?? “The Promises of Giants: How YOU can fill the leadership void”, by John Amaechi.

Where do I start? John Amaechi OBE is an organizational psychologist and a leadership transformation expert. I’ve been following John ever since I took a DEI masterclass with him through APS Intelligence (his consultancy firm), as part of the Springer Nature ’s professional development program in 2020, and I quickly became his fan. In 2021 he wrote the book “The Promises of Giants: How YOU can fill the leadership void”, a truly inspirational book.

I confess I could listen to him for hours, and I love his Jedi Reflections (bite-sized leadership lessons he shares on social media). Yes, he is a Jedi! Something he inherited from his mother (a Jedi too). For the non-Star Wars fans, Jedi knights are the guardians of peace and justice in the galaxy, they are filled with will, commitment and discipline, and have the power to “touch lives”.

John taught me that we all have Jedi potential, and our force lies in every day actions, in the tiny moments, and in the realization that we are powerful, and we need to be aware of it in order to use that power to do good.

So let me tell you about this brilliant leadership book; I know I won’t do John justice but at least I’ll try to urge you to go and buy a copy, as I think ?? reading this book should be in every leader’s bucket list.

Let’s start with the title and what it means. The key message developed in the book is that “we are all giants”. Depending on the platform and visibility we have, some of us may be a giant to fewer people, some to large crowds, but we’re all a giant to someone or we have the potential to be, and that is such a huge responsibility. This book is an invitation to find our inner giants.

Being giants is acknowledging that we first need to be true to ourselves and be able to recognize our souls in the dark, to view ourselves critically, objectively, and compassionately if we are ever to make our dreams come true. But it’s also understanding that, through our interactions, we have the power to touch others, to uplift or damage them, and that cannot be taken lightly. Whether we are giants, Jedi knights or any other power figure, we can never forget the impact we make on others.

??The book has 14 promises, divided into three different areas:

1??Introspection: This section is about self-awareness and self-mastery.

2??Interpersonal: This section is about successfully interacting with different kinds of people, and assessing the skills and capabilities needed for that.

3??Organizational: This section is about influencing and enhancing the communities we are part of.

In terms of the ??narrative, I love the way this book is written because John shares personal stories, some about his mom and her many lessons, and it was such a joy to read about that. John is a natural storyteller. Also, every chapter comes with questions and reflections, it really gets you thinking about many key things, it’s very practical because once we read the key ideas, and learn about John’s experience around them, we get to reflect on our own journey and the changes we need to make in the quest for self-improvement.

John says that leadership is a promise to support people, and this book is a collection of promises, promises to the people we work with, to our workplaces as a whole, and to ourselves.

There’s so much to say about this wonderful book ?? that words fall short, but I’d like to share this quote, in the hope that you’ll go buy your copy soon:

“Our job as giants is to engage with all people in a way that says: Not only does your path to success exist, but I am going to walk it with you.”

????Thank you, John.

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