| Category: | Business and Investing |
|---|---|
| Author: | DeAngela Burns-Wallace |
| Publisher: | Advantage Books |
| Publication Date: | March 10, 2026 |
| Number of Pages: | 264 |
| ISBN-13: | 979-8891884427 |
In a leadership
landscape often dominated by detached, formulaic frameworks, DeAngela
Burns-Wallace’s Made for This becomes an important statement
that blends her personal story with leadership principles to assert that the
most durable leadership is built at the intersection of service, identity, and
community. Burns-Wallace’s argument that leaders should be the catalysts for
systemic change, and not merely individual heroes, forms the main thesis of her
book. She cleverly shows readers that true influence can only be measured by
the access we create for others and the structures we leave behind. She uses
her remarkable trajectory that spans university administration, the Foreign
Service, Stanford admissions, and a cabinet-level role as Kansas Secretary of
Administration to illustrate her philosophy through powerful, lived anecdotes
rather than theories. Whether recounting anecdotes such as her refusal to let Capitol
housekeeping staff be invisible during COVID-19 or the lesson from Ambassador
Susan Rice on taking her seat at the table, Burns-Wallace grounds her
leadership philosophy in humanity.
Made for This delivers a clear, practical takeaway: as
a leader, build intentional “circles of support,” lead with the conviction that
your identity is an asset, not an obstacle, and design a system that thrives on
equity. I was fascinated by the crisp writing, the short sentences, and the
author’s ability to effortlessly infuse anecdotes with leadership lessons. Her unapologetic
centering of Black womanhood within the economics of power historically closed
to it was exciting to read. Burns-Wallace discusses her setbacks, including burnout,
divorce, and the necessity of an “intentional pause,” with honesty and offers a
rare, necessary candor in leadership literature. This book sits well on the
shelf alongside works like Michelle Obama’s Becoming and Brené
Brown’s Dare to Lead. It is unique in its sharp focus on the
politics of race, class, and gender, and its examination of public-sector
ecosystems that affect women of color in particular. Burns-Wallace redefines
leadership not as the absence of fragility, but as the courage to remain
rooted, resilient, and relentlessly focused on lifting others as you climb.
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