The Invisible Leader: Transform Your Life, Work, and Organization with the Power of Authentic Purpose

"Zach Mercurio, Ph.D. has written a compelling book filled with powerful stories, cutting-edge research, and practical tools that shows us how to lead with purpose..."

- ARIANNA HUFFINGTON, Founder and CEO at Thrive Global, #1 New York Times Bestselling Author of Thrive and The Sleep Revolution

"...the potential value to the careful reader is probably incalculable."
- SAN FRANCISCO REVIEW OF BOOKS

Purpose may be the most powerful influencer of our behaviors, attitudes, and motivation in organizations, work, school, and life.

Yet despite the increasing evidence of purpose's power, many of the organizations, systems, and institutions that dominate human life aren't built to elicit and leverage the fundamental human search for purpose and meaning.

In "The Invisible Leader," award-winning purposeful leadership and meaningful work researcher and consultant Zach Mercurio, Ph.D. shows business leaders, educators, students, athletes, and parents HOW to discover, clarify, and deliver their reason for existence ― their authentic purpose. Readers will also learn how to create group cultures of significance and how to practically connect people to purpose every day.

For fans of Simon Sinek's "Start with Why," the "Invisible Leader" takes the next step and details both the science of how purpose works and the research-backed practices to implement it in our lives and organizations.

EXCERPT

INTRODUCTION: THE TRANSFORMATIVE POWER OF PURPOSE

The search for purpose and meaning is fundamentally human—the unifying trait of our species.

Our yearning for purpose begins (to many new parents' dismay) as soon as we learn language.

As I write these words, my two-year-old has just learned the immense value of questioning to make sense of the world. It comes as no surprise that like countless other toddlers, he incessantly asks, "Why?"

These three letters represent, in my view, the most powerful question in human language—and the hardest to answer. When we ask "Why?" we seek a reason, a justification for the existence of whatever we're inquiring about. We seek a purpose.

But the answer to why is perhaps more transformative than the question. When we ask "Why?" of ourselves or our organizations, the answer is our purpose.

Purpose is our reason for existence, the answer to the question: Of what use are we to the world?

When stated clearly and enacted consistently, purpose has the power to unite, compel, engage, and transform our lives, our organizations, and the world.

Zach Mercurio, Ph.D. is an author, researcher, and consultant specializing in purposeful leadership, meaningful work, mattering, and positive organizational development. He wrote "The Invisible Leader: Transform Your Life, Work, and Organization with the Power of Authentic Purpose" to provide individuals, leaders, and organizations with the tools to activate their purpose and create cultures where everyone matters. It was praised by Arianna Huffington as "a compelling book filled with powerful stories, cutting-edge research, and practical tools that show us how to lead with purpose." In his work with over 100 global companies, non-profits, schools, and universities around the world, Zach helps forge purposeful leaders and provides practical tools to cultivate positive organizational and team cultures that enable more meaning, motivation, and well-being. Some of his clients and partners have included JP Morgan Chase, Marriott International, American Express, The Government of Canada, The University of Notre Dame, Hewlett-Packard, The National Park Service, The Food and Drug Administration, The Ghirardelli Chocolate Company, Crocs, and The Alzheimer's Association. Zach earned his Ph.D. in Organizational Learning, Performance, and Change from Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colorado where he serves as an Honorary Fellow in the Department of Psychology's Center for Meaning and Purpose and as an Instructor in the School of Education. His research on meaningful work has been awarded by The Association for Talent Development, The Academy of Management, and The Academy of Human Resource Development. Zach also writes regularly on his blog and newsletter, and his thoughts on purposeful leadership, mattering, and meaningful work have been featured internationally in media outlets such as Forbes, Inc. Magazine, The Denver Post, Psychology Today, and The Huffington Post. He is also a regular guest on a wide range of leadership and organization development podcasts.