Stand up and step out from amongst your peers; say what you need to say, in the way that you want to say it, and without having regrets.

Discover the meaning and power behind what you bring to the table. Challenge yourself to reflect on what each definition means to you and how to apply these self-leadership principles to your life and your career. It is time to pull up your chair and change your life!

When you look in the mirror, do you see a champion or a critic?

Some days we are our own best champion while other days we are our own worst critic. Using the acronym C.H.A.I.R., this self-leadership model will change the game on how you view self-leadership and the decisions and choices you make every single day.

PULL UP YOUR C.H.A.I.R.

Book Reviews & Recommendations

Loaded with Insight!


“Pull Up Your Chair: Five Strategies to Change the Trajectory of Your Career” by Cicely Simpson is an incredibly helpful and intriguing read that truly can, as the book title states, change the trajectory of your career. In my own line of work I found myself feeling a sense of stagnation and desperately wanting more, without having to actually change my career as a whole. Because let’s face it, no one wants to do that if they can at all avoid it! This book offered a ton of insight and advice and really has set the course for helping me make some much needed changes for the better. -Amy K

Bring your folding chair!


The book opens with an amazing quote: “If they don’t give you a seat at the table, bring a folding chair.” It essentially means that you have to make your way by yourself wherever you go.

And, this is what the book is about. Make yourself a better leader and get yourself noticed everywhere. The author has shared five strategies which are actually derived from the word “chair.”

Yes, the word CHAIR is actually an acronym that means:
C = Champion Yourself
H = Honesty
A = Adaptability
I = Impact
R = Regrets

Cicely (author) has shared personal stories, tips, and insights to become a better professional no matter where you work.

Besides, the book has an excellent, artistic, and visually attractive cover – tells you a lot about the quality that you’re going to get inside of it!

“Pull Up Your Chair: Five Strategies to Change the Trajectory of Your Career” is 100% recommended to anybody who wants to improve. -Ghulam Mustafa

‘Empower yourself to set goals that you can truly achieve’ – Wise guidance


Author Cicely Simpson earned her degree in political science from Lipscomb University, her Juris Doctor from Pepperdine University School of Law, and is the Founder and CEO of Summit Public Affairs, a lobbying firm, and an in demand public speaker and leadership coach. On her website she states, ‘Leaders instill in their people a hope for success and a belief in themselves. Positive leaders empower people to accomplish their goals.

The clever title of this book reflects Cicely’s wealth of leadership and experience to ‘guide clients who seek to pull up their chair and set their table of success.’ In her inimitable fashion, she presents her concept of C.H.A.I.R.℠ leadership she has devised and that has made an integral impact on her clients. The five strategies - Champion yourself (track your big wins and small triumphs), Honesty (stay true to yourself and know how you land on people), Adaptability (embrace the unknown), Impact (change the outcome, ask “what if”), and Regrets (‘you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take’, etc). Her concept was in reaction to congresswoman Shirley Chisholm’s quote “If they don’t give you a seat at the table, bring a folding chair.

Having successfully coached clients - and now readers as well – on her CHAIR concept, Cicely encourages us to practice, implement, and master the strategies in this book to not only enhance our business mind but also our social interactions. There is much wisdom in these pages, and it is all accessible to incorporate. Very highly recommended. -Grady Harp

Those are the steps that we are going in-depth.


The C.H.A.I.R.℠ Program is one of the most unique and intricate concepts I read in quite some time, while some other approaches just focus on what you need to do to become a true leader, this book also deals with what comes afterwards. Champion yourself, Honesty, Adaptability, Impact, Regrets. Those are the steps that we are going in-depth to get the better out of you, as success is not only a one-way road but can also spread to others and it can be achieved by you, your actions and your motivation. This book is so unique in many regards but the more I’m most happy about is that it helps you keep moving forward, way past that momentum and success, that feeling you thought is infinite but can be done at any time, this book helps you capitalize so much within you, that a true leader will just be the start of an unforgettable journey. -Julius Z

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Cicely is a keynote speaker, leadership expert, ForbesBooks best-selling author, Forbes Contributor, Founder of the 21st Century Leadership Institute, and Creator of C.H.A.I.R. Leadership, a unique leadership model for modern leaders.

Cicely is changing the way people understand their roles their own careers. In her twenty-five-plus-year career, Cicely has held leadership roles in every organization she has served. Today, she endeavors to show everyone from CEOs to students how they can carve out a permanent space at the table, no matter what direction their career takes. Beyond showing them what this new brand of leadership looks like, Cicely is pushing people past their comfort zones in order to inspire real change. Cicely shows individuals, teams, and organizations how to find their edge and keep it.

What Others Have To Say​

  • Maggie Sommers Gentile, MS, RD, LD
    I have worked with Cicely for nearly a decade and have come to recognize her as a seasoned policy expert. In my experience she has served as a sought-out speaker providing her expertise and insights into federal, state and local government affairs. She is particularly well versed in the area of food policy and has previously spoke at restaurant nutrition events at my request receiving high remarks from participants.
    Maggie Sommers Gentile, MS, RD, LD
    Vice President of Food & Nutrition Policy | Food Directions LLC
  • Allie Ward
    Thank you so much for your time spent with us at Summit! During this time, you truly modeled for us time and time again how to embody every characteristic of exemplary leadership. Thank you for coaching us to be people of impact who understand that “okay is not okay.” You taught us that while “okay is comfortable, it’s not thrilling. It’s not passion. It’s not life-changing, fulfilling, and unforgettable.
    Allie Ward
    Lipscomb University Student