Who

Laysha Ward was an executive of a Fortune 50 company for more than 30 years and a member of its C-suite for over a decade. She serves on a variety of public company, nonprofit and civic boards. She’s trusted by game-changing leaders like Serena Williams, Walter Isaacson, Eva Longoria Baston, and Arthur C. Brooks—and now she’s sharing her coveted expertise with you.

What

We want a life filled with purpose and to leave behind a meaningful legacy. But how do we do all these things, especially in today’s divisive times? In Lead Like You Mean It, Laysha Ward draws on her storied career as one of the nation’s top Black female C-suite executives to show readers the answer: leading with meaning.

Why

Laysha says, “My hope is that these lessons will be as life-changing for you as they were for me. That they will help ground you in your purpose, help you become a leader who lives a truly connected life, and help you lift up others, transforming yourself and everyone around you for the better.”

& We

…chose Lead Like You Mean It as our Get Lit pick because if you want to lead with integrity in your business and life, then you have to start with intention. Laysha Ward shows you how. Enjoy!

Here’s Your Exclusive Excerpt

Bet On You

Tension is who you think you should be, relaxation is who you are.

—CHINESE PROVERB

Leading with meaning starts with you. You are where the journey begins and ends.

You are also one person. Personal and professional developments are important at every stage of your life and career. We are whole human beings and everything I offer in this book starts from that basic truth.

You may be more accustomed to receiving advice on one realm or the other. Guidance on our professional side is often focused strictly on career development. In our personal lives, we may receive counsel on personal growth and relationships. There is often a wall between these spheres of advice. My advice is to take the wall down. You bring your full self to your life and career. Both personal and career development are an essential part of how you lead, and especially how you lead with meaning. When you act from your purpose, you make intentional choices to sustain yourself and others.

So how do we take a bet on our full selves? For some, this kind of self-belief is easy. Maybe you have no trouble being your own cheerleader. But for those of us who come from places or spaces where we aren’t accustomed to being the powerful ones, the journey to embrace our full potential, our full self, often requires preliminary work.

Here’s a simple question I often ask people I coach and mentor: Do you believe in yourself?

It seems like an obvious answer—yes! But you’d be surprised at how many people stumble over it.

I get it. I’ve had my moments of imposter syndrome and fear, just like anyone else. As discussed in the introduction, I’ve stood on stages I wasn’t sure I had the right to stand on and had to lift my head high and speak up. I know what it’s like to fear that I’m not up to task. Fear is a natural response to learning new things or being put in unfamiliar situations. When it comes to the unknown, fear is perfectly normal. We’ve all been there.

Some of us also carry an extra burden. You might fear you don’t belong because you have imposter syndrome. But you also might be afraid because you’ve been told, either overtly or in so many words, that you don’t belong, that you aren’t worthy. Roger Ross Williams’s 2023 documentary, Stamped from the Beginning, based on the book by Ibram X. Kendi, discusses how every Black woman has had her Phillis Wheatley moment when, often under interrogation, she feels compelled to “defend her worth.” Finding your confidence and belief in yourself is never easy. It’s infinitely harder when you’ve encountered that kind of doubt from others just by virtue of who you are.

Which is why I’d like to say to you up front what Mrs. Coretta Scott King said to me: Do what you have to do. Do what you are called to do. You have earned the right to be here. I believe in you.

What you also must know is that you can and will learn to move through the situations that provoke fear and anxiety. Nelson Mandela said that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. When you’ve moved through fear once, you’ll gain the confidence to keep moving through it. Again and again. Until that tingle of anxiety becomes an old friend. And the feeling of having triumphed over the fear becomes as familiar, if not more familiar, than the fear itself. You will learn to do new things. Things others may have never thought you capable of. You may even excel at them. It can feel hard initially, but you will always move through it. Because you believe in yourself.

If you believe in yourself, others are more likely to believe in you too. If you don’t, they won’t. Unfortunately, it’s often that simple. But that simplicity also gives you great power. Your belief will lead the way for everyone to see you as you truly are: capable, powerful, and magnificent.

Remember, you don’t need to know everything up front—or ever. We continue to grow and learn. Rest assured: You will do something great at every stage. You are exactly where you need to be. I believe in you. Believe in yourself.

Who better to take a bet on than you?

From LEAD LIKE YOU MEAN IT by Laysha Ward, published by The Open Field, an imprint of Penguin Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House, LLC. Copyright © 2025 by Laysha Ward.

Audio excerpted courtesy of Penguin Random House Audio from LEAD LIKE YOU MEAN IT by Laysha Ward, read by Laysha Ward. ©2025 Laysha Ward. ℗2025 Penguin Random House, LLC. All rights reserved.

Don’t Miss Laysha’s Exclusive Q&A!