A new book by Carol A. Wheeler, PhD

Available Now on Amazon

The Connected Leader

Leading with Strengths in a Disconnected World

Organizations don’t lose good people to bad pay. They lose them to managers who were never taught how to lead.

The ConnectedLeader is a practical guide for the people doing that leading, and for the people who develop them. Read the first chapter free today, and be first to take the free Connected Leader Assessment.

Read the first chapter free

You thought she was okay.

Six weeks ago you promoted one of your best people into a leadership role. Today she resigned, and you didn’t see it coming.

Nobody complained. The deadlines were getting met. But people rarely send an email that says I feel invisible here. They go quiet, do the minimum, and start updating their résumé. By the time you hear about it, it’s a resignation.

Most leaders care deeply about their people. What they haven’t been given is a way to turn that care into a team that commits — and that part is learnable.

The Job is the People.

This book is for you if . . .

✔ You lead an organization and know retention is a leadership problem

✔ You’re responsible for developing managers across your organization

✔ You were promoted for being great at the work and never shown how to lead people

✔ You coach or consult with leaders and want a framework they’ll remember

The equation at the heart of the book

Clarity × Connection = Commitment™

It’s a multiplication on purpose. A zero on either side zeros the whole result.

All the connection in the world won’t survive zero clarity — a well-liked leader whose team can’t say what winning looks like. All the clarity in the world won’t survive zero connection — a team that meets every deadline and is job-searching on its lunch break.

Most teams live in Comfort or Compliance. Most leaders believe their team is in Commitment. That gap is where this book lives.

INSIDE THE BOOK:

Seen. Known. Valued.

1

What every person on your team needs from you, and three questions that start the conversation.

The Connected Leadership Matrix

2

Four quadrants for an honest read on where your team lives right now.

Coaching questions

3

In every chapter, ready for your next one-on-one or team meeting.

Built on strengths

4

A strengths-based approach that starts with what’s already right with your people.

COMING SOON - FREE

Where does your team really land?

The Connected Leader Assessment is a short, free assessment that places your team on the Connected Leadership Matrix and shows you which side of the equation needs your attention first.

Get First Access

Compliance

HIGH CLARITY * LOW CONNECTION

Deadlines met. Résumés updated on the lunch break.

Confusion

LOW CLARITY * LOW CONNECTION

Unclear priorities. Everyone staying busy, nobody sure it’s the right work.

Commitment

HIGH CLARITY * HIGH CONNECTION

Trust plus standards. Ownership plus belonging.

Comfort

LOW CLARITY * HIGH CONNECTION

A warm team that likes each other, with no clear priorities to hold onto.

  • “Carol names something every leader has felt: you can be crystal clear and still have an underperforming team if they don't feel connected. And vice versa. Her reframe on management is the wake-up call I wish I’d heard sooner: time with your people isn't overhead, it's the job. Practical, clear, and the book I'd hand to every people leader.”

    Tammira Philippe, CFA, CEPA
    CEO & Lead Advisor, ExitSmarts

  • “Dr. Wheeler helps us consider the potential unleashed when clarity and connection work together… Her message is clear: the job is the people.”

    —Debbie Cottrell · President, Texas Lutheran University

  • “Dr. Wheeler has a unique ability to translate leadership research into practical strategies that leaders can apply immediately to build stronger, more connected, and more committed teams.”

    —Sarah Teaff, PhD · CEO, Patterson Health Center

  • “This is the most practical leadership book I have read in a long while, without losing sight of the thing that matters most, people. Carol is like a compass in your pocket and a campfire at your feet. She helps you see the gap, sit with the discomfort and ask the questions that crack something open. With data, real stories, useful frameworks and coaching questions that make you stop and think, this book will help caring leaders stop repeating the same story and start changing things for the better.”

    —Charlotte Blair, The Strengths Partners and author of Career Unstuck

  • “I've had the firsthand opportunity to watch Carol work with business and community leaders, and I've always been impressed by her ability to create both clarity and connection. The Connected Leader is a practical guide to doing the same in your own organization.”

    —Jonathan Packer, President & CEO, New Braunfels Chamber of Commerce

  • “The Connected Leader is for leaders who want more than people simply showing up and doing their jobs. Carol Wheeler makes a clear, practical case that people do their best work when they feel seen, known, and valued—and when they know how to win. This book gives leaders a real path to build both.”

    — Melissa Yerxa Ortiz, CEO of Activate Human Capital Group

Get the first chapter of the book sent straight to your inbox for FREE.

    We respect your privacy. Unsubscribe at any time.

    Built with Kit

    About the Author

    Carol A. Wheeler, PhD, helps organizations build managers worth staying for. As founder of NopaLeadership, she has spent more than twenty-five years working with leaders and teams — from small nonprofits to large enterprises — as a speaker, facilitator and coach.

    She holds a Ph.D. in Leadership Education from Oklahoma State University and is a Gallup-Certified CliftonStrengths Coach. She is also a contributing author to Point Taken: Brilliant Business Advice from Women at the Top. She lives in New Braunfels, Texas, where she also founded Sammelplatz, a community-minded coworking space.

    Bring Carol to your organization:

    LinkedIn‍ ‍YouTube

    Work With Us