We Need New Leaders - by Charlotte Otter

About the Book

We Need New Leaders helps aspiring CEOs from diverse backgrounds harness the tools of reputation management to land and keep the top jobs.

Book Synopsis

The new reputation equity for diverse CEOs

People from diverse backgrounds struggle to land C-Suite jobs and their tenures are often shorter. One key but often overlooked reason for this is the failure to capitalize on reputation management and communication as an integral part of increasing diversity at the highest levels. We Need New Leaders helps aspiring leaders from diverse backgrounds to land and keep the top jobs.

Combining her MSc research with over 20 years' professional experience, including several years leading a global executive communications team, Charlotte Otter shows how aspiring leaders can master reputation management as a bridge to success.

Beating the odds might seem hard, but the world needs a new and better cohort of leaders. Learn what you need to do to be seen and heard as the leader you are.

'Shows how leaders can reshape themselves in practice.' Rupert Younger, Director, Oxford University Centre for Corporate Reputation

'A powerful call to action.' Rosie Ginday MBE, CEO and Founder, Miss Macaroon

'A must-read for aspiring leaders and those seeking to redefine the status quo in the C-Suite.' Frank Wolf, Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Officer Staffbase, Author of The Narrative Age

'A book that could change the world one leader at a time.' David Pullan, Author of The DNA of Engagement

Charlotte Otter is an author, speaker and advisor. We Need New Leaders is grounded in her experience as a communications executive, as well as her novel research for her MSc in Change Leadership from HEC Paris. It is both a handbook and a manifesto for change at the leadership level.

From the Back Cover

The new reputation equity for diverse CEOs

People from diverse backgrounds struggle to land C-Suite jobs and their tenures are often shorter. One key but often overlooked reason for this is the failure to capitalize on reputation management and communication as an integral part of increasing diversity at the highest levels. We Need New Leaders helps aspiring leaders from diverse backgrounds to land and keep the top jobs.

Combining her MSc research with over 20 years' professional experience, including several years leading a global executive communications team, Charlotte Otter shows how aspiring leaders can master reputation management as a bridge to success.

Beating the odds might seem hard, but the world needs a new and better cohort of leaders. Learn what you need to do to be seen and heard as the leader you are.

'Shows how leaders can reshape themselves in practice.'- Rupert Younger, Director, Oxford University Centre for Corporate Reputation

'A powerful call to action.' Rosie Ginday MBE, CEO and Founder, Miss Macaroon

'A must-read for aspiring leaders and those seeking to redefine the status quo in the C-Suite.' Frank Wolf, Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Officer Staffbase, Author of The Narrative Age

'A book that could change the world one leader at a time.' David Pullan, Author of The DNA of Engagement

Charlotte Otter is an author, speaker and advisor. We Need New Leaders is grounded in her experience as a communications executive, as well as her novel research for her MSc in Change Leadership from HEC Paris. It is both a handbook and a manifesto for change at the leadership level.

Review Quotes

'..a vital and timely contribution to the conversation around leadership and diversity today. - Jess Rad, LinkedIn

'Otter...breaks down the nuts and bolts-stakeholder mapping, message discipline, even how to team up with your comms lead-into bite-sized moves you can try on Monday morning. The real kicker, though, is the stories. Otter interviewed more than forty leaders from five continents, and their wins, face-plants, and "wish I'd known sooner" moments make every chapter feel like a shortcut you didn't have to earn the hard way. - Amazon 5*

'...a vital guide to help new leaders thrive and organisations create the set of circumstances where thriving is a reality and a competitive advantage. Never has a leadership book been more needed. - Amazon 5*

'The book is more than just a leadership manual; it works as a powerful call to for a new generation of authentic leaders to rise and thrive on their own terms.' Indian Management, June 2025

About the Author

Charlotte Otter is a career communicator, two-time novelist and former journalist. We Need New Leaders is grounded in her experience observing and working with global leadership at the closest quarters, as well as her novel research for her MSc in Change Leadership from HEC Paris. It is both a handbook and a manifesto for change at the leadership level.