Here are 100 books that My Life in Leadership fans have personally recommended if you like
My Life in Leadership.
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I have been interested in leadership style since my teenage years. My father was a leader in a retailing organization, and I was entranced by behaviors that seemed to connect with others and those that did not. As I grew older, I started to think about leadership style behaviors and models that might capture the most effective ones. While I recognize that leadership needs vary based on industry, scope, and tenure, I do believe that we all should know the leadership styles that are important to us to the extent that we can describe them if we are asked to do so.
We often times spend all of our energy on the ways we should behave as a leader and do not put any energy into recognizing behaviors that are not helping us. Also, as your career unfolds, what might have worked for you previously may no longer be effective, yet we continue doing this behavior as it worked in the past.
I needed insight into my overall leadership behaviors and greater insight into behaviors I needed to evolve or move away from. Behaviors like “Failure to give proper recognition,” “Passing judgment,” and “an excessive need to be me” are all behaviors from which I needed to grow away and evolve. This is stuff we don’t hear enough of—often, we focus too much on where we need to go and not what we are doing now.
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…
I have for 28 years helped organizations around the world scale their business. I'm a dedicated innovator and thought leader in artificial intelligence and digital commerce. My passion for innovation thrives in exploring how AI can transform businesses and improve lives. I've authored 10 books and shared my insights as a professional speaker to educate, inspire, and motivate others. I love delving into the future of AI and innovation, which drives me to constantly learn and share knowledge. This list reflects the books that have significantly influenced my journey. My life is about pushing forward, always looking for alternatives to understand where those paths might lead us.
Yuval Noah Harari connects the dots between our past and the future, providing insights into how we've shaped and been shaped by innovation.
This book inspired me to think about the broader implications of AI and technology on our species. It fuels my passion for leveraging innovation to make a positive impact on society.
100,000 years ago, at least six human species inhabited the earth. Today there is just one. Us. Homo sapiens. How did our species succeed in the battle for dominance? Why did our foraging ancestors come together to create cities and kingdoms? How did we come to believe in gods, nations and human rights; to trust money, books and laws; and to be enslaved by bureaucracy, timetables and consumerism? And what will our world be like in the millennia to come?
In Sapiens, Dr Yuval Noah Harari spans the whole of human history, from the very first humans to walk the…
My family moved to Italy when I was six, and I attended Italian first grade in a fishing village where I had to rely on reading body language as I didn’t grasp the language for a bit. Fortunately for me, Italians have lots of body language to read so I could navigate the inevitable cliques and power dynamics evident even at the elementary school level. From that experience to being taken to view the Dachau concentration camp a year later, I’ve always been sensitive to how “the other” gets treated—often unfairly—and the role leaders can play for good or evil.
Emotions and emotional intelligence (EQ) aren’t taught in business school, and are rarely evident in abundance in the corner offices of CEOs. And yet here’s one ready to admit to the errors of his earlier ways, and to have adjusted his leadership style at Best Buy accordingly. If it can happen in business, why not in politics, too, perhaps saving us from leaders who lack empathy.
How to unleash "human magic" and achieve improbable results.
Hubert Joly, former CEO of Best Buy and orchestrator of the retailer's spectacular turnaround, unveils his personal playbook for achieving extraordinary outcomes by putting people and purpose at the heart of business.
Back in 2012, "Everyone thought we were going to die," says Joly. Eight years later, Best Buy was transformed as Joly and his team rebuilt the company into one of the nation's favorite employers, vastly increased customer satisfaction, and dramatically grew Best Buy's stock price. Joly and his…
I have spent the last 32 years of my life working with women leaders and aspiring women leaders all over the world and helping organizations to create more inclusive cultures. As a result, I’ve been exposed to extraordinary leaders and to terrible leaders and have seen up close the impact they have on people’s lives. This has inspired me to write 7 books and thousands of articles exploring different aspects of the leader’s journey and to deliver leadership workshops in 32 countries. What do I love? Sharing the stories that inspire me.
Vice Admiral Stosz’s extraordinary career as a US Coast Guard leader culminated in her being the first (and so far only) woman to head a major service academy. I came away from her memoir hugely inspired by her honesty and courage. I also loved her vivid descriptions of long stints on the icebreakers that ply Arctic and Antarctic waters in order to prepare the way for scientific teams, often as the only woman. Her grace and goodwill in those adventure-filled situations come shining through– and sea narratives by women are very rare.
-James Mattis, General, US Marines (ret), and 26th Secretary of Defense
Today, our nation is like a ship being tossed in tumultuous seas. The winds and waves of change have divided and distanced our society, threatening to wash away the very principles our nation was founded upon. Now more than ever, our nation needs leaders with the moral courage to stand strong and steady-leaders capable of uniting people in support of a shared purpose by building the trust and respect necessary for organizations and their people to thrive.
I have spent the last 32 years of my life working with women leaders and aspiring women leaders all over the world and helping organizations to create more inclusive cultures. As a result, I’ve been exposed to extraordinary leaders and to terrible leaders and have seen up close the impact they have on people’s lives. This has inspired me to write 7 books and thousands of articles exploring different aspects of the leader’s journey and to deliver leadership workshops in 32 countries. What do I love? Sharing the stories that inspire me.
The Captain Class examines what it takes to build a dominant and dynastic sports team: the 1949-1953 New York Yankees; the 1956-1969 Boston Celtics; the 2011-2015 New Zealand All Blacks, the Cuban Women’s volleyball team 1991-2000, Barcelona’s professional soccer team 2008-2011, Australian Women’s Field Hockey in the 1990s, The San Antonio Spurs 1997-2016. The answer may surprise those who believe the presence of an undeniable GOAT (greatest of all time, or superstar) is the key ingredient of superb and sustained success– or those who attribute sustained success to great management, overwhelming talent, or unlimited money. Rather, Walker examines the impact of exceptional player-leaders who carry the team’s culture in their bones and inspire teammates to make outsized effort through their fierce dedication and strategic intelligence.
The secret to winning is not what you think it is. It's not the coach. It's not the star. It's not money. It's not a strategy. It's something else entirely.
The founding editor of The Wall Street Journal's sports section profiles the greatest teams in history and identifies the counterintuitive leadership qualities of the unconventional men and women who drove them to succeed. Fuelled by a lifetime of sports spectating, twenty years of reporting, and a decade of painstaking research, The Captain Class is not just a book on sports; it is the key to how successful teams are built…
I have spent the last 32 years of my life working with women leaders and aspiring women leaders all over the world and helping organizations to create more inclusive cultures. As a result, I’ve been exposed to extraordinary leaders and to terrible leaders and have seen up close the impact they have on people’s lives. This has inspired me to write 7 books and thousands of articles exploring different aspects of the leader’s journey and to deliver leadership workshops in 32 countries. What do I love? Sharing the stories that inspire me.
Conway’s journey from a childhood spent on a remote Australian sheep ranch to the first female president of Smith College is remarkable and searingly honest written memoir is more than a chronicle of success. With humor and insight, Conway renders the loneliness of being the only woman in the room, the costs (in her case, early struggles with depression and substance abuse), and the sources of support and resilience that kept her going. So many leadership books identify desirable leadership traits without describing the actual experiences that go into developing as a leader. This beautifully written book vividly shows what leading looks and feels like.
Conway's The Road from Coorain presents a vivid memoir of coming of age in Australia. In 1960, however, she had reached the limits of that provincial--and irredeemably sexist--society and set off for America. True North--the testament of an extraordinary woman living in an extraordinary time--te lls the profound story of the challenges that confronted Conway, as she sought to establish her public self.
Everything in nature evolves by trial, error, and success—from fundamental physics, through evolution in biology, to how people learn, think, and decide.
This book presents a way of thinking and realistic knowledge that our formal education shuns. Stepping beyond this ignorance, the book shows how to deal with and even…
I’m a lifelong student of philosophy, leadership, and principled living. Having worked with great leaders of today and being an editor-in-chief of a leadership journal (Leader to Leader), I experience how their leadership continues the principles set forth in days long past, and I publish works by authors who are keeping these principles alive in their writing. I am grateful for the opportunity to recommend books that might help others as we grapple with how to be in the world today to create value for all.
I love this book because when I first read it, I felt I was home.
It was recommended by a friend who recognized in me a leaning toward this type of literature. In the book, Kahlil describes all the different aspects of our lives and how/who we should strive to be in these areas. For instance, we should work in love as our “work” is our service to humanity. Hence, Kahlil’s phrase "Work Is Love Made Visible."
One of the most beloved classics of our time—a collection of poetic essays that are philosophical, spiritual, and, above all, inspirational. Published in 1923, Gibran's masterpiece has been translated into more than twenty languages.
Gibran’s musings are divided into twenty-eight chapters covering such sprawling topics as love, marriage, children, giving, eating and drinking, work, joy and sorrow, housing, clothes, buying and selling, crime and punishment, laws, freedom, reason and passion, pain, self-knowledge, teaching, friendship, talking, time, good and evil, prayer, pleasure, beauty, religion, and death.
Each essay reveals deep insights into the impulses of the human heart and mind. The…
I’m a lifelong student of philosophy, leadership, and principled living. Having worked with great leaders of today and being an editor-in-chief of a leadership journal (Leader to Leader), I experience how their leadership continues the principles set forth in days long past, and I publish works by authors who are keeping these principles alive in their writing. I am grateful for the opportunity to recommend books that might help others as we grapple with how to be in the world today to create value for all.
If there were two books that I could take with me to a desert island to read until the end of days, they would be this one and My Life in Leadership by Frances Hesselbein. This one because it is the story of the life of Buddha and because Thich Nhat Hahn writes this story in the most engagingly gentle prose.
Presenting the life and teachings of Gautama Buddha, drawn directly from 24 Pali, Sanskrit, and Chinese sources—and retold by beloved Zen teacher Thich Nhat Hanh
Retold in Thich Nhat Hanh’s inimitably beautiful style, this book traces the Buddha’s life over the course of 80 years—partly through the eyes of Svasti, the buffalo boy, and partly through the eyes of the Buddha himself. Old Path White Clouds is a classic of religious literature.
“I have not avoided including the various difficulties the Buddha encountered, both from his own disciples and in relation to the wider society. If the Buddha appears in…
Leadership is always the key to success in strategic planning for any organization. Great leaders can drive their organizations to success, while poor leadership can crater the organization and take generations for it to rebuild. A good leader is essential in the aspect of providing good morale for the employees of the organization. Good leadership factors cause the organization to be seen as cutting edge and as an organization that others want to go work for in an effort to be better themselves. An organization with a superior strategic planning process, will have great leaders and employees to not only formulate the plan, but also execute the plan successfully.
History is full of military men and commanders who have had to possess leadership qualities and decision-making abilities to be successful in the field and in life.
This book has a number of great qualities described throughout the book that public managers should take note of in order to be successful. I love the 10 commandments format for the book. The case studies throughout the book for both warfare and business are very insightful, and I feel beneficial for leaders to understand how the principles described are applied in real-life situations.
Richard Marcinko's explosive #1 New York Times bestselling autobiography, Rogue Warrior, chronicled the wild, death-defying adventures of his thirty controversial years as a Navy commando and creator of the legendary SEAL TEAM SIX. Three blockbuster Rogue Warrior novels transformed classified information he could never reveal in nonfiction into blistering tales of international warfare and counterterrorism. Now, writing in the tradition of A Book of Five Rings by Miyamoto Musashi, Japan's greatest samurai, Marcinko blasts other self-help guides out of the water. In LEADERSHIP SECRETS OF THE ROGUE WARRIOR, he shows how anyone can apply the skills he has honed throughout…
This manual addresses the need to ensure that people are at the centre of the organisation. There has never been a timelier reminder of the need to ensure that leading, supporting and developing staff are critical aspects of creating the right organisational culture to grow and develop. Written with sensitivity,…
One remarkable leader I've studied, Bob Davids, said that the greatest scarcity in the world is not oil or food but leadership. For two decades, I've been on a quest to uncover the essence of a transformational leader, someone who cultivates an environment where employees' needs are so well-addressed that they are eager to show up and give their best every day. This journey led me to study hundreds of leaders and books, all serving as the foundation for my thoughts and writings. I trust that these books will kickstart your own journey. Mine has guided me to play a pivotal role in the corporate liberation movement, involving hundreds of leaders who have transformed their organizations.
I love basketball and was thrilled that John Wooden, ESPN's best 20th-century coach, wrote on leadership. What intrigued me even more is that the book contains few basketball stories. Its theme is universal: How a leader builds a value-and vision-based organizational culture, resulting in perennial success.
Everyone knows that Wooden’s UCLA team won 10 NCAA championships in a span of 12 years, but I was surprised to learn that it took Wooden 15 years to transform UCLA and win the first title.
I admire Wooden’s key to leadership: “Success is peace of mind, which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you made the effort to become the best you are capable of becoming.” As a byproduct of this success, UCLA won 10 titles. Now, I understand why my team—the Knicks—is not getting there.
The acclaimed guide to leadership excellence and competitive success from one of America's greatest coaches: John Wooden "Talent to spare, or spare on talent," Wooden writes, "a leader's goal remains the same, namely, getting the very best out of the people in your organization." In The Essential Wooden he tells readers how to do this and achieve championship results, whether you lead a small team or run a corporation. When it came to managing a group of individuals and achieving world-class results, no one did it better than Coach John Wooden. This landmark leadership manual presents Wooden's own hand-picked directives…
