Credible

WINNER OF THE SABEW BEST IN BUSINESS BOOK AWARD 2023 FOR MANAGEMENT AND LEADERSHIP

What makes a leader credible?

Who would be an expert in a world where expertise is under siege? Hard-won know-how and experience seem to count for nothing in the eyes of everyone from high-profile business leaders to populist politicians. But what evidence do we have that this perception is right?

Amanda Goodall has been asking this question for the last twenty years. Her research has taken her from boardrooms and F1 race tracks to hospitals and higher education. She has proven time and again that, when it comes to top performance, we need people - especially bosses - with the expertise that only comes from a deep understanding of the worlds in which they operate.

That's what makes the people around them feel happier, better appreciated and more productive.

In Credible, Goodall identifies the key characteristics of expert leaders and provides a model for career development and success based on going deep into a business, working hard and knowing your stuff.

We all want to be led by people we can relate to and trust, people who have the credibility to make us want to follow them. When it comes to credible leadership, expertise really matters.

In her clear and invigorating book, Amanda Goodall lays out an essential message for our times: The very best leaders are those who are experts in what they are leading. If you've had nagging suspicions about the idea of generalist, all-purpose leaders, this well-researched book will validate your concerns. If you're currently a leader, aspire to be a leader, or are responsible for selecting and assessing leaders, Credible is a must-read -- Donald C. Hambrick, Evan Pugh University Professor and Smeal Chaired Professor of Management, The Pennsylvania State University
Credible provides a fascinating insight into the amount and kind of expertise required by different leaders. Anyone in a senior leadership position should read this book and consider the implications for their own performance -- Lord Gus O'Donnell, former Head of the UK Civil Service and Permanent Secretary of the UK Treasury
Credible is engaging and powerful. With many vivid examples from a range of industries and settings, Amanda Goodall shows how two essential qualities of our species that we evolved to manifest - leadership and expertise - must actually be reflected within both for-profit and not-for-profit organisations -- Nicholas A. Christakis, Sterling Professor of Social and Natural Science, Yale University
Based on years of renowned research, Credible convincingly demonstrates the superiority of organizations led by experts. A must-read for everyone interested in improving leadership in any type of commercial or public organization -- Marcel Levi, former chairman and chief executive of University College London Hospitals
Credible explains why organisations work when experienced people are given responsibility to make wise decisions independently. This has been a key factor in building Handelsbanken for over 150 years -- Carina Akerstrom, President and CEO, Handelsbanken
The analysis in support of expert leaders is extremely convincing and supported by many real-world examples. This piece of work will become a reference for future generations regarding the selection of the best leaders in health care and other fields -- Major-Général Marc Bilodeau, Surgeon General, Canadian Armed Forces
Deep expertise has been much maligned in recent years. In her insightful and well-researched book, Credible, Goodall offers a wealth of evidence to remind us how and why expertise matters. Read this book to learn to put the power of expertise to work for you and your organization -- Herminia Ibarra, Charles Handy Professor of Organisational Behaviour at London Business School and author of ACT LIKE A LEADER, THINK LIKE A LEADER
Credible offers conclusive proof that leaders with expert knowledge of their company's product and methods make more informed and better decisions -- Keith Griffiths, chairman and global principal designer, Aedas
This book presents many enlightening instances of the successes of companies with expert leaders and the failures of companies with generalist managers who had little or no knowledge of, nor experience with, their company's core business. A convincing argument that a company's success requires leaders to have specific industry expertise -- Library Journal
A persuasive argument about the need for expertise in leaders . . . Citing many examples in areas such as health care, manufacturing, sports, and technology, Goodall has found that expert leadership leads to success . . . Well-grounded arguments for effective leadership -- Kirkus Reviews
[A] cogent treatise . . . The stories of corporate and political folly enrage, and the case for how organizations can promote and reward expertise by fostering 'informed dissent' and granting line managers 'freedom and responsibility' is well made. This spirited defence of specialists convinces -- Publishers Weekly
Thought-provoking -- Wall Street Journal

Amanda Goodall is Professor of Leadership at Bayes Business School (formerly Cass), City, University of London, where she specialises in how leaders and managers influence performance. Dr Goodall has been a visiting scholar at Cornell University, the University of Zurich, and Yale University, and she publishes widely in academic journals, practitioner publications and general media. Her first book Socrates in the Boardroom was published by Princeton University Press in 2009. She is a committed environmentalist. You can find out more about Amanda's work at

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