Research & Insights
Celebrating the Launch of All the Difference and a Timely Conversation on Leadership
What If Strong Leadership Is Not About Having All the Answers?
We are proud to celebrate the publication of All the Difference, the new book by Susan MacKenty Brady, Stuart Kliman, and U.S. Army Lieutenant General (Ret.) Leslie C. Smith.
The book arrives at a moment when leaders are being asked to navigate rapid change, competing perspectives, and growing pressure to deliver results. In that environment, certainty can appear to be a sign of strength. But the leaders who create the greatest confidence may not be those who claim to have every answer. They are often the ones who ask better questions, invite different perspectives, and build the trust required for people to move forward together.
Leadership is not weakened by curiosity. It becomes more credible, inclusive, and effective.
Turning Difference Into an Advantage
As CEO of the Simmons University Institute for Inclusive Leadership, Susan has dedicated her career to helping leaders build trust, strengthen teams, and create workplaces where people and organizations can thrive.
That commitment is at the heart of All the Difference: Six Leadership Actions to Bridge Perspectives, Strengthen Teams, and Create Value. Co-authored with Stuart Kliman and Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Leslie C. Smith, the book offers leaders a practical framework for working across differences rather than allowing those differences to become barriers.
Its central message is both timely and actionable: stronger decisions emerge when people feel trusted, heard, and empowered to contribute their perspectives.
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Lead with curiosityAsk questions that expand understanding rather than reinforce assumptions.
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Build trust through opennessCreate confidence by being transparent about what is known, what is uncertain, and what must be discovered together.
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Turn perspectives into progressUse difference as a source of insight, innovation, and stronger collective action.
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Susan’s Latest Leadership Insight in Fortune
To coincide with the book’s launch, Susan explores one of today’s most persistent leadership challenges in a new Fortune article: the tendency to equate certainty with strength.
In a rapidly changing world, projecting certainty may create temporary reassurance, but it can also discourage questions, silence important perspectives, and undermine execution. Susan makes the case for a different model—one in which leaders create confidence through thoughtful inquiry, collaboration, and trust.
Discover why certainty may be hurting your team’s execution
A Milestone Worth Celebrating
At the Institute, we are honored to work alongside Susan as she continues to challenge conventional thinking about leadership and inspire leaders to create workplaces where everyone can contribute and succeed.
We congratulate Susan, Stuart, and Leslie on this exciting milestone and look forward to seeing the impact All the Difference will have on leaders, teams, and organizations everywhere.
We invite you to explore the ideas in the book and join the conversation about what it means to lead with trust, inclusion, curiosity, and purpose.
Explore All the Difference
Learn more about the book, meet the authors, and discover six leadership actions designed to help turn difference into lasting value.
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Kristen Palson
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