Local author Martha Boehm’s new book, Just Keep Growing: 25 Servant Leadership Lessons, features real, relatable, and relevant stories featuring people across the region and country with different backgrounds, professions, and experiences.
Robert K. Greenleaf coined the phrase “servant leadership” in the 1970s. It’s a style of leadership that prioritizes the needs of followers and emphasizes personal integrity and growth in a safe and supportive environment.
Boehm earned a Master of Arts in Servant Leadership from Viterbo University in May 2023. As part of her colloquium project, she wrote 10 stories that exemplify servant leadership lessons, which included building relationships and community, understanding systems thinking, and being a good environmental steward. She has now expanded that work into a book with 25 lessons that also include the importance of rituals, saying bye to bad bosses, how humor can heal, and more!
“I love telling a good story, especially one that is uplifting or inspirational,” Boehm said. “I wrote this book for people who want to be known as compassionate and confident leaders who take care of the people they serve. I’m excited for leaders at all levels to read the individual stories and collective lessons.”
Chapters feature locally well-known individuals such as Tom Thibodeau, distinguished professor of servant leadership; Richard Kyte, director of the D.B. Reinhart Institute for Ethics in Leadership at Viterbo University; business humorist Lisa David Olson; entrepreneurs Jonah Larson, Carolyn Colleen, and Stephanie Ross; Sister Sarah Hennessey, FSPA; and many other community leaders in various fields. Chapters also feature veteran Disney Imagineer Ethan Reed, Latin Grammy nominee Gina Chavez, and Chicago-based documentary artist James A. Bowey.
At the end of each chapter, readers will find reflection questions and action items to move the lessons forward and apply them to their personal or professional lives.
“This book has given me the opportunity to combine different aspects of my career in journalism, communications and marketing, and leadership,” Boehm said. “I’ve learned you don’t need a particular job title to be a servant leader; you need to be an active listener, to accept constructive feedback, and to be open to change.”
Boehm began her career as an award-winning journalist in local TV news and later shifted to communications and marketing in addition to leadership development. She’s currently the marketing and external relations coordinator at the Viterbo University Fine Arts Center.
The ebook and paperback of Just Keep Growing: 25 Servant Leadership Lessons is available on Amazon. The paperback can also be ordered at local bookstores, including Pearl Street Books in La Crosse, which is hosting an Author Talk with Boehm on Tuesday, May 20 from 6:30–7:30 p.m. She will be sharing short stories, answering questions, and signing books.
Advance Praise for Just Keep Growing
“Just Keep Growing reads like a beautifully curated gallery of leadership insights—each chapter a different canvas, layered with personal stories, reflections, and practical takeaways. Martha explores the nuances of servant leadership with the same care an artist brings to composition. It’s an inspiring guide for leaders and creatives, and anyone looking to shape meaningful experiences.”–Ethan Reed, veteran Disney Imagineer, toy designer, author, and illustrator
“In her introduction, the author makes a number of promises–about compassion and community, humor and healing, purpose and practicality, stewardship and service–for the developing leader and seasoned servant leader alike. She fulfills every one of them. A heartfelt and inspiring book.” –Linda W. Belton, author and retired healthcare executive
“Martha has written a book that is a must–read for anyone who wants to understand servant leadership from the inside out. She is a spirit carrier who poetically and thoughtfully engages our hearts, minds, and souls by telling the stories of other spirit carriers with wit and wisdom, goodness and grace.” –Tom Thibodeau, distinguished professor of servant leadership, founder of Viterbo University’s Master of Arts in Servant Leadership
More About the Author
Martha Boehm began her career as an award-winning journalist and later shifted to communications and marketing in addition to leadership development. She received a Servant Leader Award from Viterbo University, where she earned a Master of Arts in Servant Leadership. She also earned a Master of Arts in Media Studies and a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and Mass Communication from the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee.