Start With Worth: The New Rules of Leadership That Actually Work

Disengagement isn't a performance problem. It's a connection problem.
In today's world of performance reviews, productivity hacks, and bottom-line thinking, something crucial has gone missing: people.
Not their resumes. Not their roles. Their sense of worth.

Start With Worth introduces Connection-Centered Leadership(TM), a transformational framework built on one simple truth: people perform better when they feel seen, safe, and supported.

This book isn't about adding another task to your leadership checklist. It's about redefining what leadership actually means in a world where people are checking out emotionally, mentally, and relationally.

Phillip D. Edge-speaker, coach, and founder of Connection-Centered Leadership-draws on decades of experience in corporate, educational, and faith-based spaces to deliver a book that's both deeply personal and profoundly practical.
Through real stories, research-backed insights, and a bold invitation to lead with presence, Edge challenges leaders to rethink everything they know about influence, culture, and impact.

What You'll Learn:

• How to lead people who feel disconnected or disheartened

• Why psychological safety is the foundation of performance

• The 7 Radical Rules for creating cultures of worth and belonging

• How to use the Connection Compass(TM) to meet the 4 core emotional needs every person has: to feel Noticed, Accepted, Needed, and to know they've Mattered

• How to shift from managing performance to making people matter

  This book is for you if:

• You lead a team, a classroom, a business, or a family

• You're tired of surface-level leadership advice and want something deeper

• You care about culture but feel unequipped to change it

• You believe leadership starts with people-but don't always know how to show it

This isn't a leadership style. It's a leadership shift.
From the first chapter to the final challenge, Start With Worth will inspire you to show up differently-to lead from presence, to speak life, and to build trust that lasts.

Whether you're an executive, educator, pastor, coach, or mentor, this book will remind you of what's always been true:

You don't have to earn your worth.
But you do have to start with it.

Start here. Start now. Start With Worth.