“A compelling framework for rethinking leadership.”—Reedsy Discovery
“A distinctively original, neuroscience-based approach to management.”—Midwest Book Review
“Practical strategies to create workplaces that hum with energy and innovation.”—Amy Hagberg, Author
» SEVEN TIMES AWARD-WINNER
» Top 5 Bestseller in Business Teams
» Top 50 in Management & Leadership
A revolutionary and indispensable guide to dramatically increase trust, engagement, and innovation in the people you lead by using practical, brain-friendly tools in habitual, consistent ways.
Become the leader everyone wants to follow.
Certainty: How Great Bosses Can Change Minds and Drive Innovation
Great leaders draw out the best of human nature.
The dilemma
Evolutionary psychologists tell us that our minds have not altered much since the Stone Age. Our brains are survival machines, programmed to fear change. So, what are managers to do when getting others to change is a major part of their job?
When author Mike Mears was the CIA’s Chief of Human Resources, he was posed with this very question.
The solution
In Certainty: How Great Bosses Can Change Minds and Drive Innovation, Mears offers the answer: understand human nature. Work with it rather than pushing against it.
Mears draws on neuroscience and psychology—plus compelling stories from his career—to offer practical leadership advice, including:
Entertaining, science-backed explanations of how our brains think and how our primitive brains are colliding with the demands of the modern workplace
Actionable feedback, change management, and delegation tools to build an environment of certainty rather than of fear
Visual prompts to overcome innate change resistance in yourself and others
Mental prompts to boost leadership insight and inclusion
The results
You want loyalty, trust, and great performance from your team.
We all do.
With Mears’ guidance, you can identify the limitations and strengths of the human mind and then create positive change by applying that understanding in the workplace.
Watch Mike Introduce Certainty
Award-winning and Bestselling Leadership Book
Highly Regarded
“If you are in the process of reengineering your organization, the concepts and suggestions detailed in Mike’s book will prove to be indispensable.
“The framework and tips presented in this book will help you avoid many of the common and often catastrophic mistakes that change agents make.
“Providing certainty to the troops is the key to a successful journey.
“Mike Mears is the REAL DEAL.
“He deeply understands the theory of leadership and is a master practitioner.”
—Jim Gosler, senior fellow, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, and former director of CIA Clandestine Information Technology Office
“Leadership is a team sport.
“It’s about recognizing and magnifying people’s talents in ways that overcome tribal barriers and self-doubts within an organization.
“I strongly recommend Mike Mears’s book because it offers actionable insights and tools to overcome those hidden barriers and doubts.
“It’s a road map for driving transformative change in any organization.”
—C. Robert Henrikson, retired chief executive officer and chairman of MetLife
Mike’s Interviews and Podcast Appearances
