Books about Leadership

Good to Great

Jim Collins

A study in why some companies make the leap to greatness. The study looks at how companies and leaders move upward along a path toward greatness. Very intriguing.

The Fifth Discipline

Peter Senge

The author explores the five disciplines necessary to build a learning organization. The five disciplines are

1. Developing your personal mastery,
2. Understanding your mental models,
3. Creating a shared vision,
4. Learning is a team effort, and
5. Understanding systems thinking.

Emotional Intelligence

Daniel Goleman

Information and technology are not enough to survive in the world!! The other side of importance is understanding and embracing the need for Emotional Intelligence; the four areas of development are

• Self Awareness,
• Self Management,
• Relationship Awareness, and
• Management of relationships

Now, Discover your Strengths

Marcus Buckingham

The theme of this book is: Discover what you are good at and then take the needed time to develop them…AND delegate or outsource your weaknesses.

The Power of Servant Leadership

Robert Greenleaf

Great book about learning the truth that leadership is all about learning how to be a servant to others. You work for the people in your organization, they don’t work for you.

10 Rules for Strategic Innovators

Vijay Govindarajan and Chris Trimble

A multi-year research study of innovative initiatives at ten large corporations; three central challenges were identified that organizations must continually overcome to be successful:

1. Forgetting yesterday’s successful practices
2. Borrowing selected resources from your core business
3. Continued learning about how to succeed

The book is written for new initiatives and innovations, but has a strong relevance for on-going businesses that seek to remain competitive.

Primal Leadership

Daniel Goleman

This book drives home the importance of Emotional Intelligence in leaders. Being ‘smart’ or being a ‘leader’ means to know how to handle oneself and one’s relationships. Success comes when there is a balance between leadership skills and maturity.

Authentic Leadership

Bill George

As a successful CEO of Medtronic, Mr. George says the essence of his success (and anyone’s success) revolves around how you create lasting value within your role as a leader. In the wake of continuing corporate scandals, Mr. George steps up and gives us models of how to do the ‘right’ thing. Mr. George is a present day model of what it means to be a responsible leader.

The Future of Executive Development

James Bolt

This is a research book of what are the future ingredients necessary for executive development. The areas of focus include

1. Mapping the future by looking at trends and possible implications of trends
2. Business simulations are the best way for learning
3. Executive level coaching by outsiders
4. Action learning is best
5. Begin to teach what you know to others.

There is much much more to this study. It is worth looking at for your development.

The Five Temptations of a CEO

Patrick Lencioni

The author begins all his books with a fable. From the fable come lessons; the five lessons from the fable are

1. Learn how to build trust, not success
2. Choose conflict over harmony
3. Choose clarity over certainty
4. Choose accountability over popularity
5. Choose results over status

The Art of Possibility

Rosamund Stone Zander

(In video format too)
A different and powerful approach to how you can look at your own possibility. Almost a Dale Carnegie approach that says, “Give yourself a high expectation to look up to, and then work to achieve this in your life!”

Focusing Your Unique Ability

Dan Sullivan

(Tape series)
Discovering you uniqueness and learning how to capitalize on it! True to the statement that it is better to work at what you are good at instead of developing your weaknesses.

How the Best Get Better

Dan Sullivan

(Tape series)
Strategies on how to move you to the next level in life and business. This doesn’t just happen, it takes planning and commitment! This tape series is worth a yearly review!

How Winners Do It

Michael Mercer

(Tape series)
Works with you on developing the six qualities of high achievers;

1. Making a first impression
2. Ability to Influence others
3. A spirit of showmanship/confidence
4. Learning how to balance cooperation with competitiveness
5. Ability to conduct good and effective meetings
6. Demonstrating a powerful capacity to communicate while speaking, writing and sending memos.

Flight of the Buffalo

James Belasco and Ralph Stayer

Guides to learning how to enable others to become leaders; effectiveness today is not in a command and control model, it comes through learning how to enable others to reach their greatness.

The New Positioning

Jack Trout

An important book in understanding how the mind works and what is necessary to reach inside it to influence and affect it. The book also explores six case studies of organizations that re-positioned themselves to gain an upper hand in the market. Final part of the book explores ‘tricks’ of the trade that the author has learned after 25 years of experiencing how to better position self and organization in the marketplace.

A Whole New Mind

Daniel H. Pink

The world has moved out of the information age to an age that now needs concepts. Information is important, but today people will be required to shape that information into concepts that are relevant and useful. This process will take a new mind of moving out of the left brain and into the right brain; taking knowledge and information and making it meaningful and applicable to the listener. Exciting read!

How to Argue and Win Every Time

Gerry Spence

This books supports the idea of Daniel Pink. To argue and win the support of your listener requires that you appeal to both sides of the brain. People need logic (left brain), but they need a story or example (right brain) to make it relevant to them.

Harvard Business Review on Leadership

A series of articles from the Harvard Business Review Magazine that explores topics such as “What Leaders Really Do”, “Managers and Leaders: Are the Different?”, “The Discipline of Building Character”, “The Human Side of Management”

25 Ways to Win with People

John C. Maxwell

A process book that talks about how to become a person who can influence others. First chapter: Start with yourself! A quote sets the stage for the process “Your relationships can only be as healthy as you are.” By Neil Warren. Each chapter ends with a “HOW TO PROCESS” First drop what gets in your way, Next, grasp a new truth (subject of each chapter) and then create an action plan to implement your discovery. GREAT!

The Extraordinary Leader

John H. Zenger and Joseph Folkman

The authors create a diamond shaped picture in your mind. If you were to look down at a baseball field you’d see a pitcher’s mound (Character is the heart of the diamond) To get to first base (Development of interpersonal Skills). To move on to second base (Leading organizational changes) and to move to third (Focus on the Results) and to reach home base, (Assess your personal capabilities). This is a must read for developing leaders!

Geeks and Geezers

Warren Bennis and Robert J. Thomas

Is there a difference between the oldies (Geezers) and the new young leadership group (Geeks)? At first glance you’d have to think there are major differences, but the authors discovers to their amazement that there are an amazing amount of similarities! Take a look and see for yourself that there is not too much new under the sun!

A Higher Standard of Leadership

Keshavan Nair

The book takes a close look at the lessons from the life of Gandhi. The key point is that leadership requires a single standard of conduct. (similar to The Extraordinary Leader which says the centerpiece to leadership is character) This book looks at a set of absolute values necessary for the journey and then to make a commitment to follow them throughout life.

Leadership from the Inside Out

Kevin Cashman

Here is a ‘wake up call’ to remind you that your ability to grow as a leader is based on your ability to grow as a person. Take a reflective journey that weaves together pathways to leadership, such as balance, change and purpose, to help you lead more effectively in all facets of your life. Case studies, exercises and personal stories breathe life into this life-changing book.

Leadership by Design

Albert Vicere

The way in which organizations cultivate their future leaders is shifting away from traditional methods that benefit only a few and heading towards a leadership development strategy that will drive the flexibility, commitment and competitiveness of an entire organization. The book examines this new trend, offering effective, hands-on models for inspiring and enabling future leaders.

Executive Intelligence: What All Great Leaders Have

Justin Menkes

With all the emphasis on Emotional Intelligence, this author reminds the reader that intellect is still very important as a trait in leadership. In this book he highlights three important skills necessary in today’s leaders:

1. Ability to accomplish tasks,
2. Understanding of people,
3. Recognizing your own strengths and weaknesses as a leader.