First, to the audiobook:
It was a pleasure to listen to the narrator. The pace was slow enough for me to think about what I was hearing, but not too slow for my mind to wander. Sometimes I would have liked the narrator to show a little more variation in his speech pattern because he sounded read off a lot of the time, but that's just a nitpick from me.


Then, to the content:
The book seems to be written like a longer speech or a presentation in a leadership training course. One gets an overview of the topics, an introduction of the author and the contributors to the book, and the chapters themselves.
The overall structure of the chapters is interesting and, from a subjective point of view, also relevant. However, the overview could have been a few sentences shorter in my opinion. Each chapter seems to have its own paragraph explaining what is being talked about, why it is important or a problem, and how to deal with it. Why should I keep listening if I feel like I know everything I need to know?
Also, especially in English-speaking countries, it is common to include logos, pathos, and ethos in a speech. That is, it is also about why you are qualified to speak about a topic (i.e. proving that you are worth listening to) and creating emotional connections, e.g. through personal anecdotes (so that people want to keep listening to you), rather than just informing the audience about something.
I bring this up because I often felt that it was not about showing one's qualifications, but rather about satisfying one's own ego and that of the other contributors to the book. I can understand wanting to list everything you've achieved to impress the reader, but a book is not your LinkedIn page. Don't overdo it.
To be honest, after hearing the whole passage, I (almost) forgot what the book was actually about.

But then the chapters started, the actual content, and the author redeemed himself in my eyes. The studies and examples used were interesting and well explained (I can't say if they are factually sound, but most are in line with what I learned in my psychology studies). They also led to a well drawn conclusion that was easy to follow and understand.

A great positive aspect of this book is that the author not only points out the problem and a theoretical or general solution, but also gives a lot of practical examples of how to implement them in respective situations and in one's own life.
Some of them are more suitable for the American work system and companies, but the general gist is still very useful!

I recommend reading or listening to the book more than once to get the most out of it.

This is one of my favorite leadership development books I’ve read in years. I listened to this audiobook narrated by Dr. Craig Dowden, and it was approachable, accessible, and applicable for leaders of all levels (including aspiring leaders). It perfectly balances information and research with real life scenarios and case studies of real leaders and their struggles and challenges.

I really appreciated the chapter on emotional maturity and it’s implications on leadership. I’ve not read another author who covered emotional maturity in a leadership book and after reading “A Time to Lead” I find myself wondering why it’s not required reading. I’ve had emotionally immature and emotionally mature leaders and without question, the better leaders are emotionally mature ones.

He has insightful chapters on mindset, feedback, continuous improvement, and strength development (which was hugely eye opening for me!)— and at the end of every chapter was a masterclass from Alan Mulally, the former CEO of Boeing and Ford. It was so fascinating to hear the authors take on a topic and case studies and then hear from one of the celebrated CEO’s of our time.

This book is well worth the read and listen. I actually found I really enjoyed listening to the narrator read this book- sometimes narrators can dry a work out to the point it’s like pulling teeth to listen to, but this narrator was a very engaging and enjoyable voice to listen to. I highly recommend this one!

A special thanks to Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for an advanced copy of the audiobook in exchange for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.