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Calm REBEL Leadership: Reclaim your authenticity in a system that erodes it
Do you ever feel like leadership is pushing you to be someone you’re not?
Many leaders today are quietly struggling. They want to act with integrity, but the system nudges them toward compromise, conformity, and self-doubt. They want to inspire others, but end up rescuing, shrinking, or sacrificing themselves just to keep things afloat.
Calm REBEL Leadership is a guide to breaking free — not with noise or aggression, but with clarity, courage, and calm.
Drawing on research, real-world case studies, and decades of leadership coaching, Geoff Watts introduces the Calm REBEL Arc, a practical framework to help
• Recognise and escape the five traps that erode authentic leadership.
• Reconnect with your values and voice, even in unsupportive systems.
• Build the resilience to sustain yourself — without self-sacrifice.
• Lead change in ways that are steady, grounded, and deeply human.
This book is for conscientious leaders who haven’t given up, but feel worn down by environments that reward compliance over creativity, and command-and-control over collaboration.
Whether you’re leading a team, an organisation, or a movement, Calm REBEL Leadership will help you reclaim your integrity, restore your energy, and rediscover the impact only you can make.
Many leaders today are quietly struggling. They want to act with integrity, but the system nudges them toward compromise, conformity, and self-doubt. They want to inspire others, but end up rescuing, shrinking, or sacrificing themselves just to keep things afloat.
Calm REBEL Leadership is a guide to breaking free — not with noise or aggression, but with clarity, courage, and calm.
Drawing on research, real-world case studies, and decades of leadership coaching, Geoff Watts introduces the Calm REBEL Arc, a practical framework to help
• Recognise and escape the five traps that erode authentic leadership.
• Reconnect with your values and voice, even in unsupportive systems.
• Build the resilience to sustain yourself — without self-sacrifice.
• Lead change in ways that are steady, grounded, and deeply human.
This book is for conscientious leaders who haven’t given up, but feel worn down by environments that reward compliance over creativity, and command-and-control over collaboration.
Whether you’re leading a team, an organisation, or a movement, Calm REBEL Leadership will help you reclaim your integrity, restore your energy, and rediscover the impact only you can make.
244 pages, Paperback
Published September 23, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
October 11, 2025
It’s a phenomenon I see everywhere: passionate leaders with vision and energy for positive change, gradually eroded by the homogenising systemic force of the organisation that is in need of people like them.
Geoff’s book not only acknowledges this but provides clear and compelling insight into its inevitability. It also describes practices that can help a leader deal with this inevitability and find the space once again to lead - to be the outlier that the organisation needs in order to change.
One of Geoff’s strengths is his ability to communicate this through stories - his other books are similar in this regard - yet underneath his clear and uncomplicated writing is insight that is grounded in how complex adaptive systems function.
This is a much needed book. I hope proves to be ‘a difference that makes a difference’ for many individuals and organisations looking to regain a sense of effective, energetic and engaging leadership.
Thanks Geoff!
Geoff’s book not only acknowledges this but provides clear and compelling insight into its inevitability. It also describes practices that can help a leader deal with this inevitability and find the space once again to lead - to be the outlier that the organisation needs in order to change.
One of Geoff’s strengths is his ability to communicate this through stories - his other books are similar in this regard - yet underneath his clear and uncomplicated writing is insight that is grounded in how complex adaptive systems function.
This is a much needed book. I hope proves to be ‘a difference that makes a difference’ for many individuals and organisations looking to regain a sense of effective, energetic and engaging leadership.
Thanks Geoff!
January 29, 2026
A valuable look at how to ensure the system isn’t taking the integrity out of your leadership. I found real value in recognising the patterns described. What was most useful was a wide range of practical activities to choose from to help develop my own approach, and consideration as to how I can influence the system. This book added a fresh perspective at a time I really needed it.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews