About the Book

Within Right Brain/Left Brain President: Barack Obama's Uncommon Leadership Ability and How We Can Each Develop It, Obama’s leadership skill sets are examined via author Mary Lou Décosterd’s Right Brain Left Brain Leadership Model, which identifies the ten key approaches to maximum leadership impact. Obama possesses a rare style of right and left brain integrated skill sets that enable him to address the most complex of challenges—perhaps better than any previous leader—and this book explains how Obama’s unique brand of leadership is the result of this extraordinary ability. Throughout the book, Décosterd provides numerous examples and tips for readers, using President Obama as an exemplar, and shows how anyone, through focus and training, can also leverage these powerful leadership skills.

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Highlights

• Provides a chronology of President Obama's life, key influences, and significant moments as they relate to his current leadership traits
  
• Presents two key, original models, the Right Brain/Left Brain Leadership Model and an Energy Model, both essential frameworks for driving leadership success
  
• Offers an extensive bibliography on leadership and leadership brain science
  
• Includes excerpts from President Obama's most defining, first-year-in-office addresses, interviews, and press conferences

About the Author

Mary Lou Décosterd is founder and managing executive of the Lead Life Institute, a learning consultancy offering programs and services to help executives, teams and organizations become their best. Dr. Décosterd has 25 years of experience in organizational development, applied psychology and university teaching. She has authored an additional leadership book titled, Right Brain Left Brain Leadership: Shifting Style for Maximum Impact as well as a children's book titled Magical Max Makes Friends.

Advance Praise

Décosterd gets it! After 8 years of George Bush’s 'go-it-alone cowboy' policies, Obama’s measured, balanced leadership style has reestablished America’s place in the world, and given us a renewed optimism for the future that has not been seen since the glory days of Kennedy’s Camelot. This is a must-read book for leaders in all sectors- public and private – who want to be successful, while still maintaining their integrity.

—Peter M. Landau
Retired Health Insurance Executive


A fitting follow up to her book, Right Brain/Left Brain President: Barack Obama's Uncommon Leadership Ability, and How We Can Each Develop It, Mary Lou Décosterd has given us further insight into a true example of a leader who exemplifies and defines the Right and Left Brain concepts. This book contains practical ideas and application tools that show how leaders can continue to develop our own skill sets following this path.

—Jennifer M. Ogle
Manager, Corporate Employee Relations
Armstrong World Industries


Dr. Décosterd builds upon her terrific work in Right Brain/Left Brain President by examining President Obama. Her thoughtful, yet practical, case study provides a unique opportunity to capture the essence of core leadership behaviors.

—Sean R. Stegall
City Manager
City of Elgin, Illinois


This is a fascinating study that blends science with observation to form the first genuinely insightful book on our 44th president. Not since Lincoln, whose style President Obama clearly resembles, has a president captivated a nation with the possible exception of John Kennedy. It is interesting that Kennedy was also considered to be a 'right brain/left brain' individual as this field of brain lateralization was just getting serious. I recommend this book strongly for history and science lovers alike.

— Joseph A Flaherty MD
Dean, University of Illinois College of Medicine at Chicago, Urbana, Peoria, Rockford and Professor of Psychiatry and Public Health


In Right Brain, Left Brain President, Mary Lou Décosterd has written an insightful analysis of the complexities of leadership as examined through a model of one of the most impressive leaders of our times - President Barack Obama. This is an important book that should be read by corporate executives, public officials and community leaders alike. I learned a lot about my own leadership style and commend the book to anyone who has responsibilities for leadership, whether on a macro or micro scale.

— Annette Kelton
Corporate Executive

Media

New interview! Dr. Décosterd was recently interviewed by Dr. Alvin Jones, of WCBQ. Their chat focused on President Obama's upbringing, his leadership style, and even included a spirited debate on whether or not the President is an effective politician. Download the interview here.

View Dr. Décosterd's most recent op-ed piece in the Daily Record. (47k pdf)