MAKE SPACE TO LEAD
How can making space transform the way you work and live?
Many high-achieving professionals believe that we must continually drive ourselves to work harder to gain the success we desire. But the reality is that we’ve trapped ourselves within this pattern of busyness and overwork.
If you’ve ever felt burned out, overwhelmed, anxious and unsatisfied in your work life, it’s imperative to make space to figure out what truly fulfills you. From her 22 years’ experience in Silicon Valley, award-winning design leader and international speaker, Tutti Taygerly shows readers how you can design your best professional and personal lives using the design process of research, ideation, and focused action.
Make Space to Lead shares ideas, stories, and experiments from leaders at the top technology companies and startups. Insights include:
The Cult of Achievement: how to break the busyness cycle and why accomplishing more won’t bring you the validation you seek.
It’s okay to exhale. You need a break from the constant to-do list and milestones and make room for creativity and flow. Pausing and slowing down your thinking actually makes you stronger.
How to develop self-awareness to see the recurring patterns in your work life. With this superpower, you can learn how to break old patterns and challenge yourself to change.
As a surfer, Tutti shares how surfing as a metaphor balances the achievement and flow needed to be a leader in business and your own life.
This book will be your hands-on guide to research, create experiments, and take action on what matters for your leadership.
“A consistently readable work, and it effectively emphasizes Taygerly’s buoyant encouragements as she describes ways for readers to work toward their very best selves.... A knowing, enthusiastic plan for moving past behaviors that keep one from success.”
“Watching Tutti’s personal transformation as she makes space for the meaningful values in her life has been incredibly inspiring. In this book, she lays out the frameworks and tools that will help you achieve the change you’re looking for.”
“Refreshing and useful encouragement for reframing our relationship to work.”
“If you’re stressed out, overworked, and overwhelmed, pick up this book now. It’ll inspire you to start running actionable experiments to make more space in your life.”
“This book is a welcome addition to the libraries of leaders at all levels! As a leader who is often guilty of “worship at the cult of busy,” I found myself in many aspects of this book. This relatable read is full of actionable tools— for succeeding at work, and in all parts of life. Through Tutti’s personal experiences of leadership and her clients’ stories, she gives us permission to deeply reflect, and slow down, to achieve even greater success.”
Go Deeper with a Guided Course on Spacious Leadership
Read the book and want more? Tutti offers a guided course to help you develop your spacious leadership with an intimate cohort of like-minded leaders. Learn more on how to Lead with Space to Succeed.
Looking for a Special Gift for Yourself or a Friend?
If you’d like an autographed copy of Make Space to Lead, or if you’d rather not support Amazon, you can purchase a hardcover copy of the book directly from the author ($35). This option includes shipping within the United States. Please put the name of the autograph recipient in the comments when you check out.
Audiobook Listener?
If you’re looking for the Acknowledgments or Citations (it seemed kinda boring to read those aloud for the recording), you can access this PDF of Acknowledgements & Citations.
Why I Wrote This Book
When I was in school, I was a prolific writer. I wrote short stories, poetry, and long essays analyzing works of fiction and non-fiction. Then as I grew up, I turned towards the more prosaic world of computer science, got my Stanford degree in Human-Computer Interaction, and then entered a long career as a product designer then design leader in Silicon Valley.
From valedictorian in high school to Stanford University to a seemingly effortless climb up the career ladder, I have been a lifelong super-achiever. While my path to success might have appeared perfect, behind the scenes, I felt anxious and overwhelmed. I wasn’t achieving because it was my passion, I was achieving because I was constantly seeking validation from external sources, and keeping busy to feel important. I loved leading design teams and creating products that reached billions of people, but it wasn’t the depth of meaning that I yearned for. Then, after years of worshipping at the altar of busyness, I discovered the life-changing power of supporting leaders through coaching.
When I discovered my second career as a leadership coach, I felt the need to write. I published articles weekly sharing my story and my journey. Slowly, as more people began to read my words, they reached out to me. The problems my clients and I were facing resonated.
Make Space to Lead shares stories of work in Silicon Valley from my personal experiences at startups, design firms and Facebook. It also shares the methodology behind what’s worked for CEOs and corporate leaders that I’ve supported. And as I wrote this “business book,” I found the personal stories pouring out of me. I wrote about my hell year of going through the deaths of my father-in-law and my father, while my ex-husband and I decided to end our marriage. I wrote about negative performance reviews and being fired. And the more I wrote, the more people responded. I poured myself into this business book and through this creative process, have made more space for myself.
Now I’m sharing it with you.
Sharing My Story
I recently gave a talk at the Design at Scale conference sharing my scarily-vulnerable personal story of how I left a stable corporate career as a design leader at Facebook to start my own business. I share how to use the design process to make more space for what matters in your life. There’s also an interactive exercise to map out your Wheel of Leadership.
About The Author
Most people know me as a design leader with 22 years of experience building products and design cultures in the world’s largest organizations. Today, I’m a coach to entrepreneurs and technology leaders who make a real impact in the world.
I’ve led teams at startups, design agencies, and large tech companies. I am a trained coach through the Co-Active Training Institute and have a B.S. in Human-Computer Interaction from Stanford University. With this experience, I work with technology leaders to create their visionary North Stars.
While I appeared to be successful, my drive came from continually seeking external validation— moving from valedictorian to Stanford and then effortlessly up the corporate career ladder. I kept working longer hours to launch innovative products and support my teams better, yet it became harder to feel the creative flow and the meaning in my work. I discovered the power of coaching as a wake-up call and my path to entrepreneurship. It's enabled me to support people in designing their best professional and personal lives.
I’ve been an insatiable adventurer and prickly risk-taker my entire life. I grew up in seven countries on three continents and am settled in San Francisco as my home base. I spend my time parenting two spirited girls, obsessively reading, and paddling out for the next wave.
Read the Inspiration
Inspiration for Make Space to Lead came from writing my weekly blog posts. These are three of the most popular ones.
