You're It: Crisis, Change, and How to Lead When It Matters Most

by Leonard J. Marcus, Eric J. McNulty, Joseph M. Henderson

Become a better crisis leader while equipping yourself with the tools for every day transformative leadershipToday, in an instant, leaders can find themselves face-to-face with crisis. An active shooter. A media controversy. A data breach. In You're It, the faculty of the National Preparedness Leadership Initiative at Harvard University takes you to the front lines of some of the toughest decisions facing our nation's leaders-from how to mobilize during a hurricane or in the aftermath of a bombing to halting a raging pandemic. They also take readers through the tough decision-making inside the world's largest companies, hottest startups, and leading nonprofits.The authors introduce readers to the pragmatic model and methods of Meta-Leadership. They show you how to understand what is happening during a moment of crisis and change, what to do about it, and how to hone these skills to lead high-performing teams. Then, when crisis hits, you can pivot to be the leader people follow when it matters most.A book for turbulent times, You're It is essential reading for anyone preparing to lead an adaptive team through crisis and change.

Genres: Leadership, Business, Self Help, Professional Development, Audiobook

383 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 11, 2019

Reviews

[Pyramids Ubiquitous · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a leader I have had and will continue to have "You're It" moments where all eyes turn to me for guidance during a crisis. This book did a good job of providing actionable advice and real-life examples for navigating delicate and urgent situations. Sometimes self-development books can get so caught up in their own lingo that the knowledge becomes impractical, but apart from a few instances, such as the POP-DOC loop, this book strayed away from that making for a helpful and engaging read. The general knowledge is applicable, and it's also a book that can be referenced when something novel comes up.

Top 5 takeaways:
- To understand and adapt to complex systems, take a step back and observe the patterns.
- Exercise influence rather than exert authority. Encourage don't demand. Empathize to encourage communication.
- Order is good, but too much order and controls can stifle creativity.
- What unites in crisis is common purpose and collaboration, not control.
- If you want to be a better leader, be better person.

[Michael Belcher · Rating 2 out of 5]

A warmed over stew of leadership tenets drawn from a few crisis case studies (e.g. Boston Marathon bombing, Hurricane Katrina and BP oil spill disaster relief operations). The fact that Harvard University Press -- the author's parent organization -- did not chose to publish this book reflects on its lack of scholarly depth. The book is more a testament to NPLI's extensive alumni network than to diligent research and analysis.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

To be fair, the beginning of the book is tough to get through, but later chapters pay the reader back for that. Plus, intellectually, this stuff is pretty challenging, compared to more self-help style leadership books.

I'm just going to list the important things I got out of this:

- The authors made emotional intelligence more palatable and easier to understand for me.
- The Walk in the Woods technique for negotiation was new to me and cool to learn.
- Going to the basement. OMG...I needed to learn this exactly now.

That said, I think a number of readers will probably be turned off by the authors' support of government agencies (when deserved) and their sympathy for Dreamers/DACA. For those readers, this might not be the right book. Also, those readers can go fuck themselves. :)

Overall, this was a really helpful read that found me at the absolute best time - when I really needed some of the information and skills. I would recommend it to people who aspire to be leaders, especially those who can see change or crises looming.

Confession - did not do the journaling. Sorry, not sorry.

[Tiffany · Rating 3 out of 5]

The concept of meta leadership, leading down, up, across, and beyond is appropriate for the highly interconnected, digital world in which we lead. This book expands upon the well-developed concept of leadership through influence versus leadership through authority and properly notes that influence is a necessity in solving today's problems. Some other concepts worthy of incorporating into your crisis leadership include the notion that you're it (like or not, ready or not), recognizing and getting out of the basement as quickly as possible, and taking a walk into the woods to work out conflict. The pandemic environment has provided lots of opportunities for crisis leadership and I can clearly see how these concepts have distinguished those who have led well and those who have not lead well during this time.

[Alireza Hejazi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is on crisis leadership. It describes the authors’ research of leaders’ catastrophe planning and crisis response activities in high-stakes, high-pressure circumstances as well as during the typical give-and-take of organizational and interpersonal problem-solving. The conditions in which they led, as well as their openness to analysis, enabled them to monitor and evaluate both their thoughts and actions. Based on their findings, they developed three elements of “meta-leadership” that might help leaders perform better. These dimensions are not a simple checklist or set of traits, but rather routes to understanding yourself, the context in which you lead, and the complete spectrum of resources and connections required to succeed. The book is excellent for anybody interested in understanding crisis leadership by analyzing the experiences of leaders and managers.

[Todd Buegler · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book.

I loved it because it got specific. It drilled down in to concepts.
I loved it because it used stories and experiences to demonstrate the concepts.
I loved it because it was well written
I loved it because I've been dealing with a lot of "crisis" lately, and this was helpful. (I really wished I'd read it 5 months ago...pre-pandemic...

This was one of the most helpful leadership books I've read in the last couple of years. It is one that i will pull off of y shelf and refer back to in days to come.

[Skip · Rating 5 out of 5]

Meta-leadership takes time to wrap your head around and then to learn. This book does a good job taking real life examples and providing the framework in which to measure your own performance. It would also be suitable for new leaders who are thrust into the limelight, with the caveat that the listen carefully when the authors plead that progression in applying meta-leadership is not always linear. In fact, we often learn more when we apply the tools shared in the book against our less than successful moments to find options to which our minds were previously closed.

[Daren Bolen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book with great concepts that any leader can use. It is a little too academic in my opinion. I enjoyed reading the real life scenarios present in the book, but some of the analysis was a little overdone. I still recommend this book.

[Jessica Brusven · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book contains a lot of wonderful leadership tips that are backed in real life examples and research. It’s worth the read for any leader who wants to show up more authentically and effectively in moments of conflict.

[James Speiker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating discussion about leadership during tragic events. Great lessons.

[Diana Chacon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book on meta-leadership. I bit redundant.

[MS Khan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved the concept of meta-leadership.
YOU'RE IT! delivers a compelling and practical framework for stepping up when the moment demands, especially in high-stakes, fast-moving situations.
Blending real-life crisis stories with actionable strategies, the authors introduce the concept of “meta-leadership,” showing how effective leaders don’t just command; they connect across silos, calm chaos, and navigate uncertainty with clarity.
Whether you lead a team or simply want to prepare for life’s pivotal moments, this book is a powerful guide to stepping up when it counts.
I loved the title so much that it went straight into my journal as a motivation.

[Megan Sollena · Rating 3 out of 5]

Had to read this book for one of my master classes (it was a leadership class). Normally when I have to read a book for classes I do not like them but this one was actually enjoyable. Not a hard read and the author explains the point of views every well. There are also questions at the end of each chapter that make you reflect on what you read in the book and how to use that in your everyday life/work life. This is for sure a book that will gain valuable information from and most definitely helpful to understand leadership roles in crisis. I would recommend.

[Stephanie Peterson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Liked: leadership advice, good stories, practical application examples form a learning and event perspective

Disliked: Delivery a bit dry, people with long tenure in leadership and having had leadership training my find some of the input well known practices

[Hannah Fuhrmann · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lot of practical ways to lead in crisis.
I loved the expression of "The basement", taking a walk and tagging someone next as they are it.

[Meghan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A must read for leaders of all shapes and sizes.

[Jen Medos · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this for school… leading through crisis. It was OK.

[Scott Duncan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little slow to start but contains some great examples and practical models to apply to situations.

[Freddie · Rating 5 out of 5]

100 stars! Loved it! It was great to read the work of my instructors at NPLI. Looking forward to seeing the same instructors in another class.

Second read was just as great.