Doing Good and Doing Well: Inspiring Helping Professionals to Become Leaders in Their Organizations

Helping professionals of all types are everyday heroes who routinely and selflessly improve the lives of others. But they often don’t believe or realize that they also form a valuable pool of future leaders—that their specific characteristics, distinct aptitudes, and servant leader’s mindset not only prepare them, but already uncommonly equip them, to rise to the highest tiers of their organization’s leadership structure. You don’t have to be either someone who does good in the world for others or someone who makes a good living running a company or managing others. You can be both—you can remain committed to the greater good of society and still lead a for-profit or nonprofit organization or become a successful entrepreneur. You can simultaneously activate your right-brain and left-brain faculties, apply your honed service-oriented side and your business-savvy side. How does the author know this can be done? Because he did it himself! Sharing lessons learned over a 30-year career and featuring plentiful anecdotes to illustrate the pointed discussions and central themes, Doing Good and Doing Well: Inspiring Helping Professionals to Become Leaders in Their Organizations aims to inspire helpers to exercise the power they already possess and encourage them to travel a fruitful and fulfilling path to professional development and organizational leadership.

Table of Contents:
Contents Introduction: From One Helping Professional to Another 1So You Don’t Think You’re a Leader, Huh? The Top 10 Reasons You Already Are 2The Rise of Female Power 3Now Is the Time for Individuals to Make Their Mark 4Putting Your Personality Traits to Work for You 5Learn as You Go 6A Spotlight on Leadership in Education 7What Did COVID-19 Teach Us About Getting Through Crises? 8Managing Personnel Issues 9“Money” Isn’t a Bad Word 10Succession Planning & Growth Conclusion: What Kind of Leader Do You Want to Be? Notes Acknowledgments About the Author

About the Author :
Michael Kaufman, MSW, PhD, has the heart of a helping professional and the head of a business executive. He rose from being a social work intern to CEO of one of the largest private education companies in the country. He currently runs the special education management and consulting company he founded, dedicated to effecting positive societal change and improving the future prospects of K–12+ students.

Review :
Doing Good & Doing Well is a compelling, practical must-read for anyone in the helping professions who dreams of increasing their impact but wonders whether they have what it takes to lead others. Dr. Kaufman makes the case for how the building-block skills of those who devote themselves to the care of others correlates with what is required for effective leaders in today’s organizations. He is a coach, teacher, role model, and cheerleader in this guide for professionals who often undervalue their talents. Dr. Kaufman has done very well in writing this book for all of us “do-gooders” in whose hands the future of humane organizations lies. A fresh and much-needed guidebook on how to turn one’s passion for helping others into an opportunity to help many people instead of just a few. The world needs a lot more social entrepreneurs who are willing to take the bold step of combining their caring hearts with the power of the free market. These two things are often assumed to be mutually exclusive, but Mike’s career and the information in this book prove that they can be combined with great success. It is full of wisdom earned the hard way and fills an information gap for like-minded social entrepreneurs. I had the pleasure of reading Doing Good & Doing Well, a remarkable book written by Michael Kaufman. The book offers a fresh perspective on leadership through a collection of captivating personal stories that provide valuable lessons and inspiration. A standout feature of this book is the author’s skillful incorporation of personal stories. Each narrative brings the principles of leadership to life, enabling readers to connect with the experience and the challenges faced by the author and the other individuals in the book. I wholeheartedly recommend to professionals, aspiring leaders, and anyone interested in the art and science of leadership. It is a valuable resource that will undoubtedly leave a lasting impact on its readers. An inspiring exhortation to those in the helping professions so inclined to use their innate abilities and natural tendencies to provide exactly the kind of leadership service organizations of all kinds, for-profit and non-profit, need for today’s complex and challenging world. In so doing, Kaufman provides a concise and practical education in management and leadership specifically geared toward helpers based on real-life examples, compelling vignettes, and straight talk—management and leadership focused on people to maximize outcomes and results. Well done! In a world with enough leaders who manage with laser-sharp focus on the bottom line, kindness, empathy, and compassion are often left at the bottom of the corporate ladder. This guide lights a practical and noble path for the heart to find its way to the top, and stay there. A must-read for any helper who wonders whether they can do more. Inspiring! In the book Doing Good & Doing Well, Michael Kaufman uses real-life experience with accuracy, honesty, and heart, to remind us that our core values as helpers, and the skills we utilize to revitalize and empower others every day, give us the tools to be skillful, effective, and successful leaders and change-makers in the industry, or any industry. This book is a must-read for any person in a helping role that wants to truly be the change that makes a difference, from the first-year student to the seasoned professional. A must-have in any educational setting, supervision course, internship, or any place where championing and empowering people, and building humanity capital, is the goal. We can do well for ourselves, do good for our lives, be valued and humble helpers. This book provides a road map for developing the skills to effectively lead a team and is a poignant guide to expanding your professional career path outside of the consultation room. The author, Michael Kaufman, walks the reader through powerful ways to utilize your therapeutic skillset to optimize organizational performance. This is a must-read for any helping professional planning to grow their company through positive leadership. It doesn’t matter what stage of “leadership” you’re at in your career to benefit from this great book that is extremely relatable and inspiring, with so many interesting real-life examples. As a helping professional, I’ve never felt more seen. It’s like the author read my mind on the daily thoughts and struggles of my profession, which I now see in a new light. Ten chapters in, and I’m ready to take on the world! In Michael Kaufman’s breakthrough book, he expertly recognizes the many talents and boundless potential of his readers, and then masterfully demands more. Kaufman draws on all that is good from us, using those attributes to lead us on a path to better ourselves, with our hearts, our heads, and our souls. The author is overly generous with his ideas, strong in his convictions, and has the career experience as a compassionate social worker to tie it all together in a way that no other self-help book seems to be able to accomplish. Kaufman’s writing style is breezy, but poignant. Every word is deliberate, thoughtful, and meaningful. He draws you into this easy page-turner, providing usable life lessons at every step. Kaufman concludes with a challenge: “It is time to be the leader you were born to be.” After a few hundred pages of his prose, you want to do better. For him, and for you.