The Rising Leader Handbook: Turning High Achievers Into Effective Leaders

by Mark J. Silverman

Advance Praise for The Rising Leader Handbook“This is the most thorough, transformative and compelling book on leadership have ever read.”—Steve Chandler, Author of Time Warrior“The innovative leadership skills in The Rising Leader Handbook will transform and uplevel your own success and self-worth, while generating ripple effects that boost morale and productivity across your organization.”—Sarah Kate Ellis, GLAAD President and CEO, TIME100 Honoree“A rare combination of many useful insights on multiple aspects of leadership and common sense ways of applying them. This same approach is why Mark has become such a successful, sought after, executive coach.”—Tom Mendoza, former President/Vice-Chair NetApp“A masterful job of synthesizing critically important leadership concepts and behaviors into easily implementable, practical and tactical advice that all leaders — new and experienced — can benefit from.”—Matt Abrahams, Stanford GSB Strategic Communication Lecturer, Author of Think Faster Talk Smarter, and Host of the Think Fast Talk Smart The Podcast“I highly recommend The Rising Leader Handbook. I worked with Mark at two different companies and he distinguished himself in short order both times. It’s been inspiring to watch him develop into a leadership voice.”—Kevin Haverty, Vice-Chair Global Public Sector ServiceNow

Genres: Leadership, Nonfiction, Self Help, Psychology

211 pages, Paperback

Published February 21, 2024

Reviews

[Liz · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received my copy as a Goodreads giveaway winner. Generally speaking if I DNF a book it’s a one star, but I will be generous as maybe this book isn’t for me since it has a ton of 5 star reviews. I hated the layout off the book on kindle. The charts, excerpts, lines was just too much to process visually and still read. I really hated the excerpts. It felt like it was more an advertisement for the podcast than an actual book. The book is also in need of some serious editing. So many typos.

What turned me off completely was the first few chapters. I am not a huge fan of the concept of managing up. I think it’s a dangerous idea that again puts too much weight on the employee to be responsible for their manager. In this book the suggestion of managing up takes it even a step further and gives an example of a boss where when she looses it on her employees it takes 3 to 4 days for the team to get back to normal. While the author is correct that the employee can’t control the boss, the employee is told when the boss gets that way start asking questions because obviously you employee are not understanding what the boss is saying. Coming from a person that has been a leader and in HR, the boss is the problem. What makes this example even worse for me is that the author sits down with the boss after this conversation with the employee, the author indicated that he just smiles when the boss was like the employee did such a turn around. Wow, no this boss needs to be told that her behavior is unacceptable and she needs to learn some skills to control herself better and if she doesn’t she is out of a job. To me this example just perpetuates the belief that bosses and managers can treat employees however they want and employees are just supposed to take it. I absolutely believe that employees need to seek clarification on issues they don’t understand and make sure they understand what is being asked, but it also completely unacceptable for a boss to behave in manor described and not be called out.

After that example I tried to keep an open mind, but I didn’t get much farther and realized that experiences and others book from this author or not, this was not a credible book for me and made the decision to DNF.

[Roy Peek · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Rising Leader Handbook: Turning High Achievers Into Effective Leaders is an excellent read that captures real, heartfelt leadership moments, the kind you can immediately see yourself in. The book reinforces a truth many people miss: leadership is influence and inspiration, not control.

Silverman highlights how true leaders build trust by listening, examining new and dissenting ideas, and searching for the best solution to the shared goal. Leaders don’t dictate the plan or set goals in isolation. They explain the why, invite input, and allow the team to help shape the path forward.

Once the direction is clear, effective leaders step back and let their people run. They serve the team by removing roadblocks, reducing stress, and minimizing interruptions so others can do their best work. Leadership is not about being in front, it is about being with the team and clearing the way.

The book also reinforces a timeless principle: act the way you want others to act. Your behavior sets the tone. Your example becomes the culture. That is leadership.
A practical, encouraging guide for anyone stepping into leadership or refining the way they lead.

[Megan G · Rating 2 out of 5]

RATING: 2/5
- Much of the content felt repetitive and obvious, especially if you’ve already consumed a lot of self-help books or leadership podcasts.
- The central message emphasizes self-work: to lead others effectively, you must first show up for yourself.
- Key point I appreciated: leadership starts with you — investing in your own growth and well-being enables you to better support others.
- The book highlights the shift from being a high achiever (focused on individual performance and organizational success) to being a leader (focused on humanizing relationships, valuing people as individuals, and building genuine connections).
- Main takeaway: leadership isn’t just about driving results; it’s about treating people like people, not tools for advancement.
- The writing style is digestible and easy to follow, with clear, simple concepts and plenty of quotable lines.
- However, the simplicity worked against it, most lessons boiled down to “treat others the way you’d want to be treated.”
- Overall, while accessible and straightforward, the book didn’t provide much depth or new insight beyond common-sense leadership principles.
- Also I’m not a huge nonfiction reader but I had to read this for work, so there’s that too.

[Greg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mark has done it again with The Rising Leader Handbook. This is an incredibly practical and immediately helpful book. This is one those books where you can read a chapter today and use it to have an impact and be better tomorrow. While it is targeted towards leaders it is clearly applicable to anyone who wants to improve, be more effective and happier in work and life. It is one of the few books that I know I will go back to repeatedly if only for the reminders in his attitude adjustments. I will also be using this book with people I am coaching and mentoring.

[Myles · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow!

This was a really good read! If you were ever told that you were a hard worker or a high achiever you should sit down for a couple hours/days and take your time to read this book! If you take everything actually in maybe youll even see for yourself that your becoming an effective leader!

[elizabeth difrancsico · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an inspiration!

[Kristi Bowman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent insights and suggestions. Book would be even better with some editing of multiple typos. Still very much worth the read.

[Ali Davis-Walker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good input to make you as successful as possible!

[Ashley Pate · Rating 4 out of 5]

Attitude adjustments

I really liked the attitude adjustments sprinkled throughout the book to help you think about how to think differently. Also liked the podcast excerpts.

[AMAO · Rating 5 out of 5]

✍🏾✍🏾✍🏾✍🏾✍🏾