CARE to Win: The 4 Leadership Habits to Build High-Performing Teams

by Alex Draper

Overview

Build a Psychologically Safe, Courageous, and Successful Team through CAREing
Clarity (C). Autonomy (A). Relationships (R). Equity (E).

These four components of the CARE Equation are as vital today for business leaders and the teams counting on them as they ever were. Across the globe, companies simply continue to lose employees for a reason that’s entirely avoidable: direct managers who, despite their best intentions, lack the insight and tools to build high-performing, psychologically safe teams.

For Alex Draper, founder of leadership development firm DX Learning, it all starts with one question: Are you providing your team members what they need to be their best selves so that they can do their best work? It’s from here that his four-step playbook steps in to remind us that leading is and remains a human endeavor built on effective communication, real trust in individuals, authentic connections, and unceasing fairness.

In this revised edition of CARE to Win, Draper goes even deeper to outline each CARE component and break down internal biases that keep leaders from transforming their teams into unified powerhouses of creativity and innovation. Through personal stories, up-to-date research on positive psychology, and prompts and reflection exercises, he provides a modern guidebook to help any leader create a people-first environment where one not only wants to stay, but where they feel they can express themselves and perform to their highest potential.

The time is now to become the leader that can set a team free to win—every single day.  

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781612547510
Publisher:	Brown Books Publishing Group
Publication date:	10/28/2025
Edition description:	Revised ed.
Pages:	272
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Alex Draper started life as a trainee schoolteacher in the UK. In 2002 he moved into adult education when he joined a global management training organization. In 2005 he moved to Chicago to build and lead the company's operation in America. It was there he found his passion and purpose around developing people's leadership capabilities (EQ) versus management skills (IQ), and in 2015 started his own organization, DX, built on these ideas. DX combines human capital optimization with progressive leadership development to expose and eliminate toxicity and prepare organizations, leaders, and teams to put people first and create companies worth working for. In using his CARE Equation, Alex has helped develop and unlock leadership potential in over forty thousand people through DX's keynotes, conferences, offsites, retreats, and leadership development programs all over the world, building a human-centric movement, while still being a people-first leader himself both at work and at home.

Table of Contents

Foreword
Introduction

Chapter 1: Biases—The Ultimate Threat to Higher Performance
Chapter 2: Having the Right Mindset to Lead Effectively

PART I: CLARITY
Chapter 3: The Importance of Clarity
Chapter 4: Clarity Bias #1—The Curse of Knowledge
Chapter 5: Clarity Bias #2—The Framing Effect
Recap on Clarity

PART II: AUTONOMY
Chapter 6: The Importance of Autonomy
Chapter 7: Autonomy Bias #1—The IKEA Effect
Chapter 8: Autonomy Bias #2—Once Bitten, Twice Shy
Recap on Autonomy

PART III: RELATIONSHIPS
Chapter 9: The Importance of Relationships
Chapter 10: Relationship Bias #1—Illicit Transference
Chapter 11: Relationship Bias #2—Similar to Me
Recap on Relationships

PART IV: EQUITY
Chapter 12: The Importance of Equity
Chapter 13: Equity Bias #1—Default Effect  Chapter 14: Equity Bias #2—Extension Neglect  Recap on Equity
Chapter 15: Putting It All Together

Appendix A: CARE Questions
Appendix B: CARE Reflection
Acknowledgments
Notes
About the Author

Editorial Reviews

Quiet quitting, hybrid workplace, toxic boss . . . How do you lead today? A good place to start is by reading this book. This fresh look at leadership cannot be ignored, shouldn’t be denied, and must be taken to heart. CARE to Win will show you the importance of caring as a leader of today.” —Keith Ferrazzi, Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Ferrazzi Greenlight and New York Times Bestselling Author of Who’s Got Your Back? and Never Eat Alone

“My favorite part of this excellent new leadership book is the beginning of the chapter on Autonomy: ‘“I love being told how to do my job!” said no one ever. Equally popular is the experience of being micromanaged. Overmanagement puts shackles on your creativity and capability. To be given Autonomy is to be given freedom. And trust.’ The value of trusting your team cannot be overstated.” —Dave Kerpen, New York Times Bestselling Author of Get Over Yourself

“The CARE Equation is exactly what high-performing leaders need to build high-performing teams. Make the commitment to practice CARE daily, and you’ll be rewarded with higher engagement and retention.” —Shep Hyken, New York Times Bestselling Author of The Amazement Revolution

“Alex Draper’s CARE Equation is a simple, but powerful, formula. There’s a wealth of research behind how Clarity, Autonomy, Relationships, and Equity create motivation and enhance performance. This book is refreshingly practical in each approach to living out each element.” —Dr. David Burkus, Bestselling and Award-Winning Author of Best Team Ever and Leading from Anywhere

“As a branding strategist and executive coach, I have experienced firsthand the critical importance of psychological safety in building winning brands and successful company cultures. As Alex says, ‘Psychological safety is the key ingredient to unleashing human potential.’ The book shows leaders practical ways they can achieve this state for their staff and companies. I would recommend it for new managers and experienced C-suite alike.” —Karen Tiber Leland, Bestselling Author of The Brand Mapping Strategy: Design, Build, and Accelerate Your Brand

“I love this book and the messages it offers. The CARE Equation is simple: Clarity, Autonomy, Relationships, and Equity. And the descriptions of each, along with the biases they create, are straightforward. It would benefit all leaders to CARE a little more in the workplace, and this book will help you get started.” —Lisa Bodell, CEO of FutureThink and Award-Winning Author of Kill the Company and Why Simple Wins

“Alex Draper has done far more than write a book on the mechanics of building leadership for high-performance teamwork; he has provided a working template on HOW to develop both yourself as a leader and also your team. Having worked as a consultant and coach for more than forty years and as the author of four books, I can tell you that his CARE Equation, as he unpacks it, is both brilliant and highly practical. He has captured, in a concise and highly organized manner, what takes most people (if they are very attentive and diligent) decades of practice to learn. Here is a book on the WHAT, the HOW, and the WHO of creating sustainable high-performance teams.” —Robert E. Staub II, Founder and CEO of EQIQ Leadership and Author of The Heart of Leadership and The 7 Acts of Courage

“It’s not possible to remind leaders too much about the foundational leadership principle of taking care of their people. Taking the best of the latest research in positive leadership and management, Founder of DX Learning, Alex Draper’s book demonstrates what is possible in teams and organizations by taking a people-centered approach. Draper’s CARE Equation is what leaders need to succeed in a rapidly changing world. An important book for leaders in any industry committed to making a difference in the world through their leadership.” —Shannon Huffman Polson, Founder and CEO of the Grit Institute and Author of The Grit Factor: Courage, Resilience, and Leadership in the Most Male-Dominated Organization in the World

“As the CEO of my own company and close advisor to many other CEOs, I’ve spent much of the last several years understanding how to create, propagate, and reinforce psychological safety—it is the single most important factor in a positive company culture. All great teams are centered in psychological safety, which requires strong, active communication. Alex provides an excellent framework for companies to adapt to strengthen their teams and performance. It can be a strategic advantage for any team that deploys it. This book should be part of any new manager’s training and on the desk of every leader, from the C-suite to the front line.” —Lee Caraher, CEO of Double Forte, Speaker, and Author of Millennials and Management and The Boomerang Principle

“As an executive coach who lives by relationships, I was anxious to see what Draper had to say about them. I couldn’t have agreed more when I read, ‘For the sake of this playbook, let’s define Relationship as demonstrating you care about your team by connecting with your team on a human level.’ He expounded on it with, ‘That means changing your focus from results-first to people-first. When you put people first and results second, you end up fostering a team that creates the best results anyway—far better than when you put results first.’ While this is a great book throughout, this seemed particularly insightful.” —Dr. Mark Goulston, Marshall Goldsmith 100 Coach and Author ofJust Listen

“Drawing on foundational insights, sharing relevant stories, and offering actionable tools, Alex advances leadership effectiveness by ensuring psychological safety through Clarity, Autonomy, Relationships, and Equity. He demonstrates using this formula in his work and how it can be applied for any leader seeking to improve.” —Dave Ulrich, Author of HR from the Outside In; Co-Founder and Partner of the RBL Group; and Professor and Director at Stephen M. Ross School of Business, University of Michigan

“Too often, approaches to develop leadership fail as they don’t enable leaders to truly understand themselves or others better. From my neuroscience studies, I know it’s absolutely vital that to be effective and optimize the power of people, leaders need to understand what’s going on psychologically as well as practically. Alex combines both in a way that brings clarity so that anyone can read, reflect, and take action to be more successful.” —Chris Roebuck, Global Leadership Expert and Speaker, Ten-Time Award Winner of “HR Most Influential Thinker” Title, and Hon Visiting Professor of Transformational Leadership

“At the heart of Draper’s book is a simple truth: people matter most. The CARE framework is a tangible roadmap for people-centric leadership that nurtures the human element in every interaction. It’s not only aligned our own leadership team, but also reinvigorated our organization with a growth mindset, sense of purpose, and empathy. This is a go-to read for leaders who aim to release the untapped potential of their teams and shape the future of corporate culture.” —Cindy Donohoe, EVP and Chief Marketing Officer, Highmark Health

“I absolutely love this book! A powerful and thought-provoking read that has the potential to transform the way we lead and create high-performing organizations. It offers practical guidance on achieving Clarity, embracing Autonomy, nurturing Relationships, and striving for Equity—all key ingredients to becoming a highly effective leader. I highly recommend it to anyone seeking personal and professional growth. Enjoy it!” —Ricardo Leite, Senior Vice President and Head of International Markets at Discover Financial Services

“I love the CARE framework. It creates a simple but very powerful shared language to engage teams and organizations. We found the CARE Equation to be impactful for all people: from leaders in the C-suite to our frontline leaders. If you lead teams, you should read this book. Every leader has a responsibility to CARE so their teams CARE back.” —Jeff Krautkramer, Chief Human Resource Officer of Madison Air

“This framework Alex offers—which is simple, clear, and memorable—makes it that much easier to change the way you approach leadership. This change is important because leadership is not about you, it’s about everyone else! The Alexamples sprinkled throughout the book are another way these are real and meaningful changes you can make to bring real impact in your organization. I have used this framework with real teams in the real world and can wholeheartedly say it works!” —Jane Urban, Vice President, Customer Engagement Operations, Otsuka Americas Pharmaceuticals Inc.

“This book will reconfigure your thoughts on leadership. How leaders are made versus born, what leaders do in the complex workplace, and how they create clarity for their teams. Many of the paradigms we have about leaders and leadership are dated an unsustainable. My favorite part of the book sums up leadership best to me: 'Would all your people see you as a leader that deliberately and intentionally sends everyone home less stressed and feeling like they left nothing on the table?’” —Derick Faulkner, Director of HR at Eaton Corporation

“Creating psychological safety in the workplace is critical to people achieving their best—professionally and personally. In Draper’s book, he cogently describes how to overcome bias to become a leader that others will flock to, while also helping your team achieve its greatest performance.” —Jenna Fisher, Managing Director of Russell Reynolds Associates
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“CARE to Win: The Four Leadership Habits to Build High-Performing Teams is a must-read for leaders and managers seeking to foster a positive and thriving work environment. Alex Draper’s CARE Equation provides a practical and research-backed playbook that will empower you to create a culture of psychological safety where employees feel valued, heard, and motivated to achieve their highest potential.” —Jeff DeGraff, PhD, Clinical Professor, Stephen M. Ross School of Business, University of Michigan

From the Publisher