Leadership isn’t about getting it right or holding it together. It’s about rising from where you are when things have fallen apart.
The hardest person you will ever lead is yourself.
Sheri Fella spent decades leading, coaching, and collecting the credentials the leadership industry promises will make the work easier. What finally lightened the load was the practice of facing herself—and learning to lead from her own truth and choice.
In The Liberated Leader, Sheri brings that practice to life through candid stories, humor, and hard-earned insight. She explores leadership wherever it happens: at work, at home, in relationships, and in the conversations we’d rather avoid. Along the way, she invites readers to reconsider exhaustion as a measure of success, recognize letting go as a leadership skill, and ask different questions. Instead of, “How can I do it all?” let’s ask, “How am I being while I do it?”
For high performers who know how to push hard, this book offers an alternate path toward greater self-awareness, freedom, and a more sustainable way to lead—and live.
YOU DON’T NEED A CRISIS TO EVOLVE.
JOIN SHERI AS SHE READS THE PROLOGUE TO THE LIBERATED LEADER
ENDORSEMENTS FROM READERS & LEADERS
“Funny, honest, and quietly fierce, Sheri writes like the coach you wish you'd had twenty years ago—the one who tells you the truth because she respects you. The Liberated Leader is thoughtful, deeply human, wise, and the kind of book that stays with you long after you've finished it.”
Julie Roe Lach
Executive Vice President | External Relations & Community Engagement, Pacers Sports & Entertainment
"Sheri reminds us that leadership isn't just about how we show up for others. It's about how we show up for ourselves. Through honest storytelling and hard-earned wisdom, The Liberated Leader challenges readers to pause, reflect, and lead with greater intention. A powerful reminder that the strongest leaders are those willing to do the work within.”
Val Grubb
Author, National Keynote Speaker, & Executive Coach
“The Liberated Leader is a thoughtful and reflective take on leadership that challenges you to ‘flip your thinking’. It goes beyond traditional tactics, offering a deeply human, experience-driven perspective on what leadership requires of us internally. It’s a powerful reminder that emotional self-awareness is a core leadership competency, brought to life through Sheri’s humility and willingness to share her own experiences of failure and disappointment, reflection, and accountability. The result is a message that is credible and relatable, and a valuable reminder that ‘the hardest person you’ll ever lead is yourself’.”
John Kessler
Executive Vice President & Chief Strategy Officer, Encova Insurance
“The Liberated Leader is an invitation to lead with your most genuine voice. Sheri reminds us that the most powerful leadership doesn't come from acquiring more—it comes from uncovering the wisdom already within us.”
Kerry Thomson
Mayor, City of Bloomington
“As someone who spends her days thinking about how leaders show up for their people, I found The Liberated Leader refreshingly honest. Sheri Fella makes the case, through her own lived experiences, that self-awareness isn't soft, it's strategic.”
Heidi Weingarter
Chief HR Officer, Dallas Cowboys Football Club
“This isn't leadership theory—it's leadership tested through decades of coaching, leading, and helping others navigate real challenges. Sheri's wisdom is practical, hard-earned, and immediately applicable to leaders at every level.”
Cheryl Moody Bartel
Senior Executive Leader, Big Pharma
“As a lifelong student and researcher, I instinctively underline every important insight while reading—whether it’s an article, a book, or even the occasional newspaper. While reading this book, I realized I had underlined nearly half of every chapter. That’s how exceptional it is. Everyone deserves to have “a Sheri” in their life. I feel incredibly fortunate to have found mine.”
Aleksandra Rizo
President and Chief Executive Officer, Vividion Therapeutics, Inc.
“The Liberated Leader is a refreshing reminder that our greatest leadership challenge isn't leading others—it's leading ourselves. Sheri Fella combines deeply personal stories with hard-earned wisdom to create a book that will challenge leaders to trade perfection and performance for self-awareness and authenticity to discover a more sustainable, human-centered way to lead.”
Carla Harris
Partner, Big Four Firm
“As usual, Sheri Fella challenges the reader to reconsider conventional wisdom that leadership begins with others. In The Liberated Leader, she demonstrates with honesty, humility, and hard-earned insight that our most important leadership work starts within. This is a powerful guide for anyone seeking to lead with greater authenticity, purpose, and impact.”
Buren Jones
General Counsel, Indiana Farmers Mutual Insurance Company
“Championship teams aren’t built by great plays alone—they’re built by leaders who do the “I” work first. Sheri reminds us that when we lead ourselves well, everyone around us plays better. The Liberated Leader is a game-changer.”
JoAn Scott
Former Vice President of Men’s Basketball, NCAA
“Every leader who wants to succeed without sacrificing themselves should read this book. With rare wisdom, compassion, and practical insight, Sheri Fella offers a new way to lead that is both deeply fulfilling and profoundly effective.”
Rachael-Jayne Grover
Best-selling author of Unshakeable Inner Peace