19 books like Regenerative Leadership

By Giles Hutchins, Laura Storm,

Here are 19 books that Regenerative Leadership fans have personally recommended if you like Regenerative Leadership. Shepherd is a community of 12,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

Book cover of Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking

Elaine Lin Hering Author Of Unlearning Silence: How to Speak Your Mind, Unleash Talent, and Live More Fully

From my list on helping you realize you’re not the problem.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve finally realized that you can’t outwork yourself out of systemic problems and that so many of the messages we receive have got the problem wrong. Growing up, I was taught to respect my elders. To defer to those who know what they are talking about. But just because someone says something with conviction doesn’t mean they are right. What we’ve been told is imposter syndrome could actually be imposter treatment, and it messes deeply with our sense of self. So even if I’ve taught at brand name institutions, at corporate heavyweights, and on six continents, I’m always seeking to learn.

Elaine's book list on helping you realize you’re not the problem

Elaine Lin Hering Why did Elaine love this book?

This book opened my eyes to see introversion as a strength rather than a weakness. But more so, it gave me the permission to question how things that we took as “just the way things are” might have been positioned incorrectly from the start.

If it wasn’t true that introversion is inherently worse than extroversion, what else might popular culture and mainstream workplace practices have gotten wrong? I felt seen by the book and hopeful of what more honest conversations about how people are wired might both reveal and help heal. 

By Susan Cain,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

SUSAN CAIN'S NEW BOOK, BITTERSWEET, IS AVAILABLE TO PRE-ORDER NOW

A SUNDAY TIMES AND NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER, THIS BOOK WILL CHANGE HOW YOU SEE INTROVERTS - AND YOURSELF - FOREVER.

Our lives are driven by a fact that most of us can't name and don't understand. It defines who our friends and lovers are, which careers we choose, and whether we blush when we're embarrassed.

That fact is whether we're an introvert or an extrovert.

The most fundamental dimension of personality, at least a third of us are introverts, and yet shyness, sensitivity and seriousness are often seen as…


Book cover of Leadership and the New Science: Discovering Order in a Chaotic World

Lorraine Flower Author Of Heartful Business: Leading with the World in Mind

From my list on leading business consciously to create a better world for all.

Why am I passionate about this?

I love businesses and have been lucky enough to work for and with some great ones in my career in senior leadership positions. For me, leadership is an extraordinary privilege, so we have a responsibility to do it well and keep learning and improving ourselves and the organisations we lead. My journey into more conscious leadership began over 30 years ago, well ahead of the current movement, and it has progressively become the passion driving my work to help leaders and organisations contribute to building a better world. This passion also drives my service with a number of spiritual communities, including Sundial House and the Community of Living Ethics.

Lorraine's book list on leading business consciously to create a better world for all

Lorraine Flower Why did Lorraine love this book?

Wheatley took me into the world of interconnectedness and systems in leadership and organisations on a relational level long before systems became a hot topic in leadership and organisations. She described the world of work I could see but didn’t yet live in.

Though published more than 30 years ago, its strategies and practical advice for leaders are as powerful and relevant now as they were surprising and challenging in terms of the accepted wisdom of the leadership of that time.

Though science isn’t my thing, I love how Wheatley blends science–insights from chaos theory, quantum physics, and biology–to open up an understanding of organisational dynamics and emergence. I love the note of optimism running through the book that would surely stir all but the most ‘set in their ways’ leaders to different action.

By Margaret J. Wheatley,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Leadership and the New Science as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The new edition of the bestselling, acclaimed, and influential guide to applying the new science to organizations and management. In this new edition, Margaret Wheatley describes how the new science radically alters our understanding of the world and how it can teach us to live and work well together in these chaotic times.
 
We live in a time of chaos, rich in potential for new possibilities. A new world is being born. We need new ideas, new ways of seeing, and new relationships to help us now. New science—the new discoveries in biology, chaos theory, and quantum physics that are…


Book cover of The Systems View of Life: A Unifying Vision

Cindy Engel Author Of Wild Health: How Animals Keep Themselves Well and What We Can Learn from Them

From my list on science books that join the dots.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have always been interested in the overview, the joined-up, the patterns, trends, and directions rather than the details of things. As a biologist, this led me to study animal behaviour rather than molecules. Great things come from the cross-overs between disciplines. Bridges are there to be made between islands of knowledge. Both my books (Wild Health and Another Self) are books that bridge a huge divide between knowledge acquired from reductionist research and that gained by experience. We humans use both.

Cindy's book list on science books that join the dots

Cindy Engel Why did Cindy love this book?

This science book is so joined up that its subtitle is A Unifying Vision.

The authors draw together a broad range of scientific disciplines to present a holistic view of how life emerged and, more importantly, how life is organized. You might be surprised to hear that biologists still don’t know how life organizes itself. The question is usually left to philosophers rather than biologists. So it's good to read all this material brought into one place.

By Fritjof Capra, Pier Luigi Luisi,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked The Systems View of Life as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Over the past thirty years, a new systemic conception of life has emerged at the forefront of science. New emphasis has been given to complexity, networks, and patterns of organisation, leading to a novel kind of 'systemic' thinking. This volume integrates the ideas, models, and theories underlying the systems view of life into a single coherent framework. Taking a broad sweep through history and across scientific disciplines, the authors examine the appearance of key concepts such as autopoiesis, dissipative structures, social networks, and a systemic understanding of evolution. The implications of the systems view of life for health care, management,…


Book cover of Theory U: Leading from the Future as It Emerges

Bettina von Stamm Author Of The Other Side of Growth: An Innovator's Responsibilities in an Emerging World

From my list on today’s complex world and help our planet.

Why am I passionate about this?

As an innovation expert for over 30 years, I've been cautioning about the "dark side" of innovation and emphasized the importance of sustainability. Though in light of the urgency of our planet's situation, we need to shift our focus from sustainability to regeneration. The unprecedented complexity and connectedness of today’s world demand thinking in systems, and the kind of innovation that leads to the transformation of our current social and economic systems so we can live in harmony with nature. This requires us to question who we collaborate with, what we value, and how we create value. We need to work together differently, with different leadership, and to change our own ways of thinking.

Bettina's book list on today’s complex world and help our planet

Bettina von Stamm Why did Bettina love this book?

If the first two books provide the general context and rationale for systemic approaches, the following three will offer some guidance for the other necessities for thriving in the 21st century: achieving transformational change, shifting towards urgently needed regeneration, and the twin path of developing as a person and as a leader in order to facilitate the transformational change we need.

By now (almost) everyone will have realized: we cannot continue on the trajectories we are currently on, there is just not enough planet left. But how do we go about introducing the transformative change we so urgently need?

We all know how challenging change is, be it at the personal or organizational level. Otto has developed a systemic approach that is based on collaboration and co-creation, considers systems and has been proven to work (which he illustrates through case studies from around the world).

Again their courses and…

By Otto Scharmer,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Theory U as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Access the deepest source of inspiration and vision

We live in a time of massive institutional failure that manifests in the form of three major divides: the ecological, the social, and the spiritual. Addressing these challenges requires a new consciousness and collective leadership capacity. In this groundbreaking book, Otto Scharmer invites us to see the world in new ways and in so doing discover a revolutionary approach to learning and leadership.

In most large systems today, we collectively create results that no one wants. What keeps us stuck in such patterns of the past? It’s our blind spot, that is,…


Book cover of Personal and Organizational Transformation Towards Sustainability: Walking a Twin-Path

Bettina von Stamm Author Of The Other Side of Growth: An Innovator's Responsibilities in an Emerging World

From my list on today’s complex world and help our planet.

Why am I passionate about this?

As an innovation expert for over 30 years, I've been cautioning about the "dark side" of innovation and emphasized the importance of sustainability. Though in light of the urgency of our planet's situation, we need to shift our focus from sustainability to regeneration. The unprecedented complexity and connectedness of today’s world demand thinking in systems, and the kind of innovation that leads to the transformation of our current social and economic systems so we can live in harmony with nature. This requires us to question who we collaborate with, what we value, and how we create value. We need to work together differently, with different leadership, and to change our own ways of thinking.

Bettina's book list on today’s complex world and help our planet

Bettina von Stamm Why did Bettina love this book?

It is clear, at least to me, that significant, indeed transformation change is necessary if we are to preserve the beauty of our planet.

Well, not only the beauty, its ability to sustain life.

For such transformation to happen, we need to start with ourselves – most people will be familiar with the quote by Mahatma Gandhi: be the change you want to see in the world.

In her book Dorothea shares her own story, which is a journey of integrating the innovation and sustainability agendas for Philips, and of realizing the connectedness of the own personal development journey and the journey of developing as a leader.

By Dorothea Ernst,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Personal and Organizational Transformation Towards Sustainability as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Inspired by the WBCSD Vision 2050 in which "all people live well within the limits of the planet", this book asks how do we achieve this bold ambition? Telling a story of personal growth and corporate transformation, it provides insights and tools for anyone driving sustainable development within their organizations and in their own lives. Discover how you can consciously use your professional role as a source of change. Learn how the consistent use of few, yet meaningful visuals, enables generative dialogue and communication for aligned problem solving within multi-disciplinary and multi-stakeholder teams. See how personal mastery can guide you…


Book cover of Awakening Compassion at Work: The Quiet Power that Elevates People and Organizations

Ingrid Biese Author Of Men Do It Too: Opting Out and In

From my list on to change working life as we know it.

Why am I passionate about this?

In 2009, I opted out of a career in consulting to pursue a PhD in Sociology and to research women who opt out of successful careers to live and work on their own terms. I was convinced that it wasn’t a women’s issue but a contemporary one and I later went on to research men opting out. As I collect stories of people who opt out and in, it becomes clear that opting out is a symptom of contemporary organizational cultures and the way we are expected to work. I’m on a mission to change working life as we know it and these books have been enormously helpful to me. 

Ingrid's book list on to change working life as we know it

Ingrid Biese Why did Ingrid love this book?

You know how people say ‘it’s business, it’s not personal’? Well that’s just wrong, business is personal because it’s made up of people – people with lives, families, hopes, fears, and dreams.

The authors argue that one of the main problems with our workplaces is that there isn’t enough compassion at work. Workplaces rob their employees of humanity and motivation, which has a negative effect on employee wellbeing, but also organizational potential. I have seen this in my own research and I have to say I couldn’t agree more.

The authors do a great job showing us that compassion isn’t a so-called ‘soft’ value, but a hard-core business strategy. The book’s strength is that it also works as a handbook for organizations to become more compassionate and caring. 

By Monica C. Worline, Jane E. Dutton,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Awakening Compassion at Work as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Caring Is a Competitive Advantage

Suffering in the workplace can rob our colleagues and coworkers of humanity, dignity, and motivation and is an unrecognized and costly drain on organizational potential. Marshaling evidence from two decades of field research, scholars and consultants Monica Worline and Jane Dutton show that alleviating such suffering confers measurable competitive advantages in areas like innovation, collaboration, service quality, and talent attraction and retention. They outline four steps for meeting suffering with compassion and show how to build a capacity for compassion into the structures and practices of an organization—because ultimately, as they write, “Compassion is an…


Book cover of Nine Lies About Work: A Freethinking Leader's Guide to the Real World

Ingrid Biese Author Of Men Do It Too: Opting Out and In

From my list on to change working life as we know it.

Why am I passionate about this?

In 2009, I opted out of a career in consulting to pursue a PhD in Sociology and to research women who opt out of successful careers to live and work on their own terms. I was convinced that it wasn’t a women’s issue but a contemporary one and I later went on to research men opting out. As I collect stories of people who opt out and in, it becomes clear that opting out is a symptom of contemporary organizational cultures and the way we are expected to work. I’m on a mission to change working life as we know it and these books have been enormously helpful to me. 

Ingrid's book list on to change working life as we know it

Ingrid Biese Why did Ingrid love this book?

This book is an entertaining read, but it is also to the point and spot on. It debunks nine so-called ‘truths’ about work, management, and organizations that are well-established practices and ways of thinking in the organizational sphere.

According to the authors these ‘lies’ are root causes of much of the dysfunction and frustration in organizations today (which I have seen a lot of in my work and research) and they suggest how we should think about these things instead in order for our organizations – and the people in them – to thrive.

By Marcus Buckingham, Ashley Goodall,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Nine Lies About Work as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Forget what you know about the world of work

You crave feedback. Your organization's culture is the key to its success. Strategic planning is essential. Your competencies should be measured and your weaknesses shored up. Leadership is a thing.

These may sound like basic truths of our work lives today. But actually, they're lies. As strengths guru and bestselling author Marcus Buckingham and Cisco Leadership and Team Intelligence head Ashley Goodall show in this provocative, inspiring book, there are some big lies--distortions, faulty assumptions, wrong thinking--that we encounter every time we show up for work. Nine lies, to be exact.…


Book cover of Dying for a Paycheck: How Modern Management Harms Employee Health and Company Performance―and What We Can Do About It

Peter Cappelli Author Of Our Least Important Asset: Why the Relentless Focus on Finance and Accounting is Bad for Business and Employees

From my list on hate your job and dread job hunting.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have been researching the changes in the workplace for 40 years now. The steady move over that time has been away from a situation where employers controlled the development of their “talent” and managed it carefully, especially for white-collar workers, toward arrangements that are much more arms-length where employees are on their own to develop their skills and manage their career. Most employees now see at least some management practices that just don’t make sense even for their own employer–casual approaches to hiring, using “leased employees” and contractors, who are paid more, to do the same work as employees, leaving vacancies open, and so forth.

Peter's book list on hate your job and dread job hunting

Peter Cappelli Why did Peter love this book?

Most of the discussion about whether jobs are good or bad focuses on wages. The sociologists add the concern about uncertainty–will my job last?

What gets far less attention is the fact that the way we manage employees has a direct and profound effect on their mental health and, in turn, on their physical health.

This is a new finding and an important one. We can see a direct effect of bad management practices on employee sickness and death. As documented here, stress kills.

By Jeffrey Pfeffer,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Dying for a Paycheck as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In one survey, 61 percent of employees said that workplace stress had made them sick and 7 percent said they had actually been hospitalized. Job stress costs US employers more than $300 billion annually and may cause 120,000 excess deaths each year. In China, 1 million people a year may be dying from overwork.  People are literally dying for a paycheck. And it needs to stop.

In this timely, provocative book, Jeffrey Pfeffer contends that many modern management commonalities such as long work hours, work-family conflict, and economic insecurity are toxic to employees—hurting engagement, increasing turnover, and destroying people’s physical…


Book cover of COVID-19: The Great Reset

Winston Dookeran Author Of The Caribbean on the Edge: The Political Stress of Stability, Equality, and Diplomacy

From my list on political stress of stability, equality, and diplomacy.

Why am I passionate about this?

As a student, I was intrigued by Newton’s laws of motion. As I grew older, I sought to understand how these laws apply in a real-world setting of economics and politics. I spent my full professional life in this search and held several positions – Minister of Finance, Governor of the Central Bank, Minister of Foreign Affairs. I was decorated over the years with several awards. I had a good education at the London School of Economics and at Harvard University. After it all, I still did not quite comprehend how Newton’s Laws work to advance the quality of life in communities and countries. The Caribbean on The Edge is a reflection of that journey.

Winston's book list on political stress of stability, equality, and diplomacy

Winston Dookeran Why did Winston love this book?

This book sets the global challenge due to the Covid -19 pandemic. As such, taken together, the books bring into focus new thinking in the old orthodoxies in economic theory, and their arguments fit together. I believe that the World Economic Forum's claim of ‘inclusivity,' often challenged, could find a ready answer in my book that allows them an opportunity to include the plight of small Caribbean states in their focus.

By Klaus Schwab, Thierry Malleret,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked COVID-19 as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

"COVID-19: The Great Reset" is a guide for anyone who wants to understand how COVID-19 disrupted our social and economic systems, and what changes will be needed to create a more inclusive, resilient and sustainable world going forward. Klaus Schwab, founder and executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum, and Thierry Malleret, founder of the Monthly Barometer, explore what the root causes of this crisis were, and why they lead to a need for a Great Reset.

Theirs is a worrying, yet hopeful analysis. COVID-19 has created a great disruptive reset of our global social, economic, and political systems. But…


Book cover of We Should All Be Millionaires: A Woman's Guide to Earning More, Building Wealth, and Gaining Economic Power

Mahlena-Rae Johnson Author Of Speak Anyway: A Public Speaking Guide for Introverted CEOs with Stage Fright

From my list on books for introverted leaders who need to get out of their own way.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am a writer. That is the simplest way to condense the comedic, entrepreneurial, megalomaniacal human who appears in this form. And yes, I am an introvert, but one of the few who lacks stage fright. Additionally, I have met four of the five authors on this list. I am hoping the fifth one invites me to speak on her new journey to Unlock Your Big Energy. In conclusion, I 💜choco chip cookies, Murder, She Wrote, and BTS, in that order. Thank you for reading. 🙂

Mahlena-Rae's book list on books for introverted leaders who need to get out of their own way

Mahlena-Rae Johnson Why did Mahlena-Rae love this book?

Isn’t six figures enough? No, it’s not.” - Rachel Rodgers.

Since 2017, I have told anyone who will listen that I want to be a Billionaire Mum. Only $1B to go. I rarely got pushback, but I also rarely met anyone who had actual dreams, goals, or plans to become a millionaire, much less a billionaire. Then, in 2021, Rachel wrote the book that showed me why making millions of dollars in profit is necessary to make my dreams come true.

My biggest dream is to create a community of fellow ethical billionaires, host Mahlena's Davos–an alternative to the yearly World Economic Forumand make the Earth a more equitable place. What is yours?

By Rachel Rodgers,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked We Should All Be Millionaires as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Are you ready to fill your life with more peace, power, and joy?

We Should All Be Millionaires details a realistic, achievable, step-by-step path to creating the support, confidence, and plan you need to own your success and become the millionaire the world needs you to be.

Only 10 percent of the world's millionaires are women, making it difficult for women to wield the economic power that will create lasting equality. Whatever is stopping you from having seven figures in the bank-whether it's shaky confidence, knowledge gaps when it comes to wealth building tactics, imposter syndrome, a janky mindset about…


Book cover of Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking
Book cover of Leadership and the New Science: Discovering Order in a Chaotic World
Book cover of The Systems View of Life: A Unifying Vision

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