This book is for leaders, followers, and everyone in between. Anyone can benefit from this book: It doesn’t matter what your field is or where you work. We feel compelled as human beings to describe ourselves as either leaders or followers; I believe this polarization reduces our complexity as people. Within each of us, there is a leader and a follower—it all depends on the context of the moment. This book is about leading and following with compassion and connection. It is also a call to action. We need to be very concerned about the well-being of the people who are doing the work that requires them to give of themselves daily. We need to offer them safety and care to decrease this work’s isolating impact.

The majority of the book focuses on front-line professionals in the mental health sector; however, it is also concerned with the mental health of everyone. While the focus is on those who do the hard stuff every day, this book recognizes that we are all doing the best that we can do—but as leaders, we need to do better.