The Launch of Leaders Start With Themselves
On the May 29, 2026, with an attendance of about 40 of Kevin's and his wife, Angie's closest family, friends and colleagues, Kevin launched Leaders Start With Themselves. The launch began with an introduction by Mark Emmanuel, who has worked with Kevin for the last 15 years in Leadership Development. Soon thereafter, Kevin in his speech thanked everyone for their support and presence. He then went on to speak about why and how he wrote the book, and his hopes that this book will be helpful to any leader that wants to improve themselves in order to serve the people they lead.
"We all aspire to be good leaders for ourselves, the people we lead and the organisations we are part of. While a fortunate few are born leaders (and even they need to learn and improve), the rest of us need to make a greater effort to experience this self-actualisation. Indeed, self-actualisation is the greater part of leadership development. Leaders start with themselves-that choice lies with us.
-- Kevin Santa Maria, author of Leaders Start With Themselves
"Leaders Start With Themselves is built on a truth that is simple, but not easy: before we can lead others well, we must first lead ourselves. The book draws on Kevin’s long experience in leadership and his extensive experience developing leaders, arguing that sustainable, high-performance leadership begins with self-knowledge, reflection, trust, and genuine care for people."
-- Mark Emmanuel, Kevin's colleague for 15 years.
Developing People
Leaders Start
With Themselves
by Kevin Santa Maria
With 46 years of leadership experience in Singapore's world-class public service and 15 years developing leaders, Kevin Santa Maria knows that what separtes good leaders from the great ones isn't drive or charisma -- it's self knowledge from constant self-reflection
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Sustainable high-performance leadersip flows from leaders who first know themselves, invest in their people in positive ways and build cultures rooted in trust and genuine care
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This book is a practical step-by-step guide to self-reflection. Drawing on the author's leadership journey, it walks readers through six fundamentals of reflective leadership.