectively. I not only plan to share this book with anyone and everyone, I plan to read again.

This book couldn’t have come at a better time! The last 2 years have been overwhelming to say the least – both professionally and personally. My work load and stress level has never been higher and my personal life and lack of personal growth are at an all-time low. Jody’s book walks you through a self-assessment to help identify the behaviors you have adopted over time that you think are protecting you, but in fact are adding to the stress, anxiety, and many pain points in your life. Jody gives specific, practical and realistic steps to break old habits/patterns that do not serve you and develop the skills to respond to challenges, both professionally and personally, with optimal performance – become mentally fit. The book gives you tools to manage your emotions, take control, shift your perspective, adjust your mindset and operate at your fullest potential.Leading Lightly was enjoyable, relatable and informative. It was as easy as ABC (SEE)!

Jody Michael's Leading Lightly has successfully articulated so many of the realizations and self-awareness lessons that I have learned the hard way or through therapy over the years. Her book gets to the core of what we all need to consider, practice, understand, etc. about ourselves to be happy and at ease and be fierce, driven, and incredibly effective in life and work. This is not simply a business or leadership book, this is a guide to being a fully aware, empathetic, effective, and grounded human. Some quotes that I still think of regularly from the book, "let go of the impeding belief that everything and everyone else is the main problem...change begins with you....much more often than we think, we are responsible for our own pain...own your stuff and get out of your own way."

Don’t let the breezy title fool you. This leadership book is a must read. The author elegantly guides you to become more conscious about your lens, to understand what it means to take radical accountability and to truly lead with lasting impact. She also helps you realize the energetic power in shifting your mindset and adapting your style to lead more effectively no matter what comes your way. You will not only notice profound shifts after applying the tools in this book, but the results will come more quickly and with greater ease. Jody Michael is truly a transformational leadership expert. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to up their game in work and in life.

This author has a very inspiring personal story about how she lost everything financially but was able to keep a strong, positive mindset to rebound in her career. It gives a lot of credibility to her recommendations about how anyone can create a mindset that helps them be at their best. This book is definitely relevant right now when so many people are feeling so much stress. It’s written in a very conversational style, as if the author is speaking directly to you … easy to digest and very useful.