The new book by Mindy Corporon
Grief LeadershipGuiding Your Team Through Personal Loss and Building a Resilient Organization
Skills every leader needs but few are ever taught.
Get practical tools, conversation prompts, what to say, what not to say, and actions you can take the same day. Each chapter stands on its own, so you can get the answers you need for the situation you are facing right now.
Preorder opens November 18, 2026. Publishing January 2027.
Every organization will encounter loss
Most leaders have never been taught how to respond when it does.
Grief Leadership is the guide for that moment: the death of an employee’s loved one, a caregiving crisis, a suicide loss, the death of a pet, the anniversary nobody mentions.
Mindy Corporon was the CEO of a wealth management firm when her father and her oldest son were murdered in a hate crime. She went back to work, and no one around her knew what to say. This book is what she wishes her team had been handed. It draws on contemporary neuroscience and grief research, on her own experience, and on the stories of people who shared their hardest seasons so that leaders could do better by the next person.
It is written for whoever is in the room: the CEO, the manager, the HR director, the coworker. Read it cover to cover, or open it to the chapter you need today.
Inside the book
Six standalone chapters. Start with the one you need.
- Listening Changes EverythingHow presence, storytelling and compassion transform the way we lead
- Back to Work, Not Back to NormalLeading with clarity and compassion in the first days of grief, including the six mistakes leaders make with bereaved employees and what to do instead
- Caregiving & GriefThe hidden crisis inside today’s workforce
- Leading After Suicide LossHow to support an employee with compassion
- Milestones & MemoriesA leader’s guide to grief across the year: anniversaries, holidays and the dates that arrive early
- Leading After Pet LossWhy it matters more than you think
Plus: How to Use This Book, Why I Wrote This Book, an epilogue, and a resource page, If You or Someone You Know Needs Help.
Where to buy
Preorder opens November 18, 2026.
Retailer links (Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Bookshop.org, Books-A-Million, Rainy Day Books, Front Edge Publishing) will appear here when preorders open.
Why I wrote this book
I didn’t choose this topic. I was shaped into the person who could carry it.
In 2014, my father and my oldest son were murdered in a hate crime. One moment, I was leading a registered investment advisory firm with over $500 million under management and 12 employees. The next, I was staring down at a reality no leader, no mother, no human should have to face. Grief entered my workplace before I knew what to do with it.
When I returned to work, I was not the same person. And no one around me knew what to say. My team was supportive in spirit, but ill-equipped in practice. They tiptoed. They avoided. They meant well, but they were silent when I needed presence. Not because they didn’t care, but because they didn’t know how.
Over the next several years, I began to notice just how often grief shows up at work, and how rarely we’re taught to respond with courage and compassion. It isn’t just death that brings grief to the workplace. It’s caregiving. Divorce. Chronic illness. A child’s diagnosis. A death by suicide. A lost home.
Every organization will encounter loss. Yet most leaders have never been taught how to respond when life changes the people they lead.
You may not know what to say. You may be afraid of saying the wrong thing. But I promise your presence matters. Your words can comfort. And your leadership can become the anchor someone needs to survive the hardest season of their life.
Let’s begin here, together.
Mindy
Praise for Grief Leadership
Most leadership books teach you how to improve performance. This one teaches you how to guide people through life’s hardest moments with courage and care.
Diana Kander, New York Times bestselling author and global expert on innovation and curiosity
Grief Leadership is an emotionally intelligent guide for dealing with loss in the workplace, written by Mindy Corporon, who has both personal and professional insights into grief. The message of the book is summed up in one quote, “The way a leader responds in moments of personal loss shapes whether an employee feels valued or expendable.” Learning how to better support those on your team in moments of loss helps the griever feel seen and supported, as well as strengthens trust and connection. Grief Leadership is an impactful resource for any leader who sees their employees as people first.
Laurie Minard, VP, Human Resources of Garmin International
How you show up for people during the hardest moments of their lives is everything. In Grief Leadership, Mindy Corporon takes a personal tragedy and turns it into constructive lessons for all of us. Listening, emotional safety, and caring are all characteristics of a strong leader. Mindy walks us through how those traits can shine through, even in the darkest hours.
Peter Mallouk, President & CEO of Creative Planning
We all experience loss and transition in life; we all face grief, letting go, and the challenge of finding a new way forward. The workplace is often where we are expected to silently carry our losses, fears, caregiving responsibilities, trauma, and deep emotional transitions. Mindy Corporon has written a courageous and deeply practical book for leaders who want to meet grief with compassion, clarity, and strength. Grief Leadership shows that presence, listening, storytelling, and emotional connection are not soft skills; they are the foundation of resilient people and high-performing organizations. This is a powerful guide for becoming a secure base for others in moments of loss, fear, and uncertainty.
George Kohlrieser, PhD, Distinguished Professor of Leadership and Organizational Behavior, IMD Business School, and author of Hostage at the Table and Care to Dare
Too many leaders believe grief is a personal matter that should be dealt with outside the workplace. It isn’t. Grief walks through our front doors every day disguised as disengagement, conflict, burnout, distraction, and declining attendance and performance. In Grief Leadership, Mindy Corporon reminds us that understanding people and their grief is not separate from leading them. She challenges us to replace assumptions with curiosity, silence with compassionate listening, and awkwardness with courageous action. The result is more than a kinder workplace. It is a stronger one. The leaders who will shape the future of work will not be those who avoid grief. They will be those who understand how to lead through it.
Dr. Nicole Price, Ed.D., CEO of Lively Paradox and author of Spark the Heart
Read all fourteen endorsements
As a pastor who has cared for grieving people for 38 years, I found Mindy Corporon’s Grief Leadership to be a compelling, beautifully written, and practical guide for all who care for those who mourn. Every leader, manager, and HR director should read this book.
Adam Hamilton, Senior Pastor of Resurrection, the nation’s largest United Methodist church with more than 24,000 members
Mindy Corporon has taken an unimaginable personal tragedy and turned it into a powerful discipline for leading with humanity and heart. Her book Grief Leadership speaks to the reality that grief touches every one of us; and true leadership, at its core, is about caring for people and supporting them through life’s most difficult seasons. In doing so, we help others discover the power of resilience and the strength to move forward. Grief Leadership reinforces my belief that the best leaders understand that life’s challenges don’t stop at the workplace door. Meeting people where they are with empathy and compassion can play an important role in their healing journey. That belief was shaped by my parents, especially my late mother, whose strength, grace, and commitment to caring for others continue to influence the way I lead today. Mindy Corporon’s story is both moving and instructive. Her book is an insightful read for current and aspiring leaders because it speaks to a truth I hold deeply: When we genuinely care for people and do right by them, everything else falls into place.
Lisa Ginter, CEO, CommunityAmerica Credit Union
In Grief Leadership, Mindy Corporon provides an invaluable roadmap for organizational leaders navigating the complexities when an employee experiences a personal loss, including how grief impacts the capacity to work and engage, and the importance of being a compassionate listener. Acknowledging grief as a protective neurological stress response, Corporon highlights how grief is the body’s adaptation to promote survival in the face of emotional trauma. Her whole-person approach offers essential strategies for supporting a grieving team member, fostering resilience, and creating a compassionate workplace. This book is a must-read for leaders seeking to guide their organizations with empathy, insight, and strength.
Carl S. Cleveland III, DC, President of Cleveland University-Kansas City
Grief Leadership fills a space that has been missing for far too long. In workplaces everywhere, people want to help coworkers who are grieving, caregiving, or carrying invisible emotional strain, but they simply do not know what to say or do. In Grief Leadership, Mindy Corporon offers leaders practical, compassionate guidance that honors both humanity and the realities of the workplace. This book reminds us that organizations are made up of people bringing their whole selves to work every day. Leaders who understand that truth will build stronger teams, healthier cultures, and more human workplaces. At Ronald McDonald House, I walk beside caregiving families every day, and I know how deeply life disruption impacts a person’s ability to simply function, let alone perform at work. Grief Leadership gives leaders something rare: practical guidance for how to support people during difficult seasons with both compassion and confidence. Mindy Corporon understands that workplaces are made up of human beings carrying real lives, real stress, and real loss. This book will help leaders show up better for the people who need them most.
Tami Greenberg, CEO of Ronald McDonald House – Kansas City
Any leader who desires a productive workplace grounded in connection and care for those who grieve should read this book. It provides a storehouse of wise counsel and practical advice from one who has been there both personally and professionally.
Bob Cutillo, MD, grief expert and author of Holding on in the Storm
Mindy provides a powerful series of messages, tools, and reminders about how to lead through grief. Her chapter on navigating with clarity and compassion in the first days, “Back to Work, Not Back to Normal,” is essential to any organization. All leaders will benefit from Mindy’s compilation of “six mistakes leaders make and what to do instead.” Keep this book within an arm’s reach to provide exceptional guidance if and when you need it.
Harry S. Campbell, former Fortune 500 president, keynote speaker, and author of Get-Real Leadership
We spend years training leaders on performance, communication, strategy, and execution, yet very little prepares leaders to respond to grief, even though it is one of the most common human experiences we will ever encounter. But, the true character of leadership and culture is revealed in how we respond when someone is carrying pain, uncertainty, exhaustion, or loss. When grief is handled poorly, people remember it for years. At some point, every leader will sit across from someone navigating loss, and many simply do not know what to say or how to respond. Leadership in those moments is not about having perfect answers. It is about presence, compassion, listening, and helping people navigate difficult seasons with dignity and care. Grief Leadership is an important guide for leaders who want to build cultures rooted in trust, humanity, and genuine connection.
Tom Herzog, Chief Operating Officer of Netsmart
Mindy’s book is a powerful and compassionate guide for leaders who want to show up when it matters most. With practical wisdom and personal insight, it equips leaders to walk alongside their employees in times of grief while fostering a lasting culture of care. A must-read for anyone committed to leading with heart and humanity in today’s modern workplace.
Jennifer W. Hay, former CEO of ParkLawn Corporation
This is a book you will need. It will help you in handling the happenings and tragedies that occur in so many lives with people you know. This gives you a place to go for instantly needed advice. You will find it very valuable, if not priceless.
Barnett and Shirley Helzberg, co-founders of the Helzberg Foundation and the Helzberg Entrepreneurial Mentoring Program
Bring Grief Leadership to your organization
Start with the book. Continue the conversation.
For leadership teams, conferences, people and HR functions, and associations, Grief Leadership is available in bulk at a discount, with the option to bring Mindy in for a keynote, an executive education session, or a Grief Leadership conversation with your team.
About Mindy Corporon
Mindy Corporon is the founder of Grief Leadership, the emerging discipline at the intersection of grief and leadership, and author of Grief Leadership and Healing a Shattered Soul. A CEO, speaker, and entrepreneur, she equips leaders to navigate loss with practical tools that sustain humanity, culture, trust, and organizational performance.
Grief Leadership is the discipline. Healing a Shattered Soul is the personal story that began it all.