Dr. Bill Dickinson’s Optimizing Self Offers a Candid Workbook for Navigating Growth, Identity, and Leadership
CLEVELAND, OH — In his new workbook Optimizing Self: A Guided Workbook to Elevate Your Impact as a Leader, Dr. Bill Dickinson asks a different kind of question: What if leadership isn’t just about teams, outcomes, or influence but about understanding who you are and how you’ve become that way?
With a voice that’s grounded and thoughtful, Bill Dickinson guides readers through a personal reflection process rooted in lived experience, not corporate theory. It’s a workbook for professionals who want more than surface-level change.
Table of Contents
- A Book That Starts With Who You Are Not Just What You Do
- Understanding Your Emotions Is Part of Leading Yourself
- How Your Personal Brand Shapes Your Leadership Impact
- Leading Yourself Before Leading Others
- A Workbook Shaped by Lived Experience, Not Strategy Memos
- Who This Workbook Was Made For
- About the Author
- Optimizing Self Available Now
- Contact:
A Book That Starts With Who You Are Not Just What You Do
Unlike traditional leadership material, Optimizing Self begins with the inner life. Each chapter takes a look at how early-life experiences, identity formation, and the subtle workings of the unconscious affect our current modes of operation at work and in our lives. Dr. Bill Dickinson refuses to give the easy solutions. Instead, he more or less beckons us to reflect on and take stock of our behaviors, beliefs, and blind spots.
Self-awareness, for him, must not be an option; it is the basis upon which growth depends.
Understanding Your Emotions Is Part of Leading Yourself
A central focus of the workbook is emotional intelligence, not in theory, but in day-to-day interactions. How do we respond under pressure? How does our tone affect colleagues? What do people actually feel around us?
Through real-life examples and reflection tools, Dickinson helps readers build self-regulation, improve relational awareness, and create space for honest feedback.
How Your Personal Brand Shapes Your Leadership Impact
In a standout section of the workbook, Bill Dickinson tackles personal brand with uncommon clarity. Instead of teaching readers how to “market” themselves, he encourages them to ask how they’re experienced by others and whether that matches who they believe themselves to be.
The exercises help uncover unconscious messaging in our tone, behavior, and even digital presence.
Leading Yourself Before Leading Others
Drawing on years of coaching experience with executives, managers, and high-potential individuals, Bill Dickinson reveals a straightforward yet often overlooked truth.
Optimizing Self frames self-leadership as a daily process, one that includes admitting flaws, working through feedback, and practicing alignment between values and decisions. Readers learn how to:
- Define a professional value proposition
- Recognize and reframe imposter syndrome
- Use feedback, not assumptions, to clarify their leadership style
- Develop habits for long-term internal growth, not short-term performance
A Workbook Shaped by Lived Experience, Not Strategy Memos
What makes this book land is its origin. Before founding C3 Leadership, Dr. Dickinson served 25 years as a Catholic priest. Coming out later in life and transitioning into leadership work, he understands what it means to rebuild from the inside out. That journey shapes every page.
Readers feel the difference, this isn’t written by someone selling systems, but by someone who has wrestled with identity, purpose, and the cost of change.
Who This Workbook Was Made For
Whether you’re an executive rethinking how you lead, a mid-career professional reflecting on next steps, or someone facing transition, this book meets you where you are. It’s especially suited for:
- Leadership development programs
- HR and coaching professionals
- Managers seeking more clarity in how they affect their teams
- Individuals craving depth, not clichés
About the Author
Dr. Bill Dickinson serves as founder of C3 Leadership, consulting with organizations and individuals on emotional intelligence, leadership development, and inclusive growth. He fuses strategic insight with personal reflection to help individuals lead from intention inward.
Optimizing Self Available Now
Optimizing Self: A Guided Workbook to Elevate Your Impact as a Leader is available now in paperback and digital formats. For interviews, speaking engagements, or bulk orders, contact Dr. Dickinson directly at bill.dickinson@c3leadership.org or visit www.c3leadership.org.
Contact:
Dr. Bill Dickinson
Website: https://drbilldickinson.com
