All Pride, No Ego: A Queer Executive's Journey to Living and Leading Authentically

by Jim Fielding

An inspiring and personal roadmap to servant leadership

In All Pride, No A Queer Executive's Journey to Living and Leading Authentically, celebrated corporate leader James Fielding delivers an inspirational leadership story told from the perspective of an out and proud LGBTQ+ executive. In the book, you'll explore a call-to-action for authentic servant leadership that encourages people to own their truth and bring out the best in themselves and their communities.

The author explains his key decisions and inflection points and highlights how his leadership style, learnings, successes, and failures informed his rise through the rungs of the corporate ladder. You'll also

- The importance of becoming and remaining a lifelong learner and constantly curious

- How to control the controllable while leaving space for the possible

- Strategies for employing truthful and inspirational servant leadership

An essential resource for managers, executives, directors, and other business leaders, All Pride, No Ego will also earn a place on the bookshelves of aspiring young leaders seeking practical and impactful strategies for real-world leadership.

Genres: Memoir

Audible Audio

Published August 15, 2023

Reviews

[Katie Klein · Rating 5 out of 5]

A truly inspiring book about how to live an authentic life not only in business but in day to day human interactions! Great advice to live by!

[Mark V · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book contains so many lessons and so many levels. There are lessons you can put into practice immediately about leadership, communication, about building a culture where people feel like they're part of something special and empowering high performing teams to move towards one goal.
This book is also about self-loathing, negative self-talk, and behaving "like you're supposed to" and how to finally break free and embrace the opportunity to live your true, authentic, and best self.
This book is about relationships and family and things we can all relate to, and how to be an ally to communities we may know very little about.
Most of all, this book shares wisdom - the wisdom that comes from living a unique and blessed life and working for and alongside some of the most esteemed leaders of the 21st century. 5 Stars, 2 Thumbs Up, 10/10 Recommend - this book belongs on your shelf and in your heart.

[Deb Craig · Rating 5 out of 5]

Growing up in the same area as Jim, I could totally relate to the Midwest living and state of mind. I could also relate being a Type A introvert/extrovert! But I was clueless to what it was like growing up gay during our teens and young adult lives in the 70's/80's. I was a hippie so I fitted right in but now I understand the pain and frustration that people of the LGBTQ community must have experienced. Reading how Jim not only survived but thrived, was truly inspirational! His behind the scene corporate insights from being part of the "crew" were super interesting. And most of all, the spirit and positive nature of Jim, left a mark with me where I believe it will truly affect my leadership thoughts and style moving forward. It's great to see a positive leader succeed! And for all of this, I am grateful!

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

All Pride, No Ego is a fantastic collection of advice complete with personal anecdotes from a seasoned corporate executive. Jim’s writing style is casual and easy to follow, making the messages he communicates effortless to digest. I am thankful for Jim’s willingness to trot down memory lane to share his wisdom, personal experiences (both challenging and delightful), and for his perspective on living and leading authentically.

[Lexxie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super authentic book that covers good advice for your career, life, and finding your true self. I love that it’s in Jim’s voice, totally sincere, vulnerable, and encouraging. Wayyyyyy better than most leadership books that seem to put on some sort of facade.

[Ian Fournie · Rating 4 out of 5]

shoutout to all the real life IU people who were mentioned!

[Amanda Copper · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting read. Fascinating perspective from a CEO.

[Jacob Lawson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great content and stories

[Rachel Wexelbaum · Rating 1 out of 5]

Jim Fielding’s book “All Pride, No Ego”, is all about ego. He tells his personal story of how he became a financially successful gay man, and gives advice based on the experience he had. This is not a book for Queer people to help them get ahead. This is a book written by a once closeted white cisgender gay male Baby Boomer crowing about his success. I was very disappointed, especially since Wiley normally publishes books that help guide people interested in pursuing business, leadership, and management positions. I learned nothing from this book except that Jim Fielding felt like he had to prove himself.

[Ja · Rating 4 out of 5]

A solid book about leadership and the goal to live an authentic life at the same time. Jim Fielding has had many leadership roles at various companies like Disney and Claires. He spent a lot of his young adult life navigating his own personhood and identity, eventually coming to realize that his sexuality did not define him, but that he could use it as leverage to be the leader that he always wanted to be. He reflects on the struggles of negative self-talk as well as the unfortunate business decisions that has happened around him, and how he uses that to fuel what he wants to see change in today's landscape.

If you're looking for a short, inspiring read, check this one out!

[PatriciaBMoore · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jim has had such an amazing career and what a gift to us all that he has chosen to share the highlights of his journey through vulnerable storytelling, eloquently told to deliver insightful takeaways. There are so many great lessons we can all apply to our own personal and professional journeys. Read it, gift it, and help share a perspective that is a rare find at the top ranks of corporate America.

[Traci Buckley · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has a lot of great teachings regarding workplace and personal authenticity. I did find it hard to stay engaged as there were a lot of personal stories that seemed to drag on to get to the point. I would have preferred a little more concise information as the main leadership journey gets blurred in with long winded stories. I appreciate Jim’s vulnerability but the paragraphs were long and at times took away from the true message.

[Travis Whyte · Rating 5 out of 5]

An inspiring and honest tale of simple leadership lessons learned through authentic living. Just imagine the possibilities if we all endeavored to leave our corner of the world in a better place than we found it.

[Andrew Klein · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating glimpse into the life and mind of a truly trailblazing executive

[Dillon Crockett · Rating 5 out of 5]

At one point in the book Jim claims that he was not trying to write an autobiography, but this book was absolutely as much or more an autobiography about a queer leader as it was a collection of leadership lessons. Although almost all of his experiences and lessons were from the corporate world, I still appreciated, respected, valued, and sometimes loved the advice and insight he had to offer which I could apply to the public education world as well. I think this book is long overdue in helping to fill the void of queer leadership stories, a genre which I hope continues to grow, but Jim also acknowledges how although progress has been made in recent years towards validating queer lives and stories, there is still much work to be done in all areas, leadership included. This is a book I could easily see myself revisiting over the years as his stories and lessons span multiple decades of his life and work, and some have a seemingly timeless applicability to them. I am so glad that Jim wrote this book, and I hope it will not be his last!

[Lori · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jim’s willingness to be vulnerable makes this a cut above books that aim to impart business or life wisdom. Told with a voice and style that is unique and personal, it is a book to both enjoy and learn from.