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Great Leaders Care
Developing Safe, Resilient and Successful Teams
Graeme Cowan (Author)
9781394389339, Wiley
Paperback / softback, published 9 April 2026
320 pages
22.4 x 15.2 x 2.8 cm, 0.431 kg
"This book shows that caring leadership isn't just morally right — it's directly tied to superior organisational performance, creating workplaces where discretionary effort is the norm." "When one team member shared his battle with depression and recovery — then went on to complete the Hawaiian Triathlon three times — everything shifted. Graeme's Great Leaders Care framework shows how vulnerability breaks down competitive barriers where people feel they must appear perfect. It creates permission for teams to stop pretending and start being human with each other. That's when real transformation begins." "Graeme understands that those we have the privilege to lead are somebody's precious child who simply want to know they matter. This book provides the practical tools to embrace this profound responsibility of leadership, with genuine care while building high-performing teams. It's the bridge between knowing what matters and actually doing it." "Graeme understands what leading teams through complexity has taught me: if you're asking people to be their best, you must create environments where they feel supported when they're not. Great Leaders Care provides the practical tools to build psychologically safe, high-performing teams where care and accountability reinforce each other." "This book shows how caring can be a super strength for leaders and their organisations. Effective leadership isn't reserved for those with all the answers. Graeme reveals how acknowledging your humanity and leading with kindness creates psychological safety where teams don't just survive challenges — they thrive." "What made our team high-performing during COVID? Everyone had a common why. Graeme's Great Leaders Care proves what I've witnessed: clear goals plus flexibility for teams to do their best work equals performance. When people understand the impact they're making and feel genuinely cared for as individuals, not just productivity units, that's when sustainable high performance happens." "Becoming purpose-led requires more than getting ideas and excitement from TED talks on purpose — it demands an emotional energy and relentless commitment. It is a promise to not just deliver results but to care! Graeme's Great Leaders Care provides the roadmap for leaders championing causes beyond profit, showing how to invite teams on the journey, connect them to purpose personally, and sustain caring cultures that recognize people's lives extend beyond 9-to- 5." "After more than 30 years leading teams, I've learned that deep purpose transforms organisations. Graeme captures this beautifully — showing how amplifying client voices, practicing gratitude, and connecting work to meaning creates teams that don't just perform, they thrive. Essential reading for purpose-driven leaders."
—Steven Worrall,, CEO Telstra InfraCo, and Chair, Corporate Mental Health Alliance
—Dave Banks, former Executive General Manager, NAB
—Bob Chapman, Chair, Barry-Wehmiller; co-author, Everybody Matters; 2025 Top 50 Leadership and Management Expert by Inc.
—Ellen Derrick, Deloitte Asia-Pacific Government and Public Services Leader
—Todd Harper AM, CEO, Cancer Council Victoria
—Emma Hogan, former Secretary (CEO), NSW Department of Customer Service
—Damen Mu, CEO, AIA Insurance Australia
—Melissa Reynolds, CEO, State Trustees Victoria
Great leaders don't choose between results and wellbeing — they build both Leadership is tough. When it comes to delivering success, you face higher demands, yet you receive less support. Meanwhile, your team members are stressed, tense and on the verge of burnout. Most leadership books focus solely on driving results, while ignoring a critical truth: you can't sustain high performance when you and your team are running on empty. That’s where Great Leaders Care is different — it delivers a practical, evidence-based framework for building teams that are both high-performing and resilient. Graeme Cowan, Founding Director of R U OK?, draws on extensive interviews with successful CEOs plus his own personal journey with mental health, revealing what really matters in leadership. Inside, you’ll discover how caring cultures transform both people and business outcomes, including stronger engagement and performance, reduced liability and higher retention. When people feel genuinely cared for, productivity rises, turnover drops and teams become magnets for top talent. Great Leaders Care shares the tools to:
Leaders who care build teams that thrive. Great Leaders Care equips you with immediately actionable strategies to become the leader people actually want to work for — while delivering the results your organization demands.
‘Great Leaders Care is a compassionate, practical guide for managers on how to care for themselves and their teams in ways that reduce burnout and build psychological safety at work. Opening with the author’s deeply personal journey through severe depression and recovery, the book provides evidence-informed tools and stories from his work, and the celebrated R U OK? movement he helped to grow. Great Leaders Care offers a clear roadmap for anyone who wants to create workplaces where struggling is okay, speaking up is welcomed, and thriving is the result.'
—Amy Edmondson, Novartis Professor of Leadership, Harvard Business School, author, Right Kind of Wrong and The Fearless Organization
Introduction XI 1 Code red: From burnout to breakthrough 1 PILLAR 1 Self-care 17 2 Your moodometer 19 3 Mindset: Your psychological wellbeing 29 4 Vitality: Your physical wellbeing 45 5 Intimacy: Your emotional wellbeing 61 6 Prosperity: Career wellbeing 75 PILLAR 2 Crew care 89 7 Your crew’s moodometer 93 8 Care about belonging 113 9 Leading with psychological safety 131 10 Growing together: Moving from amber to green 149 PILLAR 3 Red-zone care 165 11 Applying the ICARE framework 167 12 Building a WeCARE Culture 187 13 Complying with WHS laws 213 PILLAR 4 Code green 241 14 A different kind of awakening 243 15 The ripple effect of green zone leadership 255 16 The movement starts with you 267 Conclusion: The movement you’re invited to join 279
Subject Areas: Business & management [KJ]
