My plan didn’t play out as expected. My coaching client loved the new book I recommended she read: It’s on You: Empowerment for Leaders Seeking the Highest Level of Personal Satisfaction and Corporate Success by Martha Brown, the former Chief Executive Officer of Tipperary Sales, East.

My client told me she found the book informative and insightful. But it wasn’t  inspirational, as I had intended. She reassured me that she values my confidence in her, especially seeing her as a future CEO. Plus, she also appreciated the author’s message about how building self-awareness helps you  become a  successful leader. And she realizes, thanks to her own self-awareness, that she enjoys solving problems.

As an engineer, she explained that she finds problem-solving to be her favorite part of her job. And she doesn’t want to give it up to move into a larger leadership role, especially to become a CEO. Being in the top job would require her to direct others. In other words, she would have to serve as the director of an orchestra rather than do what she loves. She prefers being the “first chair” playing amazing music and solving difficult problems.

A few weeks later I met up with Martha, who I had met last February at her book-signing party in Charleston. When I shared my client’s reaction to her book, Martha was refreshingly upbeat. Rather than join me in worrying that so many qualified individuals are self-selecting out of leadership roles, she struck a more optimistic tone.

Martha first expressed pleasure that my client had grasped and internalized one of her book’s main messages – especially since many people find it hard to build self-awareness. Next she reminded me it’s better that my client know herself, her interests and strengths and be true to herself, rather than start working toward a bigger job that doesn’t appeal to her now. Martha observed that in her experience leaders who like to “do” rather than “be” leaders are more inclined to micromanage others, which makes them ineffective and even irresponsible.

This exchange illustrates the wisdom and range of this author and coach, now retired from her CEO role. Even better for readers and aspiring leaders, whatever your level, Martha’s folksy yet intense insights infuse her book. As a result, the book is worth reading and  contemplating, and then putting its suggestions into action.

My client, other reviewers and I agree that this atypical leadership book provides practical perspectives about what’s involved in becoming the best leader you can be for your team and your organization. And even better, you can apply her lessons to become a better overall human.

Throughout the book’s three sections – just over 200 pages in total – Martha invites readers to show up, be authentic, be open to curiosity and creativity, be mindful and reflective, and do things differently. In tapping into yourself and your potential, she also advises readers to take personal responsibility and be committed and accountable. After all, as she writes, “What happens in the company, whether victory or failure, it’s on you,” reinforcing the book’s title. And she punctuates these points with such chapter titles as: “Be a disrupter, not a flamethrower,” “If the ox is in the ditch, do what is necessary to get it out,” and “A state of being can shift everything.”

This state of being is what distinguishes this book the most from other books on leadership. “It’s on You” is all about being a leader, not doing the work – or to say it another way, it’s all about being a human today. Martha herself has accomplished what she suggests her readers do: “Dig a little deeper and you’ll see that everything becomes personal.” Yes, real leaders are real people with deep self-awareness.

From my perspective as a brain-based leadership coach who supports individual in growing and developing as leaders, Martha’s book also plays another role. The book is a superb example of the power of vertical stage leadership development without ever using that clunky phrase.

As background, vertical stage leadership development is all about how as an individual  expand your mindset and mental models to think and act differently. Unlike traditional horizontal development in which you take time to acquire specific skills and knowledge, vertical development is all about self-growth and maturity.

When you commit to emphasizing “being” over “doing,” you take a more multifaceted and complex approach to the way you think. You embrace stretching yourself cognitively, “zooming in” (being tactical) or “zooming out” (being strategic or even visionary) based on the specifics of each situation.

As a result, you’re able to increase your capacity to navigate complexity better, make better decisions, and overall lead more effectively in an uncertain world. You’re more committed to being inclusive and collaborating, knowing that no one person can have all the answers. You also increase your flexibility, agility, and self-awareness, which helps you lead with greater wisdom and expansiveness.

With “It’s on You” you get two experiences in one book – a practical guide to leading well and what it means to transform yourself to being not just a leader, but also a whole person. From my client’s point of view, these two aspects were especially meaningful since she’s working on vertical stage leadership development in her coaching with me.

And for her and everyone else who’s uncertain about whether they really want to be a CEO or leader today, never say never. You may change your mind, which is perfectly fine.