The Souls of Queer Folk: How Understanding LGBTQ+ Culture Can Transform Your Leadership Practice

You'd be hard-pressed to find a leader who doesn't want to be better.

Yet, at a time when leaders are being asked to do more with fewer resources, modern professionals are having a difficult time leading in a distinctive, powerful, and transformative way. At a time when leaders are feeling besieged, the question is: to whom should they turn to learn, develop, and embody a new form of inspired leadership? For some, the answer may be surprising. As we start to appreciate the diversity in our world and the talent that comes from underserved markets and underrepresented communities, our society has a great opportunity to refashion our workplaces, rethink how we lead our social organizations and educational institutions, and rebuild our communities. In this groundbreaking book, Dr. Davis Brown demonstrates how the values and norms of the LGBTQ+ community are instructive for leaders in all types of business and industry, and can serve as the foundation for a bold, new brand of transformative leadership.

Using quantitative and qualitative research methods, Dr. Davis Brown conducted a study to illuminate the lived experiences and cultural values of the LGBTQ+ community. Based on that research, he developed 9 leadership dimensions that show how understanding the cultural imprint of the LGBTQ+ community is essential for organizations to be employers of choice and for global communities to maintain their vitality. Today's generation of leaders need time-tested, practical, and dynamic "sage advice" to deal with the perils of an increasingly complex world. The Queer wisdom that Dr. Davis Brown highlights will help any leader promote sustainable growth, foster equity and connection, and demonstrate human-centered leadership as the global landscape continues to change and evolve in the 21st century.

The LGBTQ+ community is multifaceted, talented, and gifted in so many ways. Yet there are forces in society that continue to silence and discriminate against LGBTQ+ people. Given the challenges we face in this day and age with climate change, poverty, war, extremism, displacement, and repression, strong leadership and wisdom are critical. It's time to broaden our perspective and open our eyes to a way of being that encourages everyone to reach their potential and be proud of who they are.