James Scouller The Author of The Three Levels of Leadership Book

About The Author

Who Is James Scouller?

James Scouller is an executive coach and partner of The Scouller Partnership, a UK-based coaching practice.  Most of his work is with leaders.  The Three Levels of Leadership is his first book.

Before becoming a professional coach, he spent nearly 30 years in industry, mostly in manufacturing.  For over a decade of that, he was chief executive of three international companies, so he understands first-hand the pressures leaders face.

Accredited by the Association for Coaching, he holds two postgraduate coaching qualifications.  He also trained for four years in applied psychology at the Institute of Psychosynthesis in London.

A Short Interview With James Scouller

James, why did you write The Three Levels of Leadership?

“The simple answer is because no one else had.  I wouldn’t have bothered if other leadership books had already covered this ground.  But they hadn’t.

You see, Jim Collins, the author of Good to Great, pointed out that we can identify Level 5 Leadership as one of the seven keys to organisational greatness, but we can’t explain the inner psychological development of a level 5 leader.  And that means we don’t know the answer to the question, how do we guide someone to reach level 5 leadership?  The more I thought about leadership as I worked with coaching clients, the more I saw other big unanswered questions.  Questions like:

• Can we define leadership in a way that’s useful to leaders?  And by that, I mean a leadership definition that helps people understand what they have to do.  I say that because many leaders don’t know the four dimensions of their role and it often means they neglect one or more of them.
• What’s the purpose of a leader?  Again – and this may surprise you – I saw that a fuzzy, unhelpful view of the leader’s purpose was making life more difficult for leaders.
• Can we take the many (and, frankly, confusing) leadership theories, philosophies and styles – situational leadership, transformational leadership, authentic leadership, values-based-leadership and so on – and combine them in one simple, practical leadership model for the 21st century?  And while we’re at it, can we fold in the moral dimension of servant leadership?
• What do leaders need to know about their psyche if they are to master it and develop their emotional intelligence (EQ) and leadership presence?  What is leadership presence anyway?
• Above all, how can each of us become the best leader we can be?

As I worked with clients, I realised that answers to these questions would help them enormously.  But not just my clients – they’d help every leader.  But of course I couldn’t coach every leader personally so that’s when the idea of a book began to form.  And this led me to realise it was time to offer not only a new leadership model, but also a new model of the psyche.”

Was the style of the book important to you?

“Yes.  Three Levels had to be clear and compact. In essence, I set out to write the book I wish I’d read when I first became a CEO.  A book that cuts through the fog of the many leadership theories and brings fresh thinking to leadership... and does so in simple, clear language, with no padding.  I was frustrated by reading books 300 pages long with only enough content to justify 30 pages.  So I promised myself there’d be no padding in this book – that it would be no longer than it needed to be.”

Where are you based?

“Well, I live in Bedfordshire, about 40 miles north of London, but I have clients in different regions of the UK and in other European countries.  I’ve also worked with clients based in the USA.”

So what do you do when you’re not coaching and writing?

“My wife Trish is a great cook, so we enjoy eating in together and having friends round. 

I’ve always loved martial arts – Bruce Lee was a hero of mine as a teenager – so I’ve been practising Aikido for nearly 30 years.  I like to train and occasionally teach at least once a week – although I have to admit, writing The Three Levels of Leadership put paid to that for much of the past two or three years.

As a coach, it’s important to walk my talk, so I have a daily psychospiritual practice that includes a variation of the meditation exercise I describe in chapter 9.  And I’ve always got a book on the go – mainly non-fiction.

What else?  Well, I enjoy seeing my children grow – they’re adults, all in their 20s and making their own way in life – and Trish and I enjoy their company when they come round.  I think nearly every parent would say they love their children and that’s true for me, but you know what, I also like them.”

James Scouller on YouTube, Twitter & LinkedIn

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Latest News & Speaking Engagements

If you'd like to know the latest news about The Three Levels of Leadership or James Scouller's upcoming speaking events, click this News link. Alternatively, click the News link you will find it at the bottom right of this page, in the grey zone below the red line, alongside Contact, Press and Links.

Contact The Author

If you want to contact James Scouller about anything to do with The Three Levels of Leadership, including public speaking engagements, click this Contact link (or click the Contact link at the bottom right of this page) and write a message, your name and email address.

Executive Coaching

James Scouller’s executive coaching practice, The Scouller Partnership, offers coaching for leaders.  If you want to know more about The Scouller Partnership, you can click this link: www.thescoullerpartnership.co.uk.