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.
Upon reflection, the most important part of my leadership career was when I first started to lead. This is when you either build habits that allow you to soar or engage in habits that lead you to crash and burn.
This book is a fantastic opportunity to see various leadership options and create positive and successful habits you can demonstrate throughout your career. Whether you are a “Backpacker” who leads by seeing new possibilities, exploring new terrain, and acting wholeheartedly, or a “Pioneer” who leads by building new tools and structures, improvising, and working relentlessly, almost all of us will fall into one of the four models, two of which I have listed above.
Any time I work with an individual who is a newer leader, this is a book I always recommend that they read.
Wall Street Journal Bestseller Is it possible to be at your best even when you are underqualified or doing something for the first time? Is it still possible, even after decades of experience, to recapture the enthusiasm, curiosity, and fearlessness of youth to take on new challenges? With the right mindset-with Rookie Smarts-you can. In a rapidly changing world, experience can be a curse. Careers stall, innovation stops, and strategies grow stale. Being new, naive, and even clueless can be an asset. For today's knowledge workers, constant learning is more valuable than mastery. In this essential guide, leadership expert Liz…
I have been investing in markets for nearly 30 years. I remember first being interested in the stock market after the 1987 crash. I read everything I could about Warren Buffett. And went on to study finance in college finishing magna cum laude (and later earned my MBA). I started my professional career as a commercial banker in the early 1990s. Then, I started my own investment newsletter in 2004 and compiled a strong track record over the next 12 years, wrote four books, and traveled all over the world in search of great investment ideas. I’ve appeared as a guest on TV and radio shows, as well as numerous podcasts. In 2019, I co-founded Woodlock House Family Capital where I currently manage a portfolio of global investments.
Jack Welch of GE fame was long thought to be a great CEO. GE’s stock compounded at a rate of 20.9% annually under his watch. If you invested $1 when he took the reins, that dollar would’ve been worth $48 when Immelt succeeded him 20 years later. Welch beat the S&P index 3.3x, a great record. Thorndike studies eight CEOs that collectively beat the S&P by over 20x. How did they do it? Thorndike clearly shows how these elite CEOs used a distinctive toolkit to create massive gains. A must-have guide for investors looking for big winners.
"An outstanding book about CEOs who excelled at capital allocation." -- Warren Buffett #1 on Warren Buffett's Recommended Reading List, Berkshire Hathaway Annual Shareholder Letter, 2012 Named one of "19 Books Billionaire Charlie Munger Thinks You Should Read" in Business Insider. "A book that details the extraordinary success of CEOs who took a radically different approach to corporate management." -- Charlie Munger, Vice-Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway Corporation "Thorndike explores the importance of thoughtful capital allocation through the stories of eight successful CEOs. A good read for any business leader but especially those willing to chart their own course." -- Michael…
Throughout my corporate experience, I’ve been frustrated with how access to good career advice has been reserved for the elite few. Careers aren’t always fair—who usually wins? Those with parents with successful corporate or professional careers, who went to an elite school, parents with a degree, and who were not a first generation at university or college, had access to a coach or sponsor, etc. Furthermore, I am still stunned with untrue or half-true advice like “good work speaks for itself” or “be your authentic self”. I like reading evidence-based books and not being lied to by “experts.”
Pfeffer’s no-bullshit “let’s see what’s really happening” accounts of organizational reality left me wanting more. We all want positive messages (myself included), but the truth is more important.
This book taught me to learn from effective mid-level leaders and not from inspirational but anecdotal tops. I like his critical and, at times, cynical style, as Pfeffer eschews the toxic misrepresentations of how leadership and personal development happen, opting for pragmatic, science-proven solutions.
Finalist for the 2015 Financial Times and McKinsey Business Book of the Year Best business book of the week from Inc.com The author of Power, Stanford business school professor, and a leading management thinker offers a hard-hitting dissection of the leadership industry and ways to make workplaces and careers work better. The leadership enterprise is enormous, with billions of dollars, thousands of books, and hundreds of thousands of blogs and talks focused on improving leaders. But what we see worldwide is employee disengagement, high levels of leader turnover and career derailment, and failed leadership development efforts. In Leadership BS, Jeffrey…
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’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.
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…
I am a strategist, human resources executive, and business consultant who is passionate about helping people reach their potential, find enjoyable work, and perform their best. Born in Chicago, I grew up in New England and call Connecticut home with my wife Kathryn. I love learning and have found books to be the gateway to exploring innovative ideas, gaining insights, and achieving success. I am an avid tennis and squash player, and reader. I am part of an international book club that meets several times per year to explore diverse topics.
Getting your dream job is only the first step. You want to start strong and deliver value to the organization as quickly as possible. That is where Michael Watkins’ book comes in handy. When I was the head of talent management for a Fortune 50 company, we gave a copy of this book to each newly hired executive.
This book outlines how to promote yourself and learn your new role faster. It helps you analyze your business situation and choose the right strategy to get things done. Finally, it shares how to build a winning team that delivers results. You want your boss, peers, and subordinates to feel good about you. This book helps you achieve early wins, energize your team, and build your credibility.
Named one of 100 Leadership & Success Books to Read in a Lifetime by Amazon Editors The world's most trusted guide for leaders in transition Transitions are a critical time for leaders. In fact, most agree that moving into a new role is the biggest challenge a manager will face. While transitions offer a chance to start fresh and make needed changes in an organization, they also place leaders in a position of acute vulnerability. Missteps made during the crucial first three months in a new role can jeopardize or even derail your success. In this updated and expanded version…
I’ve been a community leader in the arts for more than twenty-five years. In raising millions of dollars, advocating for arts in our schools and communities, and teaching arts administration at the university level, I’ve had countless opportunities to witness the energy in people’s hearts that turns into action, growth, and success. What I’ve learned is that success in this arena involves things you can’t see or measure, like kindness, gratitude, and wonder. When we harness those elements of Essence, however, we can change the world.
One of the best-known business books of our time is Good To Great by Jim Collins. The book has sold millions of copies and is quoted in classrooms and workplaces all over the world all the time. But far fewer people know about Collin’s Good To Great and the Social Sector. It’s a critical work by one of the great business minds about the profound differences between for-profit and non-profit worlds. Every board member needs a copy.
'We must reject the idea - well-intentioned, but dead wrong - that the primary path to greatness in the social sectors is to become "more like a business".'
So begins this astonishingly blunt and timely manifesto by leading business thinker Jim Collins. Rejecting the belief, common among politicians, that all would be well in society if only the public sector operated more like the private sector, he sets out a radically new approach to creating successful hospitals, police forces, universities, charities, and other non-profit-making organisations. In the process he rejects many deep-rooted assumptions: that somehow it's possible to measure social…
I’ve experienced good organisations and less so in my working life. Likewise, I've experienced the good and less so of leadership. In leading teams and organisations during my career, I, too, have been an example of both, so I’m passionate about helping leaders grow their capability to ‘avoid the less so’ and lead well, with humanity and greater consciousness, to create workplaces where people flourish and organisations that contribute positively to the future of our world.
As a believer in the importance of Emotional Intelligence in leadership and life and a fan of Goleman’s work bringing it into the mainstream workplace, this book was a must-read for me. Often, leaders forget their impact on others. I love how this book reminds us of the shadow leaders cast and their responsibility for it.
One of the standouts for me is how we transmit and receive signals that affect our emotional state and that of others, courtesy of the wiring of the emotional centre of our brain. This is a timely reminder to take care.
The book’s blending of science, research, real-life examples, and case studies makes the strongest case for emotionally intelligent leadership, while the inclusion of practical exercises and reflection points provides a great workout.
This is the book that established "emotional intelligence" in the business lexicon and made it a necessary skill for leaders.
Managers and professionals across the globe have embraced Primal Leadership, affirming the importance of emotionally intelligent leadership. Its influence has also reached well beyond the business world: the book and its ideas are now used routinely in universities, business and medical schools, and professional training programs, and by a growing legion of professional coaches.
This refreshed edition, with a new preface by the authors, vividly illustrates the power and the necessity of leadership that is self-aware, empathic, motivating, and collaborative…
I’m fascinated with the relationship between personal growth and professional performance. Why is it in the same environment, doing the same work, some people can excel while others struggle? Most chalk it up to external circumstances that can’t be controlled. Others focus on tactics. But I’ve learned top-performers are masters at the human side of their work–the way they think, lead and serve–and that’s what gives them their edge. All of my work centers around infusing hard skills with improved soft skills, and getting better results in the process. That’s the stuff I find delicious, and it’s what I speak and write about.
There’s no shortage of books on management, but many rely too much on conjecture. This book pulls in hard data derived from Gallup's in-depth research, research I respect so much I reference it in my work. It offers a fresh perspective on what separates great managers from the pack.
I especially appreciated the way it focuses on employees' strengths. Any leadership approach that encourages managers to adapt to individuals is one I can get behind.
Gallup presents the remarkable findings of its revolutionary study of more than 80,000 managers in First, Break All the Rules, revealing what the world's greatest managers do differently. With vital performance and career lessons and ideas for how to apply them, it is a must-read for managers at every level.
Included with this re-release of First, Break All the Rules: updated meta-analytic research and access to the Clifton StrengthsFinder assessment, which reveals people's top themes of talent, and to Gallup's Q12 employee engagement survey, the most effective measure of employee engagement and its impact on business outcomes.
My career journey started as an HR trainee in Karachi, Pakistan, and ended as the head of HR at two major companies. Across 31 years, I have worked for blue-chip companies like The Gillette Company, P&G, and Del Monte, building my own and observing firsthand many extraordinary careers. Unfortunately, for every person I observed who built a fantastic career, I have seen many more feel unsuccessful and unfulfilled in their careers. This is why I am passionate about using my knowledge and experience to help people navigate the challenges of the modern workplace and to provide them with the tools and strategies necessary to create their own extraordinary careers.
I picked up this book because I heard Carter Cast on a podcast and was very impressed with what he had to say.
This book isn't just a career guide; it's a game-changer. It resonates with me deeply because it's not about following a generic path to success but about embracing your unique strengths and qualities.
I like his refreshing and funny way of presenting his take on career success. His stories and actionable advice resonate with me because he has learned from his own career, which is also my story.
Nearly a quarter century ago Carter Cast seemed to have it all together: he had a first-class education, an all-American athletic career, and was a very bright and energetic rising star on the fast track at a Fortune 100 company, PepsiCo. But blissfully unaware of how negative perceptions were shaped, he was stunned when called into his boss's office, and told he was "unpromotable" because he was "obstinate," "resistant," and "insubordinate."
Baffled, scared, and embarrassed, that defining moment led to Cast's years-long effort to try to understand why he came so close to going off track, discovering that what he…
I’ve spent many years as a management consultant to a range of big, global corporations, smaller companies, and not-for-profits. I also headed up succession planning and management development at two major companies. I decided to go into this field based on a strong conviction, a conviction that continues today: that leadership counts. Strong leaders benefit people in their organizations and, ultimately, society itself. Having worked with many senior leaders and led organizations myself, I know the range of pressures executives face and how easy it is to fail. Companies need a supply of capable, well-equipped senior leaders, and those who aspire to top-level positions need guideposts about achieving their career aspirations.
Goleman played a key role in popularizing the notion of emotional intelligence. It’s a key skill for any executive but one I find is often misunderstood. Goleman makes a strong case that one’s emotional intelligence is rooted firmly in self-control and self-mastery. That is, you can’t really tune into others in a deep way unless you are in control of yourself and your emotions. I use this book often in my coaching, and it’s a revelation to many senior leaders and aspiring executives.
Do you want to be more successful at work? Do you want to improve your chances of promotion? Do you want to get on better with your colleagues? Daniel Goleman draws on unparalleled access to business leaders around the world and the thorough research that is his trademark. He demonstrates that emotional intelligence at work matters twice as much as cognitive abilities such as IQ or technical expertise in this inspiring sequel.
