In October of 2024 I had the pleasure of meeting Sean Glaze at the PMI Milwaukee SE Chapter Professional Development Day. Sean delivered a lively discussion where he talked about his basketball coaching experience and how it shaped his leadership style and approach. I have the privilege to provide a review of his latest book “What Effective Leaders DO”. I hope you find it insightful and encourages you to pick up a copy!
Sean Glaze’s “What Effective Leaders DO” is an engaging, story-driven exploration of the human challenges that accompany leadership roles. This insightful book leverages Sean’s basketball coaching experience to bring a unique perspective to leadership training. Sean explores when individuals are promoted into management without being equipped for the interpersonal challenges that follow. Sean uses his narrative coaching approach, guiding readers through leadership lessons embedded in the experiences of Jenn, a newly promoted engineering team lead grappling with organizational disconnection, team dysfunction, and self-doubt. By placing the protagonist in relatable situations of ambiguity, frustration, and emotional vulnerability, Sean allows readers to see themselves in his character’s journey.
Sean masterfully uses storytelling to expose the realities of leadership development. Through the protagonist’s mentorship with Tony, a seasoned plumber-business owner, readers absorb critical leadership principles in digestible, practical doses. These include the “Ladder of Awareness”, the “Cycle of Culture”, and the “Matrix of Interactions”, each offering profound insights into how a leader’s effectiveness is shaped more by awareness, intentionality, and communication than by technical expertise.
What stands out most is Sean’s emphasis on awareness over experience, and intentional interaction over positional authority. In a world where organizations often assume technical proficiency translates into leadership capacity, this book is a compelling counter-narrative. Leadership, Sean indicates, is not innate or automatic, it is cultivated through reflection, humility, and a willingness to grow.
However, those seeking a more data-driven or research-backed approach may find the book light in that regard. Its strength lies in metaphor and anecdote rather than analytics. In the case of practitioners, frontline leaders, and those mentoring new managers, this book offers a refreshingly human and highly usable perspective on what effective leadership looks like. I strongly recommend this book, and it should be required reading for new and aspiring leaders, as well as a reminder for seasoned executives that effectiveness is earned through growth, not granted by promotion.
Once you have read the book, I welcome your comments and thoughts!
Recent Comments