About The Author: Richard Citrin Ph.D., MBA is a clinical and organizational psychologist, facilitator and leadership coach. He has worked with American Airlines, FedEx, PNC Bank, Goodyear Tire and Rubber, LANXESS Corporation, The University of Pittsburgh, Penn State University, Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway, The Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank and many other large and small organizations.
Richard’s book, The Resilience Advantage, details a new approach for addressing personal and organizational challenges in the workplace. Richard is a frequent speaker and media contributor who has published more than 30 articles and who has appeared in Forbes, Fortune, and the New York Times.
How would you classify your latest work, what inspired its inception?
Our new book, co-authored with Michael Couch, Strategy Driven Leadership provides a new approach to creating the leaders of the future by developing professionals who meet the needs of the business and not just have a generic set of leadership skills, The work was inspired by seeing leaders who came back from leadership training programs with interesting information but who were not able to apply it effectively with their company.
How long did it take you to complete?
The book was written in a year, but the model was developed over the past 5 years
Who are some of your top 5 authors or writers you look up to & admire?
Alan Weiss who inspired me to be the best consultant I could be
Jack Stack who wrote about “Open Book Management” and developed the power of transparency in leadership
Mike Lombardo and Dave Eichinger who developed a competency-based model of leadership development
Marshall Goldsmith who has fostered the role and effectiveness of leadership coaching
Jack Welsh from GE who had the courage to put leadership and people development at the forefront of his work
Why do you write?
I love having a vehicle for putting my ideas down on paper and being able to share them with others. Before I wrote a book (and now i have 3) I thought being an author was a impossible task and I’ve learned that with discipline and good thinking, I can create new and innovative ideas I can share with my clients, colleagues and the broader world.
What’s the biggest take away you want your readers to come away with after reading your latest work?
Leadership can be developed and is based on a set of skills and competencies that are widely available to anyone to use. Developing leadership skills, whether it is to improve outcomes for your business or to be more effective in your role is not something that takes decades to achieve but can be done relatively quickly and with great satisfaction
How is the writing/reading scene in your locale?
Pittsburgh is an active writing locale with many authors who write both fiction and non-fiction. Furthermore, my community of global consultants are constantly looking for ways to write commercially published works that expand the effectiveness of their consulting projects.
What’s the best book you’ve ever read?
John Steinbeck-The Grapes of Wrath
When did you first realize you wanted to become a writer?
When someone asked me to help revise and rewrite a book. I had been writing articles for popular and professional journals but never considered writing a book. My eyes were opened when I finally had that book in my hand.
How have you evolved as a writer over the last year?
As one of my fellow writers recently said to me, “I am so proud of you for finding your voice as a writer”. I feel that I have found a style that is genuinely me and enjoy writing from that place
If you could meet, have dinner, have a drink with anyone (writer/non-writer) (dead or alive) who would it be?
I would like to meet with my four grandparents who emigrated to the United States in the early 1900s due to religious persecution to hear more about their stories and to know more about our family
What’s next for you?
Doing more speaking this year on this book and perfecting my speaking style. Also have some ideas for my next book that I want to start working on during the second half of the year
STRATEGY DRIVEN LEADERSHIP on AMAZON: https://www.amazon.com/Strategy-Driven-Leadership-Playbook-Developing-Generation/dp/0367332264
CITRIN CONSULTING: https://www.citrinconsulting.com/
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