There Is No Box: A Practical Guide for the Relatable Leader

Leading isn't just something you do; leadership is a lifestyle.

In today's global economy, effective leadership requires engaging in diverse interactions, meaning there is no one, predefined way to lead. Instead, leaders today must be culturally agile, and they must live that awareness and adaptability each and every day.

There Is No Box is a practical guide for leaders who recognize how critical it is to draw outside the lines of typical guidance in order to rethink leadership development and gain competencies that make them more inclusive, culturally aware, and empowered to facilitate collaboration.

Authors Marisa Cleveland and Simon Cleveland draw on their combined forty years of experience in corporate, government, and higher education leadership to answer a question they've been getting for over two decades: how do lauded leaders live? Through anecdotes and interviews paired with actionable takeaways, the book investigates where leaders start, how they become boxed in upon entering the workforce, and finally how they can break through those boundaries to become a culturally agile leader and a meaningful contributor to our global society.

About the Author

With more than two decades in the education and publishing industries, Dr. Marisa Cleveland is adamant about supporting efforts toward the betterment of the human condition. Cleveland is the executive director for The Seymour Agency, a Hodges University Board of Trustees member, and a New York Times bestselling author. In 2021, Cleveland was honored with a Distinguished Online Teaching nomination for Southern New Hampshire University, where she is an adjunct professor. Gulfshore Business and D’Latinos magazines honored Cleveland with the Arts and Culture 2015 FACE Award, and in 2014, Gulfshore Business selected her as a “40 Under Forty” honoree. Cleveland holds an EdD in Organizational Leadership from Northeastern University, and an MA in Educational Administration and a BS in Speech Communication from George Mason University.

Dr. Simon Cleveland lectures at the Johns Hopkins University and Georgetown University. He has over 20 years of experience in the fields of corporate and government leadership, higher education administration, project management, information systems, and technology management, having worked in various leadership roles for organizations such as MD Anderson Cancer Center, Department of Homeland Security, NASA, Accenture, America Online, Georgetown University, and City University of Seattle. Dr. Cleveland holds a PhD in Information Systems from Nova Southeastern University, an MS in Project Management from The George Washington University, an MA in Leadership from City University of Seattle, and a BS in Management and Marketing from George Mason University. He is certified as a project management professional (PMP), Six Sigma Black Belt (SSBB) expert, and Certified ScrumMaster (CSM). Dr. Cleveland is the author of over 50 peer-reviewed publications, is a Tropaia Award recipient for Outstanding Faculty at Georgetown University, and was honored with the Excellence in Teaching Award from the Johns Hopkins University.