Brilliant Doubt - by Jenny Williams

About the Book

Doubt is the most undervalued leadership quality, and yet it is more essential than ever before. Jenny Williams makes the compelling case for harnessing doubt - your own and others' - as a catalyst for clarity, creativity and confidence.

Book Synopsis

We need leaders who doubt.

No playbook exists for the complexity, challenges and choices leaders are dealing with, so why do they - and we - expect certainty? Certainty does not guarantee success or the avoidance of failure. What if leaders can create better results by harnessing doubt effectively?

Doubt is complex: it can both paralyze us and propel us forward. In Brilliant Doubt, Jenny Williams challenges how we think about doubt and reveals its power. She examines the role of self-doubt and external doubts - our own and others' - shining a light on how leaders can work with doubt to inform their decision-making, and ultimately to achieve better results. Her insightful and practical approach will change your relationship with doubt forever, and show you how to harness uncertainty to inform decision-making, and ultimately to achieve better results.

Jenny Williams (MCC) is a top Executive and Systemic Team Coach who has lectured at Cambridge University on leadership, entrepreneurship and creativity. She has spent thousands of hours working with exceptional clients who doubt, showing them how to leverage the power of doubt as a catalyst for clarity, creativity and confidence.

From the Back Cover

What if the real problem isn't that you doubt yourself - it's that no one ever taught you how to use doubt well? Whether it surfaces as self-doubt or imposter syndrome, doubt carries insight leaders can't ignore.

In Brilliant Doubt, Jenny Williams reframes doubt as a critical leadership signal. Its three forms - self, situational and systemic - are shaped by the pressures and complexity of organizational life. When leaders learn to read doubt, not silence it, they make sharper decisions, collaborate more effectively and navigate uncertainty with greater clarity.

At the centre is Active Doubt - a practical approach that turns hesitation into insight and uncertainty into movement.

Brilliant Doubt helps you lead with courage and impact by turning doubt into a strategic advantage. All change starts with a doubt.

'In business, as in AI, intelligence starts with asking better questions. Brilliant Doubt shows leaders how to transform uncertainty into sharper decisions and bold action.' -- David Benigson, CEO & Founder, Signal AI

*'At a time when certainty is overvalued, Brilliant Doubt offers a bold and refreshing perspective... This is an essential companion for anyone who has ever quietly wondered, 'Am I enough?' *-- Jo Hicks, Chief People Officer, NHS

'This book crackles with energy and purpose. Read it. Use it. Then go shake up your organisation.' -- Tony Miller, CMO Direct Line Group

About the Author

Jenny Williams, MCC, is a leading Executive and Systemic Team Coach who has lectured at Cambridge University on leadership and entrepreneurship. She has spent thousands of hours working with exceptional leaders, helping them harness the power of doubt as a catalyst for clarity, creativity and confidence.