Why accepting adversity drives power and freedom
The world we live in today presents unavoidable, and at times unprecedented challenges and adversities. The hidden impact of these events can often have a damaging impact on leaders, both as individuals and on their ability to lead effectively. However, Samreen McGregor believes adversity is a key formative experience for any leader; to become remarkable at what they do, they must learn to accept, embrace and work with the hidden effects of trauma and adversity.
Samreen McGregor is an executive leadership coach and advisor. She helps leaders and senior teams from various backgrounds and industries achieve breakthroughs and skillfully orchestrate transformation within their organisations.
In Leader Awakened, Samreen explains how leaders can use their experiences as a powerful catalyst for change and as a point for learning, empowerment, agency and improved wellbeing. The book provides a thought-provoking blend of practical examples and theoretical observations alongside Samreen’s personal experiences of trauma following her son’s cancer diagnosis and a lifetime of grappling with questions of identity and belonging.
“I have written this book for anyone who is in or aspires to be in a leadership role. It looks at what it takes to integrate the personal and professional, the manageable and the unmanageable – and the healthy and unhealthy demands we make of ourselves or others make of us. I have woven my own story, as well as those of others, into the book – because one of the things I know more than anything is that we cannot separate who we are from how we lead,” says Samreen.
Drawing on Samreen’s twenty five years of experience, Leader Awakened is the ideal read for anyone wanting to form, reshape or lead a team, or to examine their own personal performance and behaviour patterns as a leader. The book explores how a leader’s understanding of their own life story can impact their thoughts, behaviour and values and empower them to accept and embrace the trauma or difficulties they have experienced.
The book also delves into the theory that supports and validates Samreen’s interventions with clients, including psychological, neuroscientific, management science, naturopathic and body work methods.
Leader Awakened aims to inspire readers to see themselves as an instrument, to know themselves deeper and to wake up to the bigger picture. It encourages people to seek new ways of thinking and behaving and to apply them to both their role as a leader, and within everyday life.
Leader Awakened is published by Rethink Press and available on Amazon.