LID AUTHOR PROFILE: Steven D’Souza

LID AUTHOR PROFILE: Steven D’Souza

Steven D’Souza is an executive coach, author and leadership thinker dedicated to helping leaders navigate complexity and unlock their hidden capabilities. As the Founder and CEO of Liminal Edge Consulting, Steven takes a contemplative, wisdom-based approach to transformation, guiding individuals and organizations through uncertainty and growth. His career includes serving as a Senior Client Partner at Korn Ferry, leading global leadership development at PMI, and running his executive education consultancy, Deeper Learning. Additionally, he has taught at top business schools, including IE Business School, Saïd Business School at the University of Oxford, and INSEAD.

With extensive international experience, Steven has advised clients ranging from small charities to global leaders like Accenture, Barclays, Goldman Sachs, and PwC. His expertise spans organizational consulting, executive coaching, social capital and applying Gestalt psychology to organizational change. Recognized by HR Magazine as one of the top 30 “Most Influential” HR thinkers globally, Steven has also been named to the prestigious Thinkers50 RADAR list, which highlights the thinkers most likely to shape the future of management practice.

Steven has authored four books published by LID that challenge conventional thinking: Not Knowing, Not Doing, Not Being, and his latest release, Shadows at Work. To learn more about his work, visit stevendsouza.com or leadingfromthedark.com.

Books by Steven D’Souza:

Not Knowing: The Art of Turning Uncertainty into Opportunity

Co-authored with Diana Renner, this book was selected as Management Book of the Year in 2015 by the Chartered Institute of Management. The authors argue that it is by “not knowing” that we in fact develop an exploratory mindset, and we discover, engage and create new ways to deal with business and management problems and issues. 

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Not Doing: The Art of Effortless Action

Co-authored with Diana Renner, the book explores the limits and dangers of “doing”; how do they play out in our lives and workplaces; what is driving, or contributing, to our excessive activity; and what would a different kind of “doing” look like, that is less about control and struggle and more about well-being, harmony and creativity.

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Not Being: The Art of Self-Transformation

Co-authored with Khuyen Bui, this book invites us to be curious about a different way of life. It argues that beyond our actions and thinking, it is our very identities that need to transform. To be successful and thrive in this increasingly precarious, polarised and interconnected world, we all need to become a bigger and bolder vision of who we are. 

Shadows At Work: Harness Your Dark Side and Unlock Your Leadership Potential

Described by Daniel Pink as “a bold and necessary invitation into the richer, more nuanced terrain of what makes us human”, this book won the Best Leadership Book of the Year at the Business Book Awards 2026. To fulfil our potential and lead effectively, we must embrace our Shadows: the parts of ourselves we tend to repress and push into the unconscious.

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