The Only Leaders Worth* Following
Why Some Leaders Succeed, Others Fail, and How the Quality of Our Lives Hangs in the Balance
Leadership doesn't ultimately rise or fall on strategy.
It rises or falls on the leader.
We say we know this. And we prove it, every year, by spending billions of organizational dollars in leadership development.
Leaders attend conferences, read books, hire coaches, and adopt new frameworks in hopes of becoming more effective. And still, in spite of all that money and time, many organizations continue to struggle with trust, culture, engagement, and leadership succession. Clearly, when it comes to leadership development, something isn’t working. What if the problem isn't a lack of knowledge?
What if we've simply been developing the wrong layer of leadership?
In The Only Leaders Worth* Following, leadership advisor Tim Spiker introduces The Who Not What Principle — the research-backed idea that exceptional leadership is determined far more by who a leader is than by what a leader knows or does.
Drawing from behavioral research, decades of leadership development experience, and practical application inside organizations around the world, Tim challenges readers to rethink the foundation of leadership itself. Rather than offering another collection of tactics or techniques, he invites leaders to do the deeper work that creates lasting change — for themselves, their teams, and the organizations they serve.
Whether you lead a company, a department, a nonprofit, or your own family, this book provides a practical framework for becoming the kind of leader others willingly trust, follow, and grow under.
Inside the book
Most leadership books answer one question: What should leaders do?
This book asks a different (and ultimately more important) question:
Who must leaders become?
Inside, you'll discover:
Why research suggests that who you are accounts for the majority of your leadership effectiveness
The hidden qualities consistently found in leaders people genuinely want to follow
Why so much leadership development creates awareness without producing lasting behavioral change
How identity, beliefs, and personal character shape every leadership decision you make
A practical framework for developing leadership from the inside out
Why sustainable organizational transformation always begins with personal transformation
This isn't a book about becoming a more impressive leader. It's about becoming one others choose to follow.
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Paperback
258 Pages
Publisher: The Aperio
ISBN-13: 978-1950867042
Available in Paperback and Kindle
Reviews
What leadership experts are saying
“In The Only Leaders Worth* Following, Tim Spiker launches leaders into a developmental journey. He has pulled together the crucial but almost subliminal qualities required for leaders to flourish. Spiker has captured the essence of the tension between leadership and followership.”
— Mike Kane | CEO & Managing Director, Boral Limited
“I wish I had access to this book as I began my career decades ago. In it Tim Spiker outlines the sequence of steps lasting leaders take. I recommend it to anyone who wants to realize his or her leadership potential…”
— Dr. Tim Elmore | Author of Habitudes and Founder of GrowingLeaders.com
“This book is a must read. Move over Simon Sinek, you've got company. First came the Why. Now Tim Spiker brings Who* Not What.”
— Michelle Pape | Founder, Next Monday Leadership and Team Development
What readers are saying
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"This should be up on the shelves with Lencioni, Godin, and Maxwell..."
Lately, I've been having some difficulty with someone who is a very good WHAT leader but hasn't ever seen WHO leadership modeled or even understand what it is. . . . Tim's book has been pivotal in many situations like this. It is full of great, real-life stories and tons of Adam Grant-level data to back it up.
This should be up on the shelves with Lencioni, Godin, and Maxwell in my opinion. Don't believe me? Just read it and you'll see.
— Eric H.
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“One of the best leadership books I have read in many years.”
Tim Spiker gets to the heart of things, and in a way that is easy to understand and appreciate. And within just a few weeks of reading this book, I have already asked some of the leaders I am coaching to read the book, and I am using the thinking in the leadership learning I deliver. And, the ideas inside the book (the premise of being Inwardly Sound and Others Focused) is applicable to ANY context of leadership.
— Frank C Murray III
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"One of the most important and impactful books on the truth of leadership..."
This is honestly one of the most important and impactful books on the truth of leadership that you will read. Data driven but told with stories that connect, the concepts in this book have the potential to change not just your leadership, but your life. I buy and give this book to coaching clients often. If you are looking for a leadership book that will improve your leadership (and LIFE), I cannot recommend this book highly enough.
— Tara Gronhovd
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"More than a tactical approach to leadership."
Most leadership books focus on a tactical approach to leading well or focus on a particular part of leadership, but in The Only Leaders Worth* Following, Tim gives a big picture perspective on you as a leader. He shares the pieces and parts that come together to make you a leader worth following or not. Of course it's a process and not a destination and that can be frustrating when you don't get a 3 step process for being the best leader ever. However, Tim sets you up to endeavor to be a better person.
— Keith May
About the author
Meet Tim Spiker
Tim Spiker is the founder of The Aperio, a who-based leadership development firm for mission-forward organizations.
For more than two decades, Tim has worked alongside CEOs, executive teams, founders, and organizations across multiple industries to help leaders develop from the inside out. His work centers on what he calls The Who Not What Principle — the understanding that sustainable leadership effectiveness begins with who a leader is, not simply what a leader knows or does.
Today, organizations around the world use Tim's research-backed approach to strengthen culture, develop healthier leaders, and create lasting organizational change. Through workshops, organizational consulting, leadership development experiences, and speaking engagements, Tim has helped more than 700 leaders discover that becoming a better leader always begins with who you are, not what you do.
He is also the host of the Be Worth* Following podcast, where he continues exploring the principles that shape exceptional leaders and thriving organizations.
Ready to begin?
If you've ever wondered why some leaders consistently earn trust while others struggle despite having the right experience, education, and credentials, The Only Leaders Worth* Following offers a different answer – leadership doesn't begin with what you know. It begins with who you are.