I’ve been passionate about personally and professionally lifting women up throughout my career. Today, it is how I spend my time and energy – in a way that makes a difference to those individuals and the greater world. Books have always filled my insatiable desire to continuously learn and explore mysterious, unknown worlds. As a writer, I read books to expand my understanding and push my comfort zones. I also read them so that I can share with others what I have learned in the hopes they will have a positive impact on them – a pay-it-forward of sorts. I hope you enjoy the books on this list as much as I have!
Ever wonder how seemingly subtle leadership behaviors impact workplace perceptions and performance? Hint! Leadership biases affect women much more often…
The myth that family can’t come first or that taking a break kills your career unfortunately is alive and well today.
Yet, this is flawed thinking and doesn’t reflect the true stories of successful women who have paused their careers and gone on to do great things. Lisen names the myth and reveals the stories of trailblazing women who have disrupted the traditional career paradigm to be successful at building a career and family.
We worry putting our family first means we'll be forced to abandon our careers. We're afraid if we pause our careers, we'll be forever off-track. This thinking is outdated—forget what you've heard about how pauses are career limiting, about how those who pause lack ambition, or that if you do pause you won't be able to re-enter the paid workforce. That's a flawed reality, one that doesn't reflect the truth of the careers of some of the most successful women in this country.
Author Lisen Stromberg knows this success firsthand. After the birth of her second child, she did something…
Authenticity is the key to success in the workplace.
I love how Tricia tackles head on how she overcame her fear and shame to embrace her authentic self in the workplace resulting in personal and professional success.
Her book provides a step-by-step approach that enables embracing authenticity achievable for everyone, even those who feel workplace stereotypes prevent them from doing so and understand fear is inhibiting them from doing so.
In the competitive world of Silicon Valley, corporate lawyer Tricia Montalvo Timm knew that talent and drive weren't enough to succeed. She had to belong. Timm took a cue from her days as a child actor, when she had to change her name to get auditions. As an adult, she downplayed her Latino heritage and her life as a mother to fit in. And it worked: at the height of her success, she sold software company Looker to Google for $2.6 billion. But when a LinkedIn post about her roots went viral, she knew she…
For too long emotions have been systematically suppressed at work.
In today’s highly competitive workplace where culture and leadership matters, embracing emotions is a competitive advantage for leaders and companies alike.
Maria’s book demonstrates why businesses should cultivate empathy and shares the winning traits of empathetic leaders who foster greater productivity and loyalty.
Furious customers? Missed deadlines? Failed products? The problems your business faces may stem from a single issue: lack of empathy.
Being empathetic at work means seeing the situation from another's perspective, and using that vantage point to shape your leadership style, workplace culture, and branding strategy. Pairing her knowledge as a branding expert with proven research and fascinating stories from executives, change-makers and community leaders, Maria Ross reveals exactly how empathy makes brands and organizations stronger and more successful.
Ross shows why your business needs to cultivate more empathy now, and shares the habits and traits of empathetic leaders who…
Highly-acclaimed and inspirational, Elaine tells her personal story and her personal struggles and self-reflection as a Black woman.
She goes into great detail about what she could have done differently – and she’s only in her 30s. She is the first Black person to be named Editor-in-Chief at Teen Vogue at the tender age of 29.
This one will make you think, better understand the Black point of view and lift you up.
WINNER OF THE 2020 NAACP IMAGE AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING LITERARY WORK — BIOGRAPHY/AUTOBIOGRAPHY
NOW OPTIONED FOR DEVELOPMENT AS A TV SERIES BY PARAMOUNT TELEVISION STUDIOS AND ANONYMOUS CONTENT
“The millennial Becoming . . . Inspiring and empowering.” —Entertainment Weekly
“An essential read for women in the workplace today.” —Refinery29
Part-manifesto, part-memoir, from the revolutionary editor who infused social consciousness into the pages of Teen Vogue, an exploration of what it means to come into your own—on your own terms
Throughout her life, Elaine Welteroth has climbed the ranks of media and fashion, shattering ceilings along…
As someone who has deep ties to Mother Earth and the outdoors, this book spoke to my soul whose roots are attached to some primitive calling.
Apela shares her lifelong journey of connecting with the essence of indigenous spirituality and culture and her passionate work to communicate, conserve, and celebrate sacred indigenous ways.
It made me think about the cost of living in our modern world and how healing Earth begins from within.
Apela Colorado shares her knowledge and experiences of indigenous wisdom and promotes an understanding between the indigenous and modern world perspectives.
A ceremonial journey to reconnect with the essence of indigenous spirituality and awaken to its beauty, power and potential in contemporary society.
In this book, Apela Colorado, the inspirational authority on indigenous wisdom, shares her lifelong journey of connecting with the essence of indigenous spirituality and culture. From China to Alaska, Benin to France, Apela recounts her passionate work to communicate, conserve, and celebrate sacred indigenous ways, all while reawakening to the wisdom of her Native American and French…
Ever wonder how seemingly subtle leadership behaviors impact workplace perceptions and performance? Hint! Leadership biases affect women much more often than men. Grace Meets Grit explores the subtle and rarely talked-about leadership behaviors through the lens of gender. Learn how to embrace your authentic leadership qualities to achieve greater personal and team performance.
I read and write to better understand people. Why do we do what we do, feel what we feel, hide what we hide? Any book that illuminates these questions and their answers draws me in. Reading and writing are ways that I can attempt to walk in someone else’s shoes and see the world through their eyes, expanding my own understanding of the world. Perhaps the books on this list will offer you the same opportunity.
Ava Winston likes her life of routine in Lexington, Kentucky. Then a tornado blows it away. Ava is safe in the basement, but when she emerges, only one corner of her home stands. Rather than crumbling under the loss, she feels a load lifted. Maybe something beyond the familiar is calling to her. Ava seizes the opportunity to find the owner of a suitcase that landed on her lawn during the storm. Meanwhile, Juniper urges her to rebuild, Ava’s employer doesn’t want her to quit, and her ex-husband invites her back into his life. Ava must be courageous if she’s…
"A loving coming-of-age story for women in mid-life. Brava!" -Adriana Trigiani, Author of The Good Left Undone
". . . captures the true meaning of resilience-something so many women strive to know in the depths of their inner-self." -Sister Robbie Pentecost, OSF former Executive Director of the New Opportunity School for Women
Ava Winston likes her life of routine in Lexington, Kentucky. Each day, she goes to the place she's worked for twenty years, then returns home. On Sundays, she has dinner with her daughter, Juniper. It's a little boring, but as Ava nears fifty-five, she deserves a bit of…
