Nerve: Lessons on Leadership from Two Women Who Went First

by Martha Piper, Indira Samarasekera, The Right Honourable Kim Campbell P.C. (Foreword)

Candid and insightful perspectives on the dilemmas and opportunities women confront as they take on leadership positions Martha Piper and Indira Samarasekera had vastly different career paths on their way to becoming the first (and so far only) female presidents of two of Canada’s largest and most respected research universities and directors of some of the nation’s largest market cap companies, but what they had in common was their gender, their willingness to take risks when leadership opportunities presented themselves, and a work ethic second to none. It was not always easy, pretty, or fair, but it was always the result of choosing to answer the call to lead. A call that in the authors’ view, too many women still turn away from. In Lessons on Leadership from Two Women Who Went First , Piper and Samarasekera share their personal and professional stories, offering guidance for women leaders of every age and at every stage of their career. Nerve is a must-read for any woman who is leading today, considering leading, or thinking about life after leading.

Genres: Nonfiction

320 pages, Paperback

Published October 4, 2022

Reviews

[Fiona · Rating 4 out of 5]

I consider myself a student of leadership, so have gobbled up more than my share of books and courses on this topic, and I found this one to be uniquely refreshing. Firstly, I've never seen two leaders write a book together full of their experiences and advice (And I'll go out on a limb and say that I can't picture many men choosing to share the limelight this way). The experience of reading "Nerve" was like having two likeable, accomplished women who you admire sit you down and tell you their stories - full of fear, humour, doubt and strength. Then, they translated their experiences into clear, straightforward advice. Yes, I learned things that were extremely helpful, and yes, I was entertained. But most importantly, I strengthened my own nerve.

[Glen Bowman · Rating 4 out of 5]

A survey of the many anxieties, risks and opportunities that are part of stepping up and leading. Some special factors that impact women in particular, but much is pertinent to all leaders regardless of gender. Martha and Indira are amazingly forthcoming and frank in their reminiscences.
A great book for all who are or would be leaders.

[Elizabeth · Rating 2 out of 5]

Writing this book may have been a wonderful therapy session for these women and women alike, and it serves to document their lives in reflection, this book does not serve us. The view that holding a 'top' role as a CEO, politition or a president at a uni defines leadership reflects the classism of our time. Going on wondering why women do not lead elitist, racist, capitalist institutions says more about power structures of today than it does about what women currently view as important. It does not address the women who are activity tearing down these structures, it instead instills a false hope that success is as measured in a man's world.
And wait for it #unpopularopinion among the demographic this was written for: the authours' focus on woman as a gender in paragraphs and parts when the greater population is being discussed further writes the gender binary narrative and contributes to supremacy established by colonization by mostly white people around the world in our history. This book is an accurate documentation of the world Margaret Atwood fears and reflects on the Handmaid's Tale, or in my opinion, what is wrong feminism today.

[Victoriab · Rating 5 out of 5]

Overall, this is a stellar book on women and leadership, written by two who were in the front trenches. Piper and Samarasekara candidly share snippets of their stories—to underscore the points they are making—and these snippets give a warm, relatable dimension. The book is well-organized and manages to engage the reader to think about her own situation (and tailor the advice accordingly). The writing is clear and supportive and very actionable.

[Bonnie Lendrum · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nerve: Lessons on Leadership from Two Women Who Went First is a book of consolidated wisdom by Martha Piper and Indira Samarasekera. It brims with powerful messages for women at the beginning, middle, and end of their careers. It’s essential advice and I would suggest that it's a book we should give to our sisters, daughters, nieces and granddaughters --- any woman who is, or will be, working in professions and work environments dominated by males. The authors are candid about both their challenges and their supports through flashbacks and vignettes. I can see readers marking pages so that they can come back to a reference to see “What would Indira and Martha do?” (I received this book as an ARC from ECW Press.)

Bonnie L. Lendrum, Author of Autumn's Grace

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was lucky enough to receive an advanced copy of Nerve from ECW Press in exchange for my honest review.

Let me start by saying that I often do not read non-fiction books. Instead, I prefer to immerse myself in fiction. However, I was intrigued from the beginning with Nerve by Martha Piper and Indira Samarasekera. I mean the beginning too! I wanted to give this one a shot as soon as I read the brief description of it. I don’t feel as if being the president of a university is in the cards for my professional future, but I do feel that reading about women in leadership (as a woman myself) is important for my needs. Having said that, however, I think men should also read about women in leadership.

Nerve shares many essential lessons regarding women in leadership that both men and women can learn from, at least in my opinion. Many of these center around a common theme, which, as you might expect, is how things differ between women in leadership and men in leadership. One of my personal favourite chapters is “Grit and Grace” and I believe I will apply key takeaways from that chapter into my own life. Of course, since I’m not in a leadership position quite like the ones these women have had, the takeaways will have to be tweaked at least a little bit.

The last thing I will share before I close out this review is that I was concerned about how the book would balance the two perspectives at first. However, I think the format chosen was quite effective. The book shares a general opener for a particular topic (no idea which woman wrote those, though I imagine it was a mix), and then each woman had the chance to share their perspective and experience. This was great in that they were clearly separated but still shared some similarities. In this particular book, I’m not sure combining everything would have had the same impact (on me, at least).

Overall, I think Nerve is an excellent non-fiction read for all women. Of course, those thinking about leadership positions, in leadership positions, and who have exited these positions, would likely benefit the most. That said, there is something for everyone in this book, and I encourage them to give it a chance when it is released!

[Cindy Crane-Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was fortunate to be able to read and review this book as part of the ECW Insider program. Thanks ECW!

Nerve: Lessons on Leadership from Two Women who went First
written by Martha Piper and Indira Samarasekera

The preface, skilfully written by Kim Campbell, Canada’s 19th Prime Minister, portrayed these two women in an intriguing light, making me want to read this book. The idea for this book grew from the author’s curiosity to better understand how they both became leaders. They wondered if it was mere coincidence that two female academics were chosen to lead universities in Alberta and B.C. or if there was a more objective explanation, one that could be studied and replicated. They hypothesize that girls are raised to be leaders, they are not born into the role.

The book is logically divided into three sections: how they developed into leaders, how they functioned as leaders, and how they managed after their leadership positions ended in retirement. Each chapter ends with a concise summary of the main points- making for a quick reference of the universal principles discussed.

The author’s discuss factors that produce leaders such as:
• birth order
• relationship with fathers
• nuclear and extended family
• education

They explore topics that demonstrated how they functioned as leaders such as:
• Listening, a skill that is neither a passive nor one that comes easily to A-type personalities
• What holds women back from being leaders in political fields or winning Nobel Prizes
• How to parent and lead simultaneously
• How to become a super-encounterer
• The difference between a mentor and a sponsor
• Gender stereotypes
• The paradox of being alone at the top yet requiring the joint efforts of a team


The authors successfully carry the theme of nerve into retirement years by discussing super-aging topics such as:
• Recommitting to looking after themselves after many years of worrying solely about their organizations or institutions
• Developing a spiritual consciousness
• Pushing yourself to try new skills
• Adopting new ways of behaving


These two women of vision, vigour, and intellect, are glowing examples of lives intentionally and well lived. Some principles presented in this book are well known and universal but the examples of how they each lived these principles makes the book unique. This book is well researched, and includes an extensive list of references at the end of the book.


You will discover in reading this book how women are like tea bags, what lessons the Queen can teach you, why both grit and grace are essential qualities in a leader, how learning line dancing and Mandarin at the same time makes you a super-ager.
I wondered why the book contained no pictures of the authors, until I realized these are humble women: the book is not about them, it is about finding the nerve to lead. Far from making me feel like a slacker, this book has inspired and motivated me to sign up for an online educational program to ensure that I super-age.

Both Martha and Indira reference books that changed their lives; undoubtedly this book will change yours.

Cindy Crane-Wilson

[Tom Axworthy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The books on leadership are too plentiful to count but Nerve ,written by two distinguished Canadian university presidents, is a welcome addition to the field.Martha Piper and Indira Samarasekera write about the special challenges that women face in leadership positions and Nerve is a primer to women who aspire to reach the heights.The format of the book is very helpful in this regard: chapters begin with a review of the latest literature or insights on topics like recruiting good staff, having a fruitful transition, dealing with crisis, etc. then each woman highlights points in their respective careers that illustrate the issues, then chapters end with lessons learned.There are many similar challenges that the two women faced( running mega universities is no easy task) but differences too .For example ,one of the authors was divorced and the other not ,so they have different perspectives on life - work balance and how to achieve it.This book is especially helpful to women leaders and those in university administration ( not widely written about compared to business) but anyone interested in manage challenges will profit by reading Nerve.

[galinaskaya · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book had some interesting ideas, but I think the execution left much to be desired. It felt like such a slog to read, seemingly dragging on and on. I appreciate that it was written by two women who were actual leaders (and not, for example, spoiled nepo babies like Ivanka Trump nor #notreletable influencers like Rachel Hollis — both of whose books were recommended as similar to this one by the Libby app) but ultimately I think this needed better editing and some structuring help. Maybe some author bios up front would have helped, for example, as it was really tough to figure out timelines in the authors’ personal vignettes in most chapters. Also, considering the age of these women, I think maybe some better contextual placing would’ve helped in describing their journeys. What was true in the ‘80s, for example, may not be so applicable now and it would have been nice to see some acknowledgment of that with better contextual descriptions, I think. I know this seems weird for me to say because I also think this was just way too long, but like I said, this one needed more editing and structural help.

[Heidi Madden · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love memoirs and I really enjoyed reading about women in academia. It's a topic that, to my knowledge, is rarely covered. I found the first and last chapters of this book particularly useful. First the self examination of what factors help determine leaders from a young age. What fostered or hindered your potential?

And then the last one, but wow did it ever leave me with questions. My biggest one, which I don't really think was their intent, is what IS the point? Why sacrifice so much to get to the top? Maybe I'm just not a leader or maybe this isn't my desire but after reading this book I'm really not interested. Definitely not what they were trying to inspire but incredibly enlightening for me. I'd prefer to maintain friendships and live a balanced life and if that means I'm not remembered in the same way or I never get to meet all sorts of famous people who are also sacrificing their own lives, then I'm okay with that. Did anyone else feel like this after reading this book? I was surprised by my reaction but I'm really glad I read it for this reason!

[janet · Rating 3 out of 5]

As an employee at the U of A when Samarasekera begain her term as president I can't tell you how much I wanted to enjoy this book, but I was a little disappointed by it. I rather liked Dr. Samarasekara as a university president, and as a front line staff under her leadership I was all kinds of thrilled to be witness to her being the first female president of the U of A.

A minor note, but one that stood out: I thought the authors overused the word "nerve" throughout the book, which as I listened to it, it means I couldn't it unhear it every time it was used.

I wanted the authors to name their privilege. While I understand they were the first women to lead their institutions, they also arrived in those roles from places of immense privilege, and that was never discussed.

Lastly, while I can't pretend to have a comparable experience to what these women did, the book felt to me like it was lessons in learning how to play in the boy's club. They gave advice on working within the systems instead of trying to dismantle the system or change the system to be more inclusive.

[Ashley B · Rating 4 out of 5]

I struggled with the first part of this book and the format that goes back and forth between the authors, but I am glad that I stuck with it as I found the second half to be really authentic and genuine in how the authors brought more vulnerability in to their story.

As a random note - I don’t like the title of the book and I thought that the random references to the word “nerve” were added after the fact, did anyone else feel that way? There were a couple moments where I felt the authors really wanted to name the book “grit and grace”.

[Maggie · Rating 5 out of 5]

An inspiring book written in a conversational style, sharing the joys and challenges of leadership. The two women identify the opportunities and influences the enabled them to have the nerve to lead, the challenges of leading, and life after leading - redefining yourself.

[Ella · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like how the book offers something for everyone- women of all ages, of different backgrounds and experiences. Anyone who picks up a copy will find a chapeauter or passage that will resonate with them.

[Stephanie Sirois · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review pending

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really appreciated this read this summer. Both Piper’s and Samarasekera’s candor was refreshing and reassuring. So many things in part 1 & 2 really resonated. I’m in a role that has never been held by a woman before and their stories were exactly what I needed to read right now.