Gracious and Strong: How to Rise Above the Unexpected Left Turns of Life and Leadership

From the first female executive vice president of Walmart Inc., Gracious and Strong reveals what it means to rise above the most uncertain leadership challenges and make essential hard-right decisions.

Have you ever faced an unexpected left turn? Perhaps it’s an unexpected career shift, a personal or family illness, or a divorce or toxic people in your life. Whatever it is, we've all faced it.

These types of challenges can be completely life-changing and put you in survival mode, causing you to question the core of who you really are. When challenges strike, often it's our response to the event that determines our outcome. Learn how to make hard-right decisions that lead to life-changing opportunities.

Gracious and Strong will help you navigate the obstacles you'll face, while becoming an authentic leader who helps others navigate their lives too.

There are many ways to be a leader, but the one who inspires others and helps them achieve their full potential is a leader who is gracious and strong. This book will change how you see leadership and give you tools that you need to step out in your leadership role and pursue positive change within yourself, your family, and your team.

Celia Swanson is an accomplished senior executive who spent 25+ years at Walmart Inc. championing its culture and its people. She is notably recognized as the first female executive vice president at Walmart Inc. breaking the glass ceiling for women. Swanson has achieved what very few women in corporate America have. She earned a reputation for being a key culture ambassador throughout her career demonstrating a people-first mindset. In addition, she was hand-selected by the Walmart Inc. U.S. CEO to lead a cost-savings and associate engagement strategy transforming store operations for 1.4 million associates. In addition to her professional career, Celia is known for her community leadership in Northwest Arkansas. She was recently selected by the Northwest Arkansas business community as the 2016 Athena Woman of the Year for her excellence in community service, board leadership and regional impact in Northwest Arkansas. She was also the only leader to receive the top two operations awards from Sam's Club and Walmart Inc. U.S. As a speaker, Swanson delivers leadership talks across the globe. She is a keynote leader at The Conversation, a prestigious mastermind event for world changers, and many other events.