What does it take to stand at the shoulder of power without ever stepping into the spotlight? For our Book Club selection this quarter, we’re switching gears to non-fiction with Right Hand, where some of the most powerful chiefs of staff open up about leadership, loyalty, power, and pressure.
Phoebe Saintilan-Stocks, renowned for her sharp lens on power and representation, releases her debut book, The Right Hand. Drawing on interviews with chiefs of staff from around the world, this work uncovers the unseen influence, loyalty, and resilience required to stand beside leaders during history’s most defining moments.
With clarity and nuance, The Right Hand examines ambition, trust, and sacrifice in their rawest forms. It’s a portrait of leadership that asks: what does it mean to serve, to steer, and to surrender when the spotlight is never yours?
Synopsis:
The Right Hand isn’t just a book about politics, it’s a study of proximity, power, and the fragile architecture of trust. Phoebe Saintilan-Stocks peels back the curtain on the people who stand closest to leaders, yet furthest from public recognition: chiefs of staff. These are the quiet architects of history, shaping decisions in moments of chaos, compromise, and consequence.
Rather than glorifying influence, Saintilan-Stocks interrogates its cost. What does it mean to live in the gravitational pull of power without ever owning it? Through stories that span war zones, pandemic briefings, and the private unravelling of public figures, The Right Hand reveals a world where loyalty is currency, invisibility is armour, and the line between service and self-erasure blurs.
About Phoebe Saintilan-Stocks: Phoebe Saintilan-Stocks is an Australian writer and founder of Missing Perspectives, a global media platform amplifying women’s voices in journalism. With a background in law and peace studies, and experience at the UN and Australian Human Rights Commission, she brings a sharp lens to power and representation.
