New from Rhodes Perry · January 2027

When the pressure is on,
who do you become?

We all lead something: a team, a business, a family, a community — or simply our own lives. Lead Embodied is a body-centered approach to leadership grounded in evidence-based somatic practices.

get launch updates
bring it to your organization

Publish Your Purpose Press · Paperback, Hardcover, eBook & Audible · Advance copies available for events

25+ YEARS LEADING THE CHANGE | THE WHITE HOUSE | U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE | PFLAG | NATIONAL BESTSELLING AUTHOR

ABOUT THE BOOK

Leadership Comes Home

Roads Less Traveled to Authentic Leadership

When uncertainty, conflict, or change disrupts what we thought we could count on, knowing what to do isn't always enough. The deeper question is: who do we become when the pressure is on?

In Lead Embodied, bestselling author Rhodes Perry introduces a body-centered approach to leadership grounded in evidence-based somatic practices. Through intimate stories, science, case studies, reflective prompts, and a 12-week coaching journey, readers learn to listen inward, reconnect with what matters, and develop the capacity to respond with greater wisdom, compassion, and authenticity.

For executives, entrepreneurs, spiritual leaders, and anyone navigating an increasingly unpredictable world, Lead Embodied offers a different path forward.


Launching January 2027

Publish Your Purpose Press · Paperback, Hardcover, eBook & Audible · Advance copies available for events

New from Rhodes Perry · January 2027

When the pressure is on,who do you become?

We all lead something: a team, a business, a family, a community — or simply our own lives. Lead Embodied is a body-centered approach to leadership grounded in evidence-based somatic practices.

Get Launch Updates Bring It to Your Organization

Publish Your Purpose Press · Paperback, Hardcover, eBook & Audible · Advance copies available for events

Lead Embodied by Rhodes Perry — front and back cover
25+ Years Leading Change The White House U.S. Department of Justice PFLAG National Bestselling Author
Lead Embodied book cover — Roads Less Traveled to Authentic Leadership

About the Book

Leadership Comes Home

Roads Less Traveled to Authentic Leadership

When uncertainty, conflict, or change disrupts what we thought we could count on, knowing what to do isn't always enough. The deeper question is: who do we become when the pressure is on?

In Lead Embodied, bestselling author Rhodes Perry introduces a body-centered approach to leadership grounded in evidence-based somatic practices. Through intimate stories, science, case studies, reflective prompts, and a 12-week coaching journey, readers learn to listen inward, reconnect with what matters, and develop the capacity to respond with greater wisdom, compassion, and authenticity.

For executives, entrepreneurs, spiritual leaders, and anyone navigating an increasingly unpredictable world, Lead Embodied offers a different path forward.

Launching January 2027

Publish Your Purpose Press · Paperback, Hardcover, eBook & Audible · 275 pages

At its heart, Lead Embodied is a reclamation of self — a reminder that the leader you are looking for isn't someone you have to become. It's someone you've been learning to return to. From the book

A Different Path Forward

The shift at the center of the book

Less performance
More presence
Less armor
More authenticity
Less disconnection
More belonging

Inside Lead Embodied

A book to read. A practice to live.

275 pages of story, science, and structured practice — built so you can put it to work the week you start reading.

Intimate Stories

Immersive memoir from a leader who has navigated real pressure — the White House, the DOJ, PFLAG National, and building a firm of his own.

Evidence-Based Science

Somatic practices grounded in research on how the body shapes attention, decision-making, and the way you show up under stress.

Case Studies

Real leaders working with the patterns beneath their behavior — and what changed in their teams when they did.

Reflective Prompts

Questions at the end of each chapter that move you from reactive crisis management to intentional, values-driven decision-making.

A 12-Week Coaching Journey

A structured practice you can move through alone, with a coach, or as a team — the spine of the whole book.

Built for Teams

Designed to be read together. Book clubs, leadership cohorts, and whole organizations can run the practice side by side.

The Lead Embodied Path™

Leadership begins within.

A four-stage journey from envisioning who you want to be to embodying how you lead — the foundational framework behind Rhodes Perry's embodied leadership methodology.

01

Imagine

Envision the leader you want to become.

02

Practice

Build somatic awareness through guided practice.

03

Transform

Shift patterns that no longer serve you.

04

Lead

Show up with presence, clarity, and authenticity.

The Leadership Shift

What changes when leaders come home to themselves

The Lead Embodied Path™ helps senior leaders shed professional armor, reconnect with the body's wisdom, and lead with authenticity — building the presence, trust, clarity, and resilience to lead through relentless disruption.

  • Stay steady under pressure
  • Make values-aligned decisions
  • Speak with authentic impact
  • Build team safety and trust
  • Lead with purpose and resilience
  • Sustain energy instead of burning out

Early Praise

What leaders are saying

“
Lead Embodied is literally about how to embody the leader you were born to be. Rhodes is a treasure, and his writing is not to be missed.
David K. MensahPrincipal, WAVE Training and Consulting
“
Wisdom doesn't just live in our heads — it lives in our bodies, too. Lead Embodied created a lasting shift in how I lead, make decisions, and show up.
Mary ElizabethCEO, The Fundraising Event Company
“
Grounded, practical, and long overdue. Lead Embodied walks leaders toward something most leadership books never touch: the self underneath all of the noise.
LaTonya WilkinsCEO, Change Coaches
“
The Lead Embodied Path™ has transformed how I navigate relationships and make decisions. Instead of overextending myself, I'm making more intentional choices that support the life and leadership I want.
Rachel KuehlCo-Chair, Diversity Leadership Alliance
Rhodes Perry

Meet Rhodes Perry

Author · Somatic Coach · Speaker

Rhodes Perry is an award-winning bestselling author, somatic executive coach, and organizational culture strategist who helps leaders embody the presence, resilience, and authenticity required to navigate complexity, build trust, and create belonging-centered spaces where people can thrive.

For more than twenty-five years, he has partnered with values-driven leaders and organizations, drawing from leadership experiences with the White House, U.S. Department of Justice, and PFLAG National, as well as founding and leading a nationally recognized consulting firm.

As an openly transgender leader and lifelong human rights advocate, Rhodes demonstrates that the courage to lead begins with the courage to belong to yourself.

Author of Belonging at Work Author of Imagine Belonging Somatic Executive Coach Keynote Speaker

Experience Lead Embodied

Book Rhodes for an event

A Lead Embodied gathering isn't simply a conversation about leadership. It's an invitation to pause, listen inward, and explore who you're becoming — and who you want to be when life asks more of you. Rhodes brings the experience to bookstores, communities, organizations, and leadership gatherings.

Author Talks & Readings

Stories and ideas from Lead Embodied, and audience Q&A.

Somatic Experiences

Guided practices that allow audiences to experience the book.

Author AMA

Conversations about leadership, uncertainty, and authenticity.

Book Clubs & Community Gatherings

Facilitated discussion paired with reflection and embodied practice.

Leadership Keynotes & Workshops

Bring the Lead Embodied Path™ into teams navigating change.

Invite Rhodes to Your Community Advance copies • Author readings • Community partnerships

For Organizations

Bring the Lead Embodied Path™ to your leaders

A somatic approach to executive leadership — moving from performance to presence.

Executive Keynotes

High-impact talks on embodied leadership for conferences, leadership summits, and all-hands gatherings. Rhodes doesn't just talk about presence — he guides the room into a shared somatic practice audiences feel in the moment and remember months later. Best suited to events built around change, trust, resilience, or culture.

Check Availability

Leadership Cohorts

Small-group programs that blend somatic practice with peer accountability over a sustained arc. Leaders move through the Lead Embodied Path™ together and build a shared language for pressure, trust, and decision-making that outlasts the program. Built for emerging-leader pipelines and cross-functional leadership teams.

Explore Cohorts

Facilitated Retreats & Workshops

Immersive half-day, full-day, or multi-day experiences that deepen trust, alignment, and collective capacity. Designed for leadership teams navigating reorganization, rapid growth, or repair — the moments when the work is as much relational as it is strategic. Every session is built around where your team actually is.

Plan a Retreat

Executive Coaching

1:1 somatic coaching for senior leaders navigating complexity and change. Twelve weeks of structured practice centered on what your body does under pressure — and what that pattern is costing you and the people you lead. For executives who look effective on paper and know they're running on armor.

Let's Talk
★ Partner organizations receive advance access to Lead Embodied before its 2027 release.
Lead Embodied cover

Book Details

Lead Embodied

Roads Less Traveled to Authentic Leadership

Author
Rhodes Perry
Publisher
Publish Your Purpose Press
Publication
January 2027
ISBN
979-8-88797-254-1 (paperback)
Formats
Paperback, Hardcover, eBook, Audible
Pages
275

Advance copies available for events and media. Contact rhodes@rhodesperry.com.

LEAD EMBODIED

Your Inclusive Leadership Guide to Building an Equitable Workplace.

A 3D image of a book titled "Lead Embodied: Roads Less Traveled to Authentic Leadership" by Rhodes Perry, featuring a sunset or sunrise over a mountain landscape with a person sitting and looking at the view.
Order Book

“Imagine Belonging takes the reader on a journey of transformation both personally and professionally. It is a practice resource for anyone in the workplace committed to advancing their organization’s DEI goals.”

– Robyn Mazur, Director of Gender and Family Justice Initiatives, Center for Court Innovation

A large, yellow number one on a white background.

ORDER
ON AMAZON

Order Book
Yellow number 2 on a white background

WHERE SHOULD WE SEND
YOUR BONUSES?

Enter your order number and receive instant access to your bonuses! 

Access 1 Book Bonuses
Access 5+ Book Bonuses
Access 20+ Book Bonuses
Access 50+ Book Bonuses

TIER 1

When You Order One Book, You’ll Get Your Hands On Five Exciting Bonuses:

A blue background with a large, dark number 1 in the center

Digital
Copy of the
Book

Get a digital copy of the book so that you can start imagining and building belonging at work.

Blue background with a large, dark number '2' in the center.

Quotes from
Rhodes +
Other Thoughts

Print and display key quotes from Rhodes and other thought leaders featured in the book for the inspiration you need to make your imagination a reality.

Number 3 in a darker shade on a blue background

A Special Thank You Video from Rhodes

Receive a special message from Rhodes where he thanks you for supporting, and he extends a special invitation just for you!

Number 4 on a blue background

How to Share Your Diversity Story Workbook

Everyone has a diversity story, yet sometimes it’s hard to share it with others. This resource will help you identify your personal story, and it offers strategies on how to amplify it to inspire your colleagues to join you in building more belonging at work.

A dark blue background with a large, semi-transparent number 5 in the center.

Lead Inclusively During Uncertain Times

Let’s face it. We are living in a world of great uncertainty. This guide will equip you with the knowledge, skills, and confidence to lead more inclusively as you guide your team through these challenging times.

TIER 2

When You Buy 5+ Books You'll Get:

Access To The Tier 1 Bonuses + These Special Bonuses
$5,000 Value

Imagine Belonging Workbook

This special workbook invites you to imagine a better workplace culture, and a proven process to help you activate your vision for the year ahead.

90-Minute AMA with Rhodes Perry

You’re invited to a private Ask Me Anything (AMA) with bestselling author, Rhodes Perry, where you can ask him anything about the book, the writing process, his imagination formula – or anything else.

30 Day Belonging Challenge (Starts April 1st)

Join a community of passionate #BelongingChampions and gain the knowledge, skills, and confidence you need to build more safety, trust, and belonging at work.

Collection of digital devices and printed materials related to inclusion and belonging, including two books titled "Imagine Belonging," a workbook, two color-coded pamphlets about sharing diversity stories and leading inclusively, and a 30-day belonging challenge, with two video call screens showing a smiling man in a suit and tie.

TIER 3

Number one painted on a blue background.

Dismantling White Supremacy Culture Webinar + Toolkit

Investigate how white supremacy culture impacts the workplace, and how this culture (left unchecked) impacts your own DEI practice. This workshop includes a special reflection workbook to help you apply what you learn to your own practice.

When You Buy 20+ Books You'll Get:

All The Bonuses In Tier 1 And Tier 2 + These 3 Special Bonuses
$10,000 Value

A dark blue background with a large, lighter blue number 2 in the center.

Receive Your Copy of the Audio Book

Take Imagine Belonging on the go when you’re traveling, moving outdoors, or just want to experience the book being read by bestselling author, Rhodes Perry.

The Belonging Membership Community

The image features a dark blue background with a large, centered number three (3) in a slightly lighter blue shade.

Receive the community care and guidance you need to build more belonging at work by joining the Belonging Membership Community. You will learn, amplify successes, and gain access to workshop challenges with a community that has your back.

Already a member? Receive a pass to invite a colleague.

TIER 4

When You Buy 50+ Books You'll Get:

All Bonuses Included In Tiers 1-3 + These 4 Special Bonuses $30,000 Value

Digital display of materials for a leadership and inclusivity conference, including ebooks, workbooks, event tickets, a keynote presentation, video calls, and online access cards, all featuring a blue and yellow color scheme.

Imagine Belonging Keynote

Experience Rhodes Perry’s signature keynote talk, and be surprised and delighted as you learn more about the Power of Imagining Belonging at Work. 

Belonging At Work Summits Replay

Learn from Rhodes and over 40 other celebrated DEI thought leaders as they offer strategies, practical guidance, reflection workbooks, and loads of inspiration when you gain access to this valuable Summit content from 2020 and 2021.

Digital Copy Of Belonging At Work

Get your copy of the book that started the #BelongingMovement and gain simple, everyday actions you can take to build more safety, trust, and belonging for your organization.

Imagine Belonging Inclusive Team Building Course

Ready to learn how to build inclusive teams that are relationship-driven and collaborative? Then be sure to take advantage of this special bonus, and invite up to 50 of your colleagues to join this incredible learning journey!

People Are Talking

Gold geometric circular pattern on black background.

  • At a time of such intense separation, a healthy workplace is one of the best chances we have for connection. In Imagining Belonging, Rhodes Perry has provided us an excellent resource for creating cultures in which people feel a deep sense of connection. Most people are inclined to focus on individual behavior, and certainly we all have a responsibility to manage our personal behavior. And yet, as Perry so clearly shows us, the power of culture often transcends our individual inclination and can call us to serve something larger than ourselves or drive us to behavior that violates our own values. Perry draws from his own personal story and his significant professional experience to give us a handbook for how to consciously create cultures of belonging. He helps us understand our need for inclusion and the pain of exclusion in a powerful way. This book is a treasure trove of valuable insights, tools, and practices. It should be read, but even more importantly, it should be used to inspire transformation!

    Howard Ross

    Founder and CEO, Udarta Consulting

  • So many advocates are experts at identifying broken systems in the workplace but struggle to break free from our institutional limitations. Our workplace cultures and our own experiences of banging our head against a wall can dampen our expectations and our dreaming. Imagine Belonging re-energizes us to dream bigger and bolder beyond the limits of today. And in true Rhodes Perry style, it also offers us practical strategies to help us get where we truly want to go. In clear language and down to earth style, Rhodes walks us through the steps to rebuilding our own confidence in building that just world, breaking through our old workplace cultures, and growing vibrant teams to share the work and the joys of what we do! Thank you Rhodes Perry for taking us on this journey with you!

    Raahi Reddy

    Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Program, Metro Regional Government

  • As a big fan of Rhodes Perry’s first book, Belonging at Work, I was excited to see his second, Imagine Belonging: Your Leadership Guide to Building an Equitable Workplace. Wow! Rhodes has done it again. From examining your own power to change things, to unpacking systems, to common roles in culture change, building team culture, and reimagining belonging to create organizational environments that support it, Rhodes has gone deep into belonging and equity. And I enjoy the way he summarizes the takeaways, and then provides reflection questions to go deeper. Kudos!

    Laurie D Battaglia

    CEO, Aligned at Work ®

  • Rhodes Perry perfectly weds the technical and transformational in Imagine Belonging. Whether you’re a career-long advocate for Inclusion & Equity, or completely new to the work of culture change, Rhodes provides an abundance of wisdom and encouragement for anyone willing to receive it. This is a must-read for anyone poised for leadership in 2021 and beyond.

    Kad Smith

    Founder + CEO, Twelve26Solutions

  • We cannot build what we cannot envision, and Imagine Belonging is a critical tool for leaders who are invested in moving beyond the status quo, but are unsure of how to get there. This book is a thoughtful, intentional and much needed guide to growing workplaces and companies that are truly anti-oppressive.

    Dr. Eli R. Green

    CEO, The Transgender Training Institute

  • In these unprecedented times, we need direction and bold persons that are willing to give us guidance on how to create inclusive environments for people at work. Rhodes Perry’s Imagine Belonging is one of those guides that can be the foundation in transforming workplace culture to ensure that all persons work in inclusive environments able to bring their full creative selves to the workplace, allowing individuals to self-actualize and ultimately self-transcend giving their talents back to the greater community.

    Joshua V. Barr

    Esq., Chief Strategist/Founder, Raising the Bar, LLC

  • If you want to advance your organization’s DEI goals and transform your culture, Imagine Belonging is a must-read. It will empower you to make change and get others on board by helping them see the leadership benefits to fully embracing building a more equitable organization today.

    Dorie Clark

    Executive Education Faculty, Duke University Fuqua School of Business; Author, Reinventing You

  • Imagine Belonging is a must-read for anyone who wants to advance their organization’s DEI goals and steer their organizations towards a better culture that can be named and fully experienced through all of our senses. It will also inspire even the most recalcitrant leaders to imagine what kind of leadership legacy they want to be known for by helping them see the leadership benefits to fully embracing building a more equitable organization today.

    Jennifer Brown

    Founder and CEO, Jennifer Brown Consulting; Author, Inclusion (2017), How to Be an Inclusive Leader (2019); Co-author, Beyond Diversity (2021)

  • It's very simple: What kind of leader do you want to be? Rhodes Perry artfully breaks down complicated layers of workplace dynamics and expectations to help you understand core DEI concepts and uncover old patterns. Here's your mirror to see where you are, and guide to lead with your values to where you want to be.

    Genesis Fisher

    Esq., Fisher Law Practice, P.C., Adjunct Clinical Law Professor, President, Association for Conflict Resolution, Greater New York

  • Rhodes Perry adeptly translates frustrating workplace scenes into actionable changed behaviors that have the power to transform the experience of workers at all levels. Just as his first book, Belonging at Work: Everyday Actions You Can Take to Cultivate an Inclusive Organization, gave tools to the reader to make immediate change in their workplace that benefits all, Imagine Belonging gives power to readers to ensure they and others belong. Through a workshop-ready format that shares a narrative, new knowledge, action steps, and insightful quotations, readers will understand and unlearn workplace behaviors that hinder organizational progress. A perfect book for employee professional development.

    Lisa Ruscigno

    Director, Continuing Education, University of Central Florida

  • As leaders how do we begin to see and recognize the inequities our folks experience; how can we begin to feel the disconnect and isolation that so many people feel in the workplace? Non-discrimination and equal opportunity employment laws are legal strategies, but they do not create a sense of belonging. Rhodes takes belonging out of the closet and gives us a road map to dismantle the status quo and begin to create environments where employees truly feel they belong. There is no equity if you do not feel you belong.

    Jill Jacobs

    Executive Director, Family Builders

  • Imagine Belonging provides employers with the language, strategies and motivation to initiate and honestly engage in dialogue that will ensure that all members of the workplace are valued. DEI goals are meaningless without a clear vision of where you want your organization’s culture to be in the future. With an elucidated vision, leaders, teams, and systems can work towards this destination, leading to the kind of workplace transformation many employees deserve and desire today. This book succinctly offers a clear path of how to do just that.

    Linda Diaz

    Esq., LGBTQ Project Director, Lawyers for Children

  • To imagine belonging is to take the spark of discontent with your organization’s current culture and fan these flames into powerful personal and social transformation in the workplace. Rhodes Perry offers a unique framework to imagine what a belonging workplace culture could be, and he offers practical case studies and strategies to begin steering your organization toward more equitable and inclusive practices.

    Lillian A. Tsai

    DEI consultant, coach, facilitator; Creator, 3AsTM: Acknowledge, Accept and Adapt (to difference)

  • Imagine Belonging should come with a highlighter... It doesn't matter what your role is within an organization, this book provides resources to be better self-aware and do your part to create a culture of belonging. In Imagine Belonging, readers will quickly realize that they're learning important lessons not only for the workplace, but for life!

    Bernadette Smith

    CEO, Equality Institute; Author, Inclusive 360

  • We can no longer endure the legacy of this country founded on white male supremacy, prioritizing the accumulation of wealth achieved through slavery. The legacy of our origins continues with low wages, oppression, and poverty. In Imagining Belonging, Rhodes Perry provides a tool to improve organizational cultures that serve to perpetuate this legacy. It comes at a time in our nation when young people can no longer tolerate nor survive in these systems. Belonging is a neutral term perhaps useful for the work needed to end the trauma of oppression. We can no longer wait!

    Bill Bettencourt

    Senior Advisor, upEND Movement

A blue hardcover book titled "Imagine Belonging" by Rhodes Perry, MPA, with a circular graphic design on the cover. A gold badge on the top right corner indicates it is a best seller on Amazon.

About The Book

Imagine Belonging helps you recognize the relative power and privilege you hold to transform yourself, your team, and your workplace.

Whether your organization is just beginning its diversity, equity, and inclusion journey, or is further along in the process, Imagine Belonging will inspire you to transform your vision of belonging at work into a reality …and reap the rewards that result from establishing an equitable organization.

Order Book

What Makes Imagine Belonging Different?

Gold and black geometric circular pattern with intricate designs resembling a stained glass or decorative window.

New Frameworks &
Tools To Take
Action

Gold and black circular geometric pattern with symmetrical designs.

Inclusive Case Studies from Diverse Leaders

Gold geometric circular pattern on black background.

Reflection Activities To Apply New Knowledge

About Rhodes Perry

Golden geometric circular pattern with intricate radial design on a black background.
Man with glasses, a beard, and a mustache, smiling, wearing a light gray sweater over a blue shirt with a striped tie, standing outdoors against a brick wall.

Rhodes Perry is a best-selling author, sought after keynoter, podcast host, and an award-winning social entrepreneur. He is also the creator and host of the annual Belonging at Work Summit.

Nationally recognized as a diversity, equity, and inclusion thought leader, media outlets like The Wall Street Journal, The Associated Press, and Forbes have featured his powerful work.

As the founder of Rhodes Perry Consulting (RPC), a LGBTQ+ diverse supplier, his team is on a mission to support executives, HR professionals, DEI practitioners and other inclusive leaders build enduring cultures of belonging.

He earned a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Gender Studies from the University of Notre Dame, and a Master of Public Administration from New York University. He currently serves on the National LGBTQ+ Chamber of Commerce’s Transgender and Gender Expansive Task Force.