Why I Wrote Leadership Without Sugarcoating
Rasha Oudeh is a serial entrepreneur working across Switzerland and Germany, a board director, and an international expansion expert with over 25 years of experience across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. She is CEO of Global Match AG, Chairwoman of CEDEM AG, and holds an Executive MBA from Frankfurt School and the IMD Board Director Diploma
Seeing my book, Leadership Without Sugarcoating: The Decision, the Price, and What Remains, on a shelf at Orell Füssli in the centre of Zurich made me pause and smile. Behind those pages were more than 25 years of decisions, mistakes, and lessons worth sharing. Eight of those lessons explain why I wrote it and what I hope others can take from it.
I wanted to bring the perspective of an Arab woman working in Switzerland and Germany, shaped by my Jordanian roots and experience across cultures. Business leadership has taught me to value financial discipline, but leadership reaches further, it includes people who transform their circumstances and create opportunities for others.
Determination matters. So do transparent relationships, fair opportunities, and an environment where people can learn and contribute. Together, they help entrepreneurs and young leaders turn ambition into lasting value.
Is there really one best leadership book?
Every author loves their book a little like their own child. We know what went into it, and naturally, we believe it is special. But books are also like clothes, the right fit is personal. My hope is that the experience in mine helps someone better understand their own.
What does leadership without sugarcoating mean?
It means sharing the decisions behind the achievements, including those I would make differently. For me, authentic leadership requires acknowledging mistakes, questioning your judgment, and taking responsibility for the consequences.
Executive leadership makes that responsibility visible, but it often begins long before a title. Young leaders deserve an honest account of what it takes, alongside the encouragement to try.
Eight lessons from Leadership Without Sugarcoating
1. Responsibility can arrive before ambition
“Leadership does not begin with ambition or the desire to advance, but long before that, with responsibility.”
In 1999, in Amman, my father asked me for JOD 120 to cover the hospital costs of my sister’s birth. I was twenty and took an advance on my salary. Looking back, I recognise an early lesson in leadership responsibility, someone needed me to act, and my decision mattered beyond myself.
2. You sometimes have to decide while you are still afraid
“I walked up, and with every step, I felt as though I was climbing over my fear, not because it had disappeared, but because it no longer had the power to stop me.”
When invited to attend the Female Leader Summit, I asked to speak instead. I was afraid, but I stepped onto the stage, and more than 300 people gave me a standing ovation. Confidence can grow through action. Waiting to feel ready can mean never beginning.
3. Every important decision has a price
“The price does not knock on the door, but slips in and by the time you notice it, it has already become part of your life.”
In 2024, during a session connecting students in Zurich and Kakuma Refugee Camp, someone asked whether it had all been worth it. My answer was yes, with full awareness of the cost. Leadership decision-making requires asking what an opportunity will demand and who will carry the consequences.
4. Strength needs limits
“What I know now is that breaking was never my enemy, it was the most honest teacher in my journey.”
In 2022, protecting CEDEM and enabling my partners’ exit meant taking on a financial burden of USD 1 million. Sales had fallen sharply, and I sold most of what I owned. That experience changed my understanding of strength, leading also means recognising limits and changing what has become unsustainable.
5. Leaving can be a responsible decision
“Sometimes, we already know the truth within ourselves, but we need someone to place it before us plainly.”
In 2016, I left a partnership after helping build more than USD 18 million in sales. Walking away cost me much of what I had built. It also taught me that fairness and freedom matter, and that my knowledge, experience, and name were assets I could carry forward.
6. Rebuilding requires a different approach
“I chose to rebuild. Not because I was no longer attached, but because I realized that true continuation does not lie in holding on, but in the ability to change.”
Rebuilding CEDEM meant questioning priorities I had once defended. Years of investment can make change difficult, but attachment cannot decide a company’s future. Experience earns its value when it improves your next decision.
7. Anxiety should be heard without being put in charge
“Real continuity is listening to anxiety without giving it the decision.”
Business will never offer permanent certainty. I have learned to examine my concerns, "What evidence supports them? What can I prepare for? What action can I take?" Anxiety can signal a risk, judgment must guide the response.
8. Your achievements are only part of what remains
“Conscience does not make the path easier, but it makes it clearer.”
I care about building successful businesses and about what others can build because of my work. Every copy sold supports Amali Switzerland’s programmes, giving the book a purpose beyond sharing my experience.
What publishing taught me about reaching people
Publishing made me a beginner again. Reaching readers in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa requires understanding different languages, reading habits, and distribution channels.
The book can now be ordered through online booksellers across Germany and Switzerland, Amazon USA, and international channels reaching China, Korea, and Latin America. That reach is encouraging. Its value ultimately rests with the reader.
Giving others room to lead
Determination grows stronger with access to honest advice, fair agreements, and real opportunities. Experienced leaders can provide those conditions through a first chance, useful feedback, or the trust to take responsibility.
This belief also shapes my work in entrepreneurship and leadership. Transformational leaders help others develop the judgment and confidence to change their world. I hope this book contributes to that process.
Read more from Rasha Oudeh
Rasha Oudeh, Entrepreneur & International Expansion Expert
Rasha Oudeh is a serial entrepreneur and international expansion expert who has built, grown, and successfully exited businesses. As CEO of Global Match AG, she supports companies with market entry, cross-border execution, strategic partnerships, and introductions to investment opportunities between Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. She is also Chairwoman of CEDEM AG, where she pursues her passion for women’s health and preventive healthcare. Beyond business, she leads Amali Switzerland, a nonprofit entrepreneurship initiative. She is the author of the forthcoming book Leadership Without Sugarcoating and holds an Executive MBA from Frankfurt School and the IMD Board Director Diploma.
