Lead with Civility

Lead with Civility is a handbook for leaders who refuse to surrender public life to contempt, chaos, and fear.

In an age of performative outrage, misinformation, and rising authoritarianism, Diane Kalen Sukra challenges the myth that might makes right. She shows how doing right by each other builds the shared strength our communities and institutions depend on.

Kalen-Sukra reclaims civility as a culture-shaping leadership discipline-a powerful antidote to toxicity. It equips leaders to hold the line, protect people and process, and make tough decisions that restore order and advance the common good.

She introduces the art of the civic intervention: using your role, procedures, and presence to interrupt harmful patterns and reset the norms of the rooms and places you lead.

Drawing on ancient wisdom, modern research, and her experience as a city manager and global civility advocate, Kalen Sukra offers a proven roadmap and practical tools for leaders determined to turn the cultural tide. Vivid portraits and guest essays from civic leaders show how incivility and dysfunction can become catalysts for renewal.

A handbook for leaders who want to change the culture-not just survive it.

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Lead with Civility is a companion to the bestseller Save Your City.