Leadership: Elevate Yourself and Those Around You

I’ll admit I rolled my eyes when I saw yet another leadership book hit my queue—but *Leadership: Elevate Yourself and Those Around You* surprised me by being *useful* in the way a Swiss Army knife is useful: not flashy, but exactly what you reach for in a pinch. Elkins’ approach is refreshingly anti-guru. He doesn’t promise to make you a “visionary”; he teaches you how to navigate the *actual* power dynamics of workplaces, like how to push back on a bad idea without burning bridges (his “yes, and” framework in Chapter 5 is gold) or how to spot when you’re being a “hero leader” (his term for the exhausting habit of solving everyone’s problems for them). Martin James’ narration is the audiobook’s secret weapon. He avoids the trap of over-performing—no dramatic pauses or forced enthusiasm—just clean, conversational delivery that makes complex ideas feel like advice from a trusted peer. That said, the production isn’t perfect: the editing in the first hour has a few awkward cuts where sentences feel spliced too tightly, and James’ cadence occasionally flattens during lists (e.g., the “five trust killers” section), making it hard to distinguish items. Still, the content’s strength outweighs these quibbles. My biggest critique? The book’s title undersells its scope. This isn’t just about “elevating” yourself; it’s a playbook for anyone who’s ever been frustrated by office politics, invisible labor, or the gap between title and real influence. If you’ve ever left a meeting thinking, *“Why does no one listen to me?”*, this is your audiobook.