Ten Amazing Leadership Books to Dramatically Shift Your Mindset
Are you a bookworm like me?
I love reading and try to read/listen to between 30 and 50 books a year. (The commute helps as do my weekend walks.)
So today I want to share what I think are MY ten favorite leadership books (so far…) Feel free to shoot me a note on what your favorite book is and/or let me know what's missing.
1. The Trillion Dollar Coach – Eric Schmidt, Jonathan Rosenburg, et al
By far my most gifted book! Details the life and principles of Bill Campbell, the beloved Executive Coach for some of Silicon Valley’s major powerhouses – Apple, Google, Oracle, etc… The leadership principles displayed in this book – and the literal trillions of dollars of wealth that those principles helped create – are both timeless and somewhat obvious once you read them.
2. Death By Meeting – Patrick Lencioni
Who likes meetings? Usually no one, and that’s why Patrick Lencioni, fantastic author of 12 executive leadership books spent some time teaching us what good meetings look like. I think this should be required reading for any new manager – as well as C-suite employee. The effectiveness of your meetings can rise 100-fold after reading this book.
3. The Obstacle Is The Way – Ryan Holiday
Most avoid the “obstacle” – yet our stoic author Ryan Holiday teaches us that life and success lies to those willing to confront those obstacles. This is an excellent book on shifting your mindset to tackle what’s important.
4. The Compound Effect – Darren Hardy
What would your life look like if you were 1% better at something every month? What if it was multiple skills? While maybe not a leadership book per se, Darren Hardy brilliantly shows us how significantly dramatic results can be with some small simple adjustments and a little momentum.
5. The One Thing – Gary Keller
Gifted to me by a former boss, Gary Keller shows us how he built one of if not THE largest real estate brokerage company in the US – by arguably doing less. Gary Keller will help you figure out your ONE thing today that can lead to massive results tomorrow.
6. What Got You Here Won’t Get You There – Marshall Goldsmith
BIG fan of Marshall Goldsmith – arguably the worlds highest ranked Executive Coach. Here he’ll show you that to achieve that “next big thing” you need to continue to grow, change your mindset, and upgrade your skills. What got you in your job today isn’t going to cut it moving onto the next thing – so what are you doing about it?
7. Good To Great – Jim Collins
A timeless classic! Jim Collins and his brilliant research team laboriously combed through dozens of companies to find out which ones beat all the odds and became truly Great powerhouses. They detail what made them great and show us exactly how some fall from grace. Hundreds of impactful leadership lessons that still ring true today.
What’s your relationship with vulnerability? How honest are you with yourself and expressing uncertainty? Dr. Brown and her team are prolific researchers and they’ve churned out some amazing work. Here she’ll challenge you – I mean really take you to task – with her humor and direct style to spend some time in self-reflection.
9. The Advice Trap – Michael Bungay Stanier
What’s the difference between Coaching and Mentoring? Famous Executive Coach Michael Bungay Stanier will quite easily show you the difference. When someone on your team is asking for help that isn’t the time to give advice – that’s your time to ASK QUESTIONS! This book is a must read for leaders to give you a peak inside developing new Coaching skills.
10. Speed Of Trust – Stephen Covey
I was exposed to this book a few years ago and it hit me just at the right time. We all know teams in high-trust organizations are significantly more effective than low-trust, so how do you build trust? I love this book and think it’s critical for everyone on your team to read. I frequently catch myself thinking: How an I restore trust with this individual?
Honorable Mention:
Ego Is The Enemy – Ryan Holiday
I didn’t necessarily want to put the same author back-to-back, so I added Mr. Holiday down here. I absolutely love this book, and though I haven’t read it in a while, I still remember the feeling I had after reading it. We can see every day the decisions of high-ego individuals – look at a LOT (aaaaalllloooooot) of politicians and business moguls whose decisions aren’t necessarily aligned with their front-faced culture – they’re leading with Ego – and Ryan Holiday will show what happens when teams and leaders set that aside.
I also wrote my own eBOOK: The Four Foundations of Outstanding Leadership - based on a lot of lessons I learned from the above. Feel free to check that out here - it's free and an easy read.
Thank you for your time today, time for me to start figuring out what my next ten favorite books are.
Joe
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