Leading Wholly: The Case for Leading with Curiosity, Courage, and Imperfection - Hardcover

by Nathan Murfield (Author)

We've engineered leadership to the brink of burnout.
In organizations everywhere, leaders are trained to perform: to be confident, certain, and endlessly productive. The result is a generation of high achievers who are exhausted, disconnected, and quietly wondering if they are doing it wrong.

In Leading Wholly, leadership strategist and engineer Nathan Murfield, Ph.D. offers a radical yet practical alternative. Drawing on two decades inside a five-billion-dollar industrial company, along with lessons learned in far less polished rooms, Murfield reveals that the strongest leaders are not the most flawless, but the most whole. They integrate intellect and intuition, success and struggle, strategy and soul.

Blending behavioral science, organizational research, and personal storytelling, Murfield introduces a six-part framework for "leading wholly." The model is built on curiosity, courage, and imperfection. Each dimension--diversity, emotional intelligence, lifelong learning, adaptability, authentic self-expression, and team empowerment--forms a structural pillar of sustainable leadership. Together they create what Murfield calls the architecture of wholeness: a practical, repeatable way to lead with presence instead of performance.

Through vivid stories and actionable reflection tools, readers will learn how to:
- Transform vulnerability into credibility and connection
- Turn curiosity into innovation and continuous learning
- Replace control with trust and shared ownership
- Build cultures of inclusion, safety, and resilience
- Sustain impact without sacrificing integrity or wellbeing

At once rigorous and deeply human, Leading Wholly dismantles the myth that authority requires armor. It shows how to unite the analytical and the emotional, the professional and the personal, into a single integrated practice. Murfield's voice, equal parts scientist and storyteller, invites readers to rethink what effective leadership truly looks like in an age defined by complexity, change, and burnout.

Whether you are an executive seeking renewal, a manager learning to lead with empathy, or an emerging professional ready to find your authentic voice, Leading Wholly offers a path forward. It is not about being everything to everyone. It is about bringing all of yourself to what matters most.

In a world still obsessed with polish and perfection, Leading Wholly proves that humanity--not hierarchy--is the ultimate competitive advantage.

Author Biography

NATHAN MURFIELD, Ph.D. is a leadership strategist, author, and educator who helps leaders move beyond performance into presence. For nearly two decades, he has led global engineering and service teams at a $5 billion industrial company, bringing a systems-thinking approach to complex technical challenges. He holds a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering and completed Harvard Business School's Program for Leadership Development. As a person in long-term recovery, Nathan writes and speaks from lived experience about leading through imperfection. His voice blends research and rigor with humor, candor, and humanity, inviting leaders to bring their whole selves to work. He lives in Minnesota with his wife and three children.