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Leadership & “From Invisible Professional to Influential Leader”

Invisible Professional to Influential Leader
29 Dec

“From Invisible Professional to Influential Leader” by Lisa Anderson (2023) was a quick, enjoyable and inspiring read. I met Lisa in the DC area earlier this year at a Women In Technology (WIT) event and happened to be at her table at dinner. I was awestruck at the comradery of her group and I had an inkling that she, as Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO) played a big part in the culture creation. We began talking and instantly connected. We’ve continued to stay in touch  and I decided to read her work that aims to reach a broader audience (side note: Lisa was my #1 connect from the 2025 LinkedIn replay this year!).

Overview: I listened to Anderson’s book on Audible. It is narrated by Catherine O’Connor.  It took about 1.5 hours total of listening over a few days. It is organized by “tips” where one tip is a chapter that covers a practical strategy to move into leadership positions with confidence, and Lisa uses several personal examples over the course of her HR career to illustrate.

Key Message: The key message of the book is that there is help available if you want to rise up in your career as a female leader, as you will invariably be faced with interpersonal and internal struggles.

Areas of Strengths: The way that the book is organized allows you to marinate on a single tip or a few, and then return to the book when you are ready. I really appreciate that in a self-help book because I feel that I can continue to build without taking any steps back. Her vulnerable anecdotes allowed me to authentically baseline my own abilities too. My favorite chapters were:
  • Tip 3 – Take Action
  • Tip 10 – Follow Up and Follow Through
  • Tip 22 – Develop Leadership Maturity

Supplemental Information:

Where it Falls Short: I think it would be helpful to have a supplemental self-assessment on each strategy, so you could focus your attention on your leadership skill development. I wrote down my key take-away tips which will help me remember them as I move forward, but I’m not sure many people are doing the same.

Overall Assessment & Why: I rate it a 7 out of 10 in terms of a personal and leadership development book. I am so excited that this was both for personal (internal work) and leadership (team work) development! There aren’t that many books on the market that handle both subjects as naturally as this. With that said, you can tell that Lisa is a practitioner first, author second. As am I. I recommend this to all junior to mid-career women. It will serve as a much needed sounding board as you gain your own powerful voice.