2017 Silver Nautilus Winner 2018 Indie Book Award Finalist Take your ego out of the equation, and watch your company thrive! ''I've got a solution,'' Encore's CFO tells Brandon, ''but it's unorthodox.'' It's 2005 and Brandon Black has just been promoted to CEO of Encore Capital, a company struggling to navigate an increasingly difficult business environment. Faced with a rapidly declining stock price and low workplace morale, Brandon knows he needs change—and fast. Following his CFO's advice, he and his executive team start working with Learning as Leadership (LaL) and its president, Shayne Hughes. Through their partnership, Encore's executive team learns to root out the unproductive ego habits that undermine collaboration and performance. As they instill these more effective behaviors throughout the organization, Encore begins to solve problems collectively, prioritize resources without infighting, and focus on the initiatives with the greatest strategic value. When the financial crisis of 2008-09 forces 90 percent of its competitors out of business, Encore thrives, with its profits increasing by 300 percent and its stock price by 1200 percent. Told from two lively first-person perspectives, Ego Free Leadership brings readers along for Encore's incredible success story. They'll see a CEO overcome his unconscious resistance to modeling the change he wants in his team and discover a time-tested roadmap for eliminating the destructive effects of the ego in teams and organizations. '' Ego Free Leadership chronicles the dynamic struggle of a CEO as his executive coach helps him face his ego triggers. It is unabashedly authentic, with unbridled self-evaluation and unvarnished honesty.'' -- Nigel Morris, Cofounder, Capital One ''Brandon Black and Shayne Hughes have landed on a key insight: When leaders let go of ego, they unlock their potential. The story of how they improved culture and performance at Encore Capital is packed with useful lessons for coaches and leaders alike.'' -- Marshall Goldsmith, Executive Coach, Business Educator, and New York Times Best-selling Author, ranked Number One Leadership Thinker in the World by Thinkers50 ''An authentic read! I partnered with LaL to lead two large-scale organizational turnarounds: first as Center Director of NASA's Langley Research Center, and then later as VP for Operations of the contractor operating the Nevada National Security Site for the Nuclear Security Administration. LaL led both my leadership teams through profoundly successful cultural transformations that produced breakthrough business results. In reading Ego Free Leadership , I could easily replace Brandon's name with my own. This book captures the challenges—and solutions—of leading large scale change.'' -- Roy Bridges, Air Force Major General and Former Center Director, NASA Kennedy Space Center and NASA Langley Research Center ''The framework presented in Ego Free Leadership has had a profound influence on my research and teaching over the past fifteen years. I'm thrilled to see it finally brought to life in this captivating story of one CEO and his team's transformational leadership journey. This book is a must-read for any leader who wants to make a difference.'' -- Robin Ely, Professor and Faculty Chair, Gender Initiative, Harvard Business School ''I'm a big admirer of the work that Shayne Hughes and the team at Learning as Leadership perform. The practices and concepts for 'going deep' in the realm of leadership development are world-class and life changing. What is really happening, inside and out, for a leader trying to create deep change in himself and his organization? And what is happening, inside and out, for the leadership coach who is trying to help him? This groundbreaking book answers those questions by bringing readers into both sides of a transformative relationship. Hughes' and Black's story is instructive, rewarding, and inspiring.'' -- Robert Kegan, Meehan Research Professor of Adult Learning and Professional Development, Harvard University; Coauthor, Immunity to Change and An Everyone Culture ''This gripping story is propelled forward by the alternating perspectives of a CEO's candid rendition of his and the company's journey and of a deeply insightful executive coach. Black and Hughes share insights and tools that helped change the company—as well as Black's life. The book immediately had me thinking of situations I am dealing with as a leader and how I might manage them (and myself!) differently.'' -- Jeff Bradach, CEO, Bridgespan ''Black and Hughes offer an indispensable introduction into the power of authentic, ego-free leadership and the impact this can have on creating truly inspired organizations. If you can't attend a Learning as Leadership course or get Shayne as an executive coach, this book is the next best thing!'' -- Lee Rivas, President, Elsevier and LexisNexis Health '' Ego Free Leadership provides a blueprint