My favorite books with real talk by women authors

Leading with Grit and Grace outlines the journey of an organization’s cultural transformation as told by its inspirational leader, Ashleigh Walters.

For Kathy, when reading this book, it felt as though she and Ashleigh had gone to the exact same school of leadership. Although in reality, it’s not a traditional leadership school, but becoming educated as a real live manufacturing leader, with all of its trials and joys.

Her book made Kathy feel as though she instantly had a kindred spirit out there, and she could not stop smiling through the entirety of this true story!

Many women struggle with confidence in some aspect of their lives, but Alex Perry let’s you know you are not alone in the Minivan.

She is right there next to you talking about all the things that deplete our confidence and provides practical, thoughtful ways to overcome them. Alex shares hilarious stories throughout the book that are highly relatable and by the end you feel like you have a new best friend.

This book is authentic, encourages you to be your once in a lifetime self, reminds you that we are all awkward and to embrace all of it! Jump in the Minivan with Alex and take her advice on why being confident can be so much easier than doubting your fabulous self. Shannon did and enjoyed every word!

Kathy loved this book by Jane Dutton, and found herself exclaiming, “Yes!” as she read through this book that validated the energy she did receive abundantly through small moments of connection at work!

As a senior executive, Kathy could have thousands of people in her organization. Wanting to know each and every one of them was a luxury she could not afford, so she did her best to make those opportunities she did have for meaningful connections, no matter how brief, to count for her and the other person with whom she was interacting.

Jane systematically provides the science of how and why this works, along with so many useful tools for those to whom this does not come naturally!

Every parent with school-age children should read The Effort Myth! 

Sherri teaches parents how to help their children become independent, lifelong learners with the foundation of, “It’s not how hard you try that leads to success. It’s how you try hard.” Even if your child doesn’t struggle in school, Sherri taught Shannon ways to be a better parent for her child. 

She taught her how to really listen to what her child was telling her they wanted or needed, instead of assuming she knew. How to use coaching techniques to help with homework or tasks instead of saying, “Just try! Do the work! Put in the effort! (All phrases Shannon had previously used).

This book gave Shannon more confidence in ways to parent her child toward success!

If you suffer at times from Imposter Syndrome, as many women do, including Shannon, then you should pick up this book! 

Valerie provides insights into why we often think we are fooling others with our success. She asks thoughtful questions to help you become more self-aware of your competence type and how that affects your own self-sabotage and self-doubt.

She opened Shannon’s eyes to how women perceive and project their failure and provides incredibly helpful suggestions on how to flip the script on your thought process. Valerie created a safe space to help us all do some reflection, recognize we aren’t the only one’s carrying around this Imposter Syndrome and explains how to overcome it!