ORDER NOW AND GET OVER $300 IN FREE LEADERSHIP RESOURCES.
Surrender to Lead
The Counterintuitive Approach to Driving Extraordinary Results
What if the secret to driving results isn’t control but letting go?
When it comes to leadership, the idea of total control can be seductive. But it may also be what’s holding you and your team back from achieving extraordinary results.
Endorsed By
Mel Robbins
New York Times bestselling author and host of The Mel Robbins Podcast
Billy Beane
Senior advisor to the managing partner, Oakland Athletics, and subject of the bestselling book and Oscar-nominated movie Moneyball
Stephen R.V. Covey
New York Times and No. 1 Wall Street Journal bestselling author of The Speed of Trust and Trust & Inspire
Dr. Marshall Goldsmith
Thinkers50 #1 executive coach and New York Times bestselling author of The Earned Life, Triggers, and What Got You Here Won’t Get You There
Johnny C Taylor Jr.
President and CEO, Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM), and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of Reset
Hubert Joly
Former CEO, Best Buy; senior lecturer, Harvard Business School; and bestselling author of The Heart of Business
What You’ll Discover in Surrender to Lead
In Surrender to Lead, we take a deeper dive into the four key elements driving this new leadership pattern. Each one is essential for leaders who want to move beyond short-term fixes and create impact that lasts.
Mindset
Clarity
Alignment
Accountability
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Surrender to Lead Masterclass
Implementation Toolkit
30-Day Surrender to Lead Challenge
Virtual Access to Our Launch Event
FREE LEADERSHIP RESOURCES.
Surrender to Lead Masterclass
Gain immediate access to a concise video from Jessica and Joe that introduces the core concepts of Surrender to Lead and outlines practical steps you can take right away to begin applying them in your organization.
Implementation Toolkit
Access the full set of templates and guides referenced in the book—resources designed to streamline the shift from learning to implementation. You’ll receive them immediately so you can begin familiarizing yourself and even making progress before the book arrives.
30-Day Surrender to Lead Challenge
Reinforce what you learn with a 30-day guided challenge. Starting shortly after the book’s release, you’ll receive daily direction and accountability to ensure the principles of Surrender to Lead translate into measurable, sustainable results.
Virtual Access to Our Launch Event
Get all-day virtual access to our launch event — the perfect way to kick off 2026. Hear directly from top leaders as they share how they’re tackling today’s challenges and positioning for growth in the year ahead. This all-access pass unlocks lifetime access to the event recording too.
You can’t control what people believe. But you can design the experiences that shape those beliefs.
Praise for Surrender to Lead
“Letting go was the hardest thing I’ve ever done as a leader—and the most liberating. Once I finally stopped micromanaging every corner of my business, everything opened up: more freedom, more creativity, more growth. Surrender to Lead nails it. The Results Equation aligns perfectly with The Let Them Theory: trust people, create the conditions, and let them rise. That’s where real leadership begins.”
MEL ROBBINS, New York Times bestselling author and host of The Mel Robbins Podcast
“Surrender to Lead flips the traditional script on leadership—and that’s exactly why it’s so powerful. With courage and clarity, Jessica and Joe reveal how our obsession with control can hold us back from the very growth we seek. Their personal stories and research make a compelling case for letting go—not of standards or ambition but of the illusion that we can force success. If you’re ready to stop gripping tighter and start leading with greater impact, this is the guide you’ve been waiting for.”
DR. MARSHALL GOLDSMITH, Thinkers50 #1 executive coach and New York Times bestselling author of The Earned Life, Triggers, and What Got You Here Won’t Get You There
“Surrender to Lead is truly different from other leadership books. Jessica and Joe have taken a counterintuitive approach to finding what works for leaders and to challenging conventional thinking, and they’ve laid out a distinct path to getting results and finding new ways to win. ‘Surrendering’ isn’t something to be feared by those in leadership positions; rather, this book makes clear it’s what effective leaders do to ensure success for their companies and everyone around them.”
BILLY BEANE, Senior advisor to the managing partner, Oakland Athletics, and subject of the bestselling book and Oscar-nominated movie Moneyball
“A timely and transformative guide for leaders ready to elevate others and achieve outstanding outcomes.”
STEPHEN M. R. COVEY, New York Times and #1 Wall Street Journal bestselling author of The Speed of Trust and Trust & Inspire
“As a pro athlete and mom, I’ve chased the illusion of control—only to discover that peace and clarity live in the art of getting comfortable with discomfort. Surrender to Lead isn’t just a book—it’s the voice in your head when the road feels longest, the toughest, the hardest and when the finish line seems impossible. It’s a reminder that true strength is forged in discomfort, that courage lives in surrender, and that the unknown isn’t something to fear but a place where timeless resilience is born. This is the guide that meets you in your darkest mile . . . and carries you through with power, fortitude, stamina and endless grit.”
“Surrender to Lead is a powerful invitation to rethink what true leadership looks like. Jessica Kriegel and Joe Terry challenge the myth of control and offer a smarter, more human path forward—one rooted in trust, clarity, and purpose. Their message is timely, urgent, and exactly what today’s workplace leaders need to hear.”
JOHNNY C. TAYLOR, JR., SHRM-SCP, president and CEO, Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM), and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of Reset
“Jessica Kriegel and Joe Terry show how letting go—trusting your teams and focusing on purpose—unlocks extraordinary results. Every leader who cares about people and performance needs this book.”
Struggling to Drive Sustainable Results?
As a leader, you’re tasked with delivering results that endure—not just quick wins that fade as soon as the pressure shifts. Yet too often, even the most capable executives find themselves caught in a cycle of short-term fixes, endless performance pushes, and strategies that don’t stick.
After working with hundreds of organizations across industries, we’ve seen these patterns repeat again and again. But more recently, we’ve also started to see something new—a different pattern emerging among leaders who are achieving results that last. It’s this new pattern that we unpack in Surrender to Lead.
Curious About the ROI?
We get it—you’re a high-level leader with limited free time. So why invest in reading this book? Because leaders who consume, retain, and apply the strategies in Surrender to Lead experience outcomes that create lasting organizational and personal impact
Sustainable Performance
Move beyond short-term wins and build systems that consistently deliver results.
Stronger Influence
Enhance your credibility and authority, both inside your organization and across your industry.
Greater Alignment
Unify people, processes, and priorities around a clear vision that drives execution.
Improved Talent Retention
Engage and empower top performers by fostering an environment where they can thrive.
Scalable Impact
Lead in a way that multiplies results without multiplying effort—so growth doesn’t depend solely on you.
Real-World Success
119%
Increase in EBITDA YoY
$2B
Increase in Product Revenue
75%
Reduction in Recordable Injuries
60%
Increase in Inventory Accuracy
A Message from Jessica & Joe
Leadership has always been messy. We have both seen it. Boardrooms filled with brilliant ideas that never make it past the whiteboard. Teams struggling under the weight of conflicting priorities. Leaders trapped by the belief that they need to have all the answers.
We wrote Surrender to Lead because we believe great leadership requires surrender, not control. To get results your role as leader must be to create the conditions for success, not to dictate actions. This requires letting go of old notions of power, ego, and fear and it means leaning into love.
This book is a blueprint for letting go of old habits that no longer serve us. It is a call to trade ego for service, fear for love, and rigidity for adaptability. The best leaders are not the ones who have all the solutions. They are the ones who know how to unlock the potential of the people around them.
If you have ever felt the weight of responsibility and wondered if there is a better way, this book is for you. Together we can redefine what leadership looks like in today’s world.
– JESSICA KRIEGEL, JOE TERRY
About the Authors
Jessica Kriegel
Jessica is a workplace culture expert, keynote speaker, and researcher. As chief strategy officer at Culture Partners, she leads research and thought leadership that challenges traditional ideas about control, power, and performance, offering bold new approaches that get results. A seasoned, dynamic speaker and host of the CEO Daily Brief and Culture Leaders podcasts, she is a frequent guest on CNN, Fox Business, CNBC, and Bloomberg. Jessica holds an MBA and a doctorate in educational leadership and is currently pursuing a Master of Divinity. She is also a trained death doula, a role that deepens her approach to leading with presence and care. Her first book, Unfairly Labeled, challenges assumptions about generational stereotypes in the workplace.
Joe Terry
Joe is the CEO of Culture Partners, the leader in delivering results-driven culture transformation. For the past forty years, Joe has dedicated his life to the study and practice of optimizing human potential in sport, life, and business. As a five-time chief executive, he has successfully built, led, and grown organizations focused on serving employees, customers, and communities. In 2018 he was inducted into the HKW (Private Equity) Hall of Fame for demonstrating exceptional leadership, talent, integrity, and remarkable shareholder return. Joe is also a highly accomplished athlete, having played linebacker in the NFL and competed in fifteen (and counting) Ironman races, including three times at the Ironman World Championships in Kona, Hawaii.
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