19 books like Women and Leadership

By Julia Gillard, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala,

Here are 19 books that Women and Leadership fans have personally recommended if you like Women and Leadership. Shepherd is a community of 10,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Book cover of The Speed of Trust: The One Thing That Changes Everything

Marianne Broadbent Author Of The Agile Executive: Embracing Career Risks and Rewards

From my list on aspiring women leaders.

Why am I passionate about this?

My passion for leadership and aspiring women leaders comes from my own leadership experiences and working with women and men executives and aspiring executives, every day. I had to make some difficult work choices in my 20s and 30s (with four young children) and was wonderfully supported by some wise women. Many of my choices were different from my peers and we continue to have to make more difficult choices than our male colleagues. We need to help each other, every day. I lead a blended life co-leading an executive search and leadership advisory firm, while also being a mother, grandmother, wife, mentor, friend, and lover of good music, theatre, food, wine, and curious people. 

Marianne's book list on aspiring women leaders

Marianne Broadbent Why did Marianne love this book?

Covey’s book unlocks the nature of Trust and its critical value in life and leadership.

He explains that trust is about confidence in a person or relationship. To be trusted we need to be credible and he illuminates the four cores of credibility in two categories – our confidence in someone’s Character and our confidence in their Competence. The two core attributes of Character are Integrity and Intent. The two core attributes of Competence are Results and Credibility.

This clear explanation, and some of Covey’s diagnostics, have been very helpful to me in really understanding the notion of Trust and then working with executive to enable them to build greater trust and vulnerability with each other. Trust is the bedrock of great teams and great relationships. 

By Stephen M. R. Covey, Rebecca R. Merrill,

Why should I read it?

5 authors picked The Speed of Trust as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

From Stephen R. Covey's eldest son come a revolutionary book, now in handy B-format, that will guide business leaders, public figures and their organizations towards unprecedented productivity and satisfaction. Trust, says Stephen M. R. Covey, is the very basis of the 21st century's global economy, but its power is generally overlooked and misunderstood. Covey shows you how to inspire immediate trust in everyone you encounter - colleagues, constituents, the marketplace - allowing you to forego the time-killing and energy-draining check and balance bureaucracies that are so often relied upon in lieu of actual trust.


Book cover of Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead

Marianne Broadbent Author Of The Agile Executive: Embracing Career Risks and Rewards

From my list on aspiring women leaders.

Why am I passionate about this?

My passion for leadership and aspiring women leaders comes from my own leadership experiences and working with women and men executives and aspiring executives, every day. I had to make some difficult work choices in my 20s and 30s (with four young children) and was wonderfully supported by some wise women. Many of my choices were different from my peers and we continue to have to make more difficult choices than our male colleagues. We need to help each other, every day. I lead a blended life co-leading an executive search and leadership advisory firm, while also being a mother, grandmother, wife, mentor, friend, and lover of good music, theatre, food, wine, and curious people. 

Marianne's book list on aspiring women leaders

Marianne Broadbent Why did Marianne love this book?

For me, Sandberg’s book remains a major and critical contribution to how women lead, how we are perceived, and how we can improve as leaders.

It is also one of the most misquoted and maligned books which I find disappointing. Those who are overly critical probably have not read the book or are biased because of Sandberg’s employer. When I read Lean In, I thought, ‘Great, I don’t need to do all that research as it has been done.'

It inspired me instead to share my own story and that of others who inspire me every day. Sandberg reminds us that so much that is in our hands, to not be dissuaded, but to ‘lean in’ and create our own agendas at work, home, and everywhere.  

By Sheryl Sandberg,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Lean In as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Sheryl Sandberg's Lean In is a massive cultural phenomenon and its title has become an instant catchphrase for empowering women. The book soared to the top of bestseller lists internationally, igniting global conversations about women and ambition. Sandberg packed theatres, dominated opinion pages, appeared on every major television show and on the cover of Time magazine, and sparked ferocious debate about women and leadership.

Ask most women whether they have the right to equality at work and the answer will be a resounding yes, but ask the same women whether they'd feel confident asking for a raise, a promotion, or…


Book cover of The Advantage: Why Organizational Health Trumps Everything Else In Business

Marianne Broadbent Author Of The Agile Executive: Embracing Career Risks and Rewards

From my list on aspiring women leaders.

Why am I passionate about this?

My passion for leadership and aspiring women leaders comes from my own leadership experiences and working with women and men executives and aspiring executives, every day. I had to make some difficult work choices in my 20s and 30s (with four young children) and was wonderfully supported by some wise women. Many of my choices were different from my peers and we continue to have to make more difficult choices than our male colleagues. We need to help each other, every day. I lead a blended life co-leading an executive search and leadership advisory firm, while also being a mother, grandmother, wife, mentor, friend, and lover of good music, theatre, food, wine, and curious people. 

Marianne's book list on aspiring women leaders

Marianne Broadbent Why did Marianne love this book?

The Advantage lays out a compelling case that if an organization has strong organizational health it is well placed to succeed in its goals and in its industry.

Good organizational health embraces great teamwork, clear and consistent company culture and goals, and how to have effective meetings. Lencioni brings together many pragmatic and practical perspectives through many years of working with executive teams.

The key element for me is his articulation of the ‘five dysfunctions of teams’ and then how to address these. That one chart has been pivotal to my facilitation of many challenging executive discussions with clients, particularly when paired with Covey’s approach to trust and trust building.

Modelling Trust is the first step in building effective executive teams. 

By Patrick M. Lencioni,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked The Advantage as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

There is a competitive advantage out there, arguably more powerful than any other. Is it superior strategy? Faster innovation? Smarter employees? No, New York Times best-selling author, Patrick Lencioni, argues that the seminal difference between successful companies and mediocre ones has little to do with what they know and how smart they are and more to do with how healthy they are. In this book, Lencioni brings together his vast experience and many of the themes cultivated in his other best-selling books and delivers a first: a cohesive and comprehensive exploration of the unique advantage organizational health provides. Simply put,…


Book cover of Yes to the Mess: Surprising Leadership Lessons from Jazz

Marianne Broadbent Author Of The Agile Executive: Embracing Career Risks and Rewards

From my list on aspiring women leaders.

Why am I passionate about this?

My passion for leadership and aspiring women leaders comes from my own leadership experiences and working with women and men executives and aspiring executives, every day. I had to make some difficult work choices in my 20s and 30s (with four young children) and was wonderfully supported by some wise women. Many of my choices were different from my peers and we continue to have to make more difficult choices than our male colleagues. We need to help each other, every day. I lead a blended life co-leading an executive search and leadership advisory firm, while also being a mother, grandmother, wife, mentor, friend, and lover of good music, theatre, food, wine, and curious people. 

Marianne's book list on aspiring women leaders

Marianne Broadbent Why did Marianne love this book?

Early in my varied career I had musical training in piano and sang in choirs, including with orchestras.

The notion of a leader as an orchestra conductor, never appealed, as orchestras usually play set music. Leadership is usually not like that: situations are unpredictable, crises occur, and we take people in new directions.

Having observed one of my jazz-playing sons, I started using jazz groups and improvisation as a better analogy: a group of people who have a common goal, each have their own talents and want to explore musical journeys differently. They allow each other to ‘shine’ in a supportive and trusted environment.

The journey is greater than the individual parts. Barrett’s book then validated my messy thinking, and articulated these leadership lessons very well.  

By Frank J. Barrett,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Yes to the Mess as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

What Duke Ellington and Miles Davis teach us about leadership How do you cope when faced with complexity and constant change at work? Here's what the world's best leaders and teams do: they improvise. They invent novel responses and take calculated risks without a scripted plan or a safety net that guarantees specific outcomes. They negotiate with each other as they proceed, and they don't dwell on mistakes or stifle each other's ideas. In short, they say "yes to the mess" that is today's hurried, harried, yet enormously innovative and fertile world of work. This is exactly what great jazz…


Book cover of Talk: NPR's Susan Stamberg Considers All Things

Lisa Napoli Author Of Susan, Linda, Nina & Cokie: The Extraordinary Story of the Founding Mothers of NPR

From my list on National Public Radio and how it all works.

Why am I passionate about this?

As a career journalist who has worked in print, online, on the radio and on television, I’ve long been intrigued by the influence of mass media and the vast technological changes in how information is transmitted that have occurred over the course of my career. Burnt out from the daily deadlines and transformed by a chance to work in the Kingdom of Bhutan, I began writing books and gravitate toward the “origin stories” of influential US entities.

Lisa's book list on National Public Radio and how it all works

Lisa Napoli Why did Lisa love this book?

Stamberg is a pioneer broadcaster, whom Mitchell appointed to host a nightly newscast and as someone who worked in public radio back when it was called "educational broadcasting." Read this book of annotated transcripts of some of her best interviews and see why she got a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for putting public radio on the proverbial map. Bonus: Linda Wertheimer's Listening to America, derived from her years as host of ATC, and long-time Morning Edition host Bob Edwards’ memoir, A Life in the Box.

By Susan Stamberg,

Why should I read it?

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


Book cover of Extremities

Mike Thorn Author Of Darkest Hours

From my list on debut horror short story collections.

Why am I passionate about this?

Mike Thorn is the author of Shelter for the Damned, Darkest Hours, and Peel Back and See. His fiction has appeared in numerous magazines, anthologies, and podcasts, including Vastarien, Dark Moon Digest, and The NoSleep Podcast. His books have earned praise from Jamie Blanks (director of Urban Legend and Valentine), Jeffrey Reddick (creator of Final Destination), and Daniel Goldhaber (director of Cam). His essays and articles have been published in American Twilight: The Cinema of Tobe Hooper (University of Texas Press), The Film Stage, and elsewhere. 

Mike's book list on debut horror short story collections

Mike Thorn Why did Mike love this book?

Kathe Koja changed everything with the release of The Cipher in 1991, emerging as the most exhilarating new voice in American dark fiction since the arrival of Stephen King nearly two decades prior. Her work is characterized by hyper-sensory immersion into complex subjectivities, achieved by an inimitable, modernism-tinged voice. Koja is a master novelist, and it’s a rush to read her style within the more condensed form of short fiction; once you’re finished with Extremities, be sure to pick up her genre-expanding 2020 collection, Velo/Cities.

By Kathe Koja,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

Blending elements of horror, fantasy, and science fiction, an imaginative anthology of seventeen short stories by a Bram Stoker and Locus Award-winning author includes "Disquieting Muse," "Anels in Love," "Bird Superior," and "The Neglected Garden." IP.


Book cover of In Adamless Eden: The Community of Women Faculty at Wellesley

Nancy Woloch Author Of The Insider: A Life of Virginia C. Gildersleeve

From my list on women’s colleges and their histories.

Why am I passionate about this?

As a teacher of US women’s history and educational history, I have long been interested in women’s colleges—in their faculties, administrators, students, alumnae, goals, and achievements. Most recently, as the biographer of a woman educator (a dean of Barnard College in the early 20th century), I became more deeply involved with the literature on single-sex schools. Major books focus on the older women’s colleges, the “Seven Sisters,” but devote attention to other colleges as well. I am impressed with the talents of historians, with their skill at asking questions of their subjects, with the intensity of mission at the women’s schools, and with changing styles of campus culture.

Nancy's book list on women’s colleges and their histories

Nancy Woloch Why did Nancy love this book?

In its early decades, from the 1880s to the 1930s, Wellesley College boasted not merely a woman president but—alone among the “Seven Sisters”—an exclusively female faculty. Palmieri examines the impact of an all-woman community on the college’s students, professors, traditions, and development. A model exploration of campus culture, highly original, and a fascinating read.

By Patricia Ann Palmieri,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked In Adamless Eden as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Wellesley College was unique in its commitment to an exclusively female faculty, and has educated women such as Katharine Lee Bates and Hillary Clinton. This book is a narrative history of the first generation of Wellesley professors.


Book cover of The End of Prosperity: How Higher Taxes Will Doom the Economy--If We Let It Happen

Michael G. Pento Author Of The Coming Bond Market Collapse: How to Survive the Demise of the U.S. Debt Market

From my list on fiscal destruction of America’s foundation of freedom.

Why am I passionate about this?

My passion is to prepare clients' investments for the impending debt crisis. That is why I started Pento Portfolio Strategies and created the Inflation/Deflation and Economic Cycle Model. The US faces an entirely new paradigm – due to onerous debt, central banks are forced to either massively monetize the nation's debt or allow a cathartic deflationary depression to reset the economy. Our government is now compelled to seek a condition of perpetual inflation to maintain the illusion of prosperity and solvency. Our central bank is now walking the economy on a tightrope between inflation and deflation. This will require a vastly different and active investment strategy to fit the new dynamic.

Michael's book list on fiscal destruction of America’s foundation of freedom

Michael G. Pento Why did Michael love this book?

Laffer, Moore, and Tanous cut through the noise of party politics and examine the economic policies of past administrations.

They argue that Nixon (R) was the worst president by promulgating a weak dollar and instituting price controls. Kennedy (D) was one of the best presidents highlighting his optimism and achieving economic growth by cutting taxes.

And, of course, Ronald Reagen, whose low tax, low regulation, and pro-growth policies lifted this country from its deep morass, saved it from stagflation, and led to the eventual downfall of the USSR.

They also suggest where we go from here, arguing that low taxes and a stable dollar lead to economic prosperity.

By Arthur B. Laffer, Stephen Moore, Peter Tanous

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?


Now available in paperback with a new updated chapter, this timely book by three distinguished economists delivers an urgent message: Americans risk losing their high standard of living if the pro-growth policies of the last twenty-five years are reversed by a new president.

Since the early 1980s, the United States has experienced a wave of prosperity almost unprecedented in history in terms of wealth creation, new jobs, and improved living standards for all. Under the leadership of Presidents Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton, Americans changed the incentive structure on taxes, inflation, and regulation, and as a result the economy roared…


Book cover of Entertaining

Christophe Pourny Author Of The Furniture Bible: Everything You Need to Know to Identify, Restore & Care for Furniture

From my list on loving where you live.

Why am I passionate about this?

I opened my first history book in school at 6 and have been fascinated by how people lived since then. I found the evolution of furniture, interiors, decorations, exteriors, and everything that relates to how we live of the utmost importance if we want to know who we are and why. I am the son of antique dealers, growing up in France, so furniture is my principal domain of expertise, but I always put it in relation to the epoch they are from and the people who used them. I became the go-to of Martha Stewart for antiques and furniture restoration and have been featured in TV shows and magazines regularly.

Christophe's book list on loving where you live

Christophe Pourny Why did Christophe love this book?

I am a good friend of Martha Stewart; I have learned so much from her.

Her first book is more than a collection of recipes for entertaining. I love her sense of organization and her discipline. I think that she is first of all, a teacher, and I always get from her more than factual knowledge but true education.

By Martha Stewart,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

With 500 glorious full-color photographs, 300 original recipes, and hundreds of innovative ideas, Entertaining is the book that revolutionized the way people entertain today. 500 full-color photographs.


Book cover of The Authority Gap: Why Women Are Taken Less Seriously Than Men-And What We Can Do about It

Josie Cox Author Of Women Money Power: The Rise and Fall of Economic Equality

From my list on books about women, money, and power.

Why am I passionate about this?

As a veteran business and finance journalist, I’ve always been amazed at the huge gender gap that still exists in so many parts of the economy and society despite all the strides we’ve ostensibly made. When I became a mother, it became even clearer to me that gender norms are still so entrenched in culture and still have a huge bearing on women’s economic and professional lives. I’ve written about this topic for a whole host of publications, from the BBC to The Washington Post. I have an MBA from Columbia Business School and am an associate Instructor in the Strategic Communications program at Columbia’s School of Professional Studies.

Josie's book list on books about women, money, and power

Josie Cox Why did Josie love this book?

I read this book in a single day and was captivated by the way in which Sieghart combined narrative storytelling with deep-rooted research and analysis.

To me, the book makes a crystal-clear case that many of the gender gaps we contend with today actually begin with the authority gap: the fact that women are trusted less than men and are considered less credible.

Sieghart does a fantastic job of making complex research accessible and digestible. 

By Mary Ann Sieghart,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked The Authority Gap as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Every woman has a story of being underestimated, ignored, challenged, or patronized in the workplace. Maybe she tried to speak up in a meeting, only to be talked over by male colleagues. Or a client addressed her male subordinate instead of her. These stories remain true even for women at the top of their fields; in the U.S. Supreme Court, for example, female justices are interrupted four times more often than their male colleagues-and 96 percent of the time by men. Despite the progress we've made toward equality, we still fail, more often than we might realize, to take women…


5 book lists we think you will like!

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