My favorite books for leaders with the courage to be transformational

Why am I passionate about this?

I've been fascinated throughout my career by what makes an effective leader. I read about leadership; I carefully observed effective leaders; and I worked hard to become a leader. After a 40-year career, I concluded that nonprofit leaders required a leadership model that met the unique challenges of leading a nonprofit organization and that I was the right person to write the book. I'm proud of The 5 Truths for Transformational Leaders. I believe the book addresses the unique challenges of leading a nonprofit organization. I hope you discover how to use its principles to make a bigger difference in achieving your organization’s mission. Nothing could be more important for the future of our nation.


I wrote...

The 5 Truths for Transformational Leaders: How Nonprofit Organizations Thrive, Grow, and Make a Profound Difference

By Ed Mishrell,

Book cover of The 5 Truths for Transformational Leaders: How Nonprofit Organizations Thrive, Grow, and Make a Profound Difference

What is my book about?

Nonprofit organizations represent the promise and aspirations of America. Every day in communities big and small, nonprofits bring people together to work for the common good, transforming our shared beliefs into lifesaving action. The organizations that make the biggest impact are blessed with extraordinary leaders. 

The 5 Truths for Transformational Leaders delivers an insightful and practical discussion of how to achieve extraordinary results. The audience is engaged in a dialogue about how to adopt and apply each of the five truths to strengthen and increase the impact of their organization. Readers will benefit from the book’s step-by-step guidance and advice as the five key principles of mission-driven leadership are explored. Everyone leaves with a blueprint for exceptional, growth-oriented leadership to transform their organization’s reach and impact.

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap and Others Don't

Ed Mishrell Why did I love this book?

I believe this is absolutely the very best book about leadership ever written. 

If you are only going to read one book about leadership this is it. Every aspiring leader should read it and keep a copy close at hand. The book begins with the profound statement: “Good is the enemy of great.”   Only the very best most disciplined leaders have the will to aspire to greatness. 

Based on extensive research, Collins shares how leaders with discipline create great organizations that achieve phenomenal results. It isn’t easy, but the book provides a road map for leaders with the will and the courage to build great organizations.

By Jim Collins,

Why should I read it?

12 authors picked Good to Great as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

________________________________
Can a good company become a great one? If so, how?

After a five-year research project, Jim Collins concludes that good to great can and does happen. In this book, he uncovers the underlying variables that enable any type of organisation to make the leap from good to great while other organisations remain only good. Rigorously supported by evidence, his findings are surprising - at times even shocking - to the modern mind.

Good to Great achieves a rare distinction: a management book full of vital ideas that reads as well as a fast-paced novel. It is widely regarded…


Book cover of What Got You Here Won't Get You There: How Successful People Become Even More Successful

Ed Mishrell Why did I love this book?

People get promoted because they are good at their jobs and have achieved excellent results. What they may not understand is that success in their new role will require something very different. Working harder at what made them successful is not the answer.

Marshall Goldsmith provides aspiring leaders with the keys to growing into an effective leader as they work their way up the corporate ladder. This book helped me at a critical point in my development as a leader to understand and address the things that were holding me back. 

I have given a copy of this book to many friends and colleagues when they have been promoted. If you feel stuck in your career, read this book.

By Marshall Goldsmith, Mark Reiter,

Why should I read it?

6 authors picked What Got You Here Won't Get You There as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Your hard work is paying off. You are doing well in your field. But there is something standing between you and the next level of achievement. That something may just be one of your own annoying habits.Perhaps one small flaw - a behaviour you barely even recognise - is the only thing that's keeping you from where you want to be. It may be that the very characteristic that you believe got you where you are - like the drive to win at all costs - is what's holding you back. As this book explains, people often do well in…


Book cover of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

Ed Mishrell Why did I love this book?

I first read this inspiring and thoughtful book many years ago. When I finished the book, I immediately purchased a copy of the book for everyone I worked with and asked that we talk about how to integrate the seven habits into our work. 

Covey provides a way of thinking about yourself, your work, and your personal life that can enable you to be more successful in your career and maybe more importantly live a fuller happier life. The 7 Habits contains the wisdom of the ages, every aspiring leader should read the book carefully and apply each of the 7 Habits to every aspect of their life.

By Stephen R. Covey,

Why should I read it?

12 authors picked The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

New York Times bestseller - over 25 million copies sold
The No. 1 Most Influential Business Book of the Twentieth Century

"[Thirty] years after it first appeared, the wisdom of The 7 Habits is more relevant than ever. On an individual level people are burning out, and on a collective level we are burning up the planet. So Dr. Covey's emphasis on self-renewal and his understanding that leadership and creativity require us to tap into our own physical, mental, and spiritual resources are exactly what we need now." Arianna Huffington

One of the most inspiring and impactful books ever written,…


Book cover of The Cycle of Leadership: How Great Leaders Teach Their Companies to Win

Ed Mishrell Why did I love this book?

I’ve had the good fortune to work with Noel to develop a leadership program for Boys & Girls Clubs leaders that is based largely on the content of The Cycle of Leadership.

Noel believes the most successful leaders are teachers. To succeed they need a teachable point of view about how the organization will succeed. The teachable point of view is shared relentlessly shared at every opportunity with all stakeholders. 

Part of this conversation is inviting feedback. Thus, the cycle, leaders teach, they receive feedback, and their teachable point of view evolves. One of my greatest learnings from this book was a deeper understanding of how the mission of an organization needs to be the basis for decisions and actions. This provided me with the courage and conviction to act.

By Noel M Tichy, Nancy Cardwell,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Cycle of Leadership as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In The Leadership Engine, Noel Tichy showed how great companies strive to create leaders at all levels of the organization, and how those leaders actively develop future generations of leaders. In this new book, he takes the theme further, showing how great companies and their leaders develop their business knowledge into "teachable points of view," spend a great portion of their time giving their learnings to others, sharing best practices, and how they in turn learn and receive business ideas/knowledge from the employees they are teaching.

Calling this exchange a virtuous teaching cycle, Professor Tichy shows how business builders from…


Book cover of Joan Garry's Guide to Nonprofit Leadership: Because the World Is Counting on You

Ed Mishrell Why did I love this book?

While there are thousands of books on leadership there are few that specifically address the challenges of leading a nonprofit organization. 

Leading a nonprofit is different; authority is diffused and widely shared, success is difficult to define and competition for resources is intense. Or, as Joan states “nonprofits are messy.” Joan provides a practical guide to leaders based on her experience as a leader and consultant.  

Her approach is down to earth straight forward and sprinkled with a dash of humor. Hearing Joan speak and subsequently reading her book several years ago was the first impetus for me to explore writing about nonprofit leadership. Thank you Joan.

By Joan Garry,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Joan Garry's Guide to Nonprofit Leadership as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In a world where the old rules no longer apply, nonprofit leadership is more important than ever

Now in its second edition, Joan Garry's Guide to Nonprofit Leadership is a must-have resource for organizations of all shapes and sizes wanting to make a bigger difference in the world. Filled with real-life stories and concrete strategies, this practical guide helps develop the specialized skills and mindset needed to successfully lead and manage a stable and impactful world-class organization.

A lot has happened since Joan Garry's Guide to Nonprofit Leadership was first published in 2017. The COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 election cycle,…


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Traumatization and Its Aftermath: A Systemic Approach to Understanding and Treating Trauma Disorders

By Antonieta Contreras,

Book cover of Traumatization and Its Aftermath: A Systemic Approach to Understanding and Treating Trauma Disorders

Antonieta Contreras Author Of Traumatization and Its Aftermath: A Systemic Approach to Understanding and Treating Trauma Disorders

New book alert!

Why am I passionate about this?

As a trauma therapist and dedicated researcher, I love uncovering valuable insights within lesser-known books. There are hidden gems, free from the pressure of commercial success, crafted by authors deeply committed to research, understanding, and the art of writing itself. Their dedication resonates with me, as I believe in the profound value of information and the power of critical thinking. Through my own book, Traumatization and Its Aftermath, I aim to emphasize that psychological concepts often lose their depth in translation and my mission is spreading awareness and fostering a deeper understanding of trauma and its intricate facets. With that idea in mind, I chose these five titles. 

Antonieta's book list on uncovering the human experience and exploring the depths of trauma

What is my book about?

A fresh take on the difference between trauma and hardship in order to help accurately spot the difference and avoid over-generalizations.

The book integrates the latest findings in brain science, child development, psycho-social context, theory, and clinical experiences to make the case that trauma is much more than a cluster of symptoms to be tamed, but instead best understood as development gone off course, away from growth and towards (only) survival.

This book prompts a profound shift in perception, inviting to view trauma as an intricate and diverse experience, a point of view that ultimately leads to sharper treatment and, hopefully, more healing. It encourages a transition from asking, "What happened to you?" to the deeper question, "What is your relationship with what happened to you?"

Traumatization and Its Aftermath: A Systemic Approach to Understanding and Treating Trauma Disorders

By Antonieta Contreras,

What is this book about?

The book is comprehensive, bold, and practical-a much-needed resource for the assessment and treatment of trauma. Instead of the traditional focus on the overall importance of healing, Traumatization and its Aftermath decodes why some people don't heal as easily as others, analyzes the various failures of diagnosis, and explains how to make therapeutic interventions truly effective.

This book offers a systemic deep dive into traumatization that clarifies myths and misinformation about the entire spectrum of trauma and provides both clinicians and non-clinicians with the right level of validation, preventive measures, conceptualization methodology, assessment tools, and healing facts that have not…


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