Lead with Structure,Move with Freedom,and Thrive Through Change
·Foreword by Misty Copeland
When the music changes,
great leaders don't stop moving.
Pre-order bonus: early access to the Leadership Dance Profile
“I've always admired Alissa's extraordinary journey from professional dancer to badass business leader. She brings her two worlds together beautifully in this book, creating a fresh, practical guide to finding your rhythm and leading with a performer's confidence, even when the music changes.”
Misty Copeland
Artist, Author, Advocate
“
The relationship between structure and freedom is at the heart of Alissa Hsu Lynch's The Leadership Dance, and it is what drew me so deeply to this book.
Jessica Alba
Actress and Founder of The Honest Company
“
Alissa's background as a dancer and her expertise in consumer marketing and technology give her a rare blend of discipline, creativity, and intelligence that makes her one of one. She brings the same level of clarity and care that elevates every conversation in the boardroom to her new book, The Leadership Dance, to help leaders thrive through change.
Sue Siegel
Board Director, Senior Lecturer MIT Sloan, Former CEO & VC
“
A must-read! Anyone who has led through uncertain times knows that leadership requires both the discipline to provide structure and the courage to let go of it when the moment requires it. Drawing on her unique journey, Alissa turns that tension into a practical, memorable framework for knowing when to choreograph, when to improvise, and how to keep moving.
David S. Williams III
Serial Entrepreneur, Board Director, Founder of OVERLAB Accelerator
“
It's simple. The Leadership Dance teaches corporate leaders how to adopt the entrepreneurial mindset needed to win in our dynamic, AI-driven environment.
Carla Vernón
CEO of The Honest Company
“
Today's greatest business leaders must redefine what it looks like to be successful and effective in business. The Leadership Dance operates as the perfect partner, offering a framework that supports leaders in the act of reinventing what leadership means now.
Leadership lives in the dance between the two.
The way we were taught to lead no longer fits the world we live in now. The leaders who thrive through change are the ones who can hold structure and freedom at the same time. Alissa Hsu Lynch pairs lessons from her own path, from the dance stage to Fortune 50 companies, with stories and insights from trailblazing CEOs, artists, and entrepreneurs she has interviewed on her podcast. Together, they show leaders at every level how to dance through disruption.
The Leadership Dance
A leadership book in four acts
Choreographed by Alissa Hsu Lynch
Opening
When the Music Changes
Foreword by Misty Copeland
Introduction
Act I
Understand the Dance
Dancing Through Disruption
Structure: The Stability That Grounds You
Freedom: The Possibility That Moves You
The Pas de Deux
Intermission
The Leadership Dance Profile
Discover which partner you reach for first, structure or freedom, and how wide your range is.
Act II
Learn the Three Steps
Step 1: Set the Stage with Structure
Step 2: Find Freedom in the Messy Middle
Step 3: Keep Moving (Between Structure and Freedom)
Act III
Find Your Rhythm
Breaking Muscle Memory
Step Into the Spotlight
Find Your Flow
Act IV
Take the Stage
Lead Your Own Dance
The Lift: Build Trust
One Stage, Many Dancers
Choreograph Your Leadership Dance
Finale
Keep Dancing!
Featuring
Ralph Lemon · Lisa Shalett · Norman Chen · James D. White · Shweta Maniar · Alessandra Ferri · Ryan Nece
and many more
Published by
Alissa Hsu Lynch is a former professional dancer turned global business leader. The daughter of Chinese immigrants, she trained as a dancer from age three and performed around the world before pivoting to become a corporate executive. She led multi-billion-dollar businesses at Johnson & Johnson and Google, demonstrating her agility at thriving through change across three continents.
A Henry Crown Fellow at the Aspen Institute and graduate of Princeton University, she helps leaders and companies choreograph their next moves as a board director, keynote speaker, Executive in Residence at Columbia Business School, and host of The Leadership Dance podcast. A mom of two sons, she lives in New York with her husband and loves to travel, hike, and play pickleball.
Booking a keynote for your conference, offsite, or leadership program? Bring Alissa and the book to your audience.
Published by Wiley and available April 13, 2027. Pre-order now.
Hardcover · Wiley · 256 pages · ISBN 978-1-394-48018-0
Pre-order the book from any retailer and take the Leadership Dance Profile before it opens to everyone else. The assessment gives you personalized results on how you lead and stretch when faced with uncertainty, so you're ready when the book arrives.
Ordering copies for your team, company, or event? Bulk orders are available through Porchlight Book Company.
See bulk pricing at PorchlightIt's a practical guide to leading through change. Alissa Hsu Lynch pairs lessons from her own path, from the dance stage to Fortune 50 companies, with stories and insights from CEOs, artists, and entrepreneurs she has interviewed on her podcast, showing how to hold structure and freedom at the same time and keep moving when the music changes.
In a constantly changing world, people at every level need an entrepreneurial, leadership mindset. This book is for anyone leading through uncertainty, whether a new manager or a senior executive. No dance experience required: dance is the lens, and the lessons are for business leaders.
A former professional dancer turned global business leader who led multi-billion-dollar businesses at Johnson & Johnson and Google. She is a keynote speaker, board director, Executive in Residence at Columbia Business School, and host of The Leadership Dance podcast.
Misty Copeland, a barrier-breaking leader who was the first African American woman to be promoted to principal dancer at American Ballet Theatre. She is a multi-hyphenate artist, author, advocate, and founder of The Misty Copeland Foundation.
Wiley publishes The Leadership Dance in hardcover on April 13, 2027. You can pre-order it now from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Bookshop.org, Books-A-Million, or Porchlight Book Company.
Yes. Pre-order from any retailer and get early access to the Leadership Dance Profile, an assessment with personalized results on how you lead and stretch when faced with uncertainty.
© 2026 The Leadership Dance