Leadership development books play a crucial role in nurturing and enhancing the skills and qualities necessary for effective leadership. These books offer a wealth of knowledge, insights, and practical guidance, drawing from the experiences and wisdom of seasoned leaders. They provide aspiring leaders with valuable lessons on communication, decision-making, problem-solving, and interpersonal relationships.
Additionally, leadership development books help individuals gain a deeper understanding of their own leadership styles and strengths, allowing them to harness their potential and become more confident and self-aware leaders.
That’s why we asked our Speakers from our upcoming Next Level Leadership conference to provide us with their favorite leadership book!
*You could win a complete set of the listed books below!* – LEARN MORE BELOW
Recommended by Nikki Shingle
The Advantage: Why Organizational Health Trumps Everything Else In Business by Patrick Lencioni
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.
Recommended by Rob Skacel
The Personal Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant by Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant’s memoirs, sold door-to-door by former Union soldiers, were once as ubiquitous in American households as the Bible. Mark Twain and Henry James hailed them as great literature, and countless presidents credit Grant with influencing their own writing. This is the first comprehensively annotated edition of Grant’s memoirs, clarifying the great military leader’s thoughts on his life and times through the end of the Civil War and offering his invaluable perspective on battlefield decision-making. With annotations compiled by the editors of the Ulysses S. Grant Association’s Presidential Library, this definitive edition enriches our understanding of the pre-war years, the war with Mexico, and the Civil War. Grant provides essential insight into how rigorously these events tested America’s democratic institutions and the cohesion of its social order.
Also Check out What Was I Thinking?: How to Make Better Decisions So You Can Live and Lead with Confidence by Rob Skacel and David Ashcraft
How do you know when the rewards outweigh the risks?
If you want to reach your full potential in life, you can’t play it safe. If you’re too risk averse, you’ll be resigned to a life of mediocrity. But if you risk foolishly, you may destroy your life’s work and legacy.
But we can be overwhelmed by the sheer number of decisions we face, and the challenge of weighing the risks and rewards of each. In all this confusion, how can you be sure you won’t end up asking yourself, what was I thinking?
In this new book, David Ashcraft, pastor of a large and influential church, and Rob Skacel, licensed psychologist and executive coach, encourage readers to embrace risk and to live their lives to the fullest potential, in order to both run and finish the race with no regrets.
Recommended by Bob Pisani
Dare to Lead: Brave Work. Tough Conversations. Whole Hearts. by Brene Brown
Leadership is not about titles, status, and wielding power. A leader is anyone who takes responsibility for recognizing the potential in people and ideas, and has the courage to develop that potential.
When we dare to lead, we don’t pretend to have the right answers; we stay curious and ask the right questions. We don’t see power as finite and hoard it; we know that power becomes infinite when we share it with others. We don’t avoid difficult conversations and situations; we lean into vulnerability when it’s necessary to do good work.
But daring leadership in a culture defined by scarcity, fear, and uncertainty requires skill-building around traits that are deeply and uniquely human. The irony is that we’re choosing not to invest in developing the hearts and minds of leaders at the exact same time as we’re scrambling to figure out what we have to offer that machines and AI can’t do better and faster. What can we do better? Empathy, connection, and courage, to start.
Recommended by Dr. Towahna Rhim
Authentic Leadership: How to Lead with Nothing to Hide, Nothing to Prove & Nothing to Lose by Dan Owolabi
Authenticity … The One Thing That Transforms Everything
Imagine a world where you wake up, ready to lead with genuine confidence. You rarely feel insecure. You never pretend, perform or act like you have it all together. You are simply secure in who you are, and strong enough to influence others.
This isn’t crazy. This is Authentic Leadership.
Dan Owolabi has practiced and taught Authentic Leadership for over a decade. Here he shares the timeless principles of Authenticity through inspiring storytelling, sound research and practical examples.
The most effective leaders have nothing to hide, nothing to prove and nothing to lose. They know how to battle insecurity and lead with influence by growing through four stages:
- Understand Yourself
- Lead Yourself
- Understand Others
- Lead Others
Recommended by Darlene Drew
The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership: Follow Them and People Will Follow You by John C. Maxwell
You’ll learn the key principles of successful leadership such as vision, influence, responsibility and commitment. It highlights ways to set goals for yourself and your team while maintaining emotional balance during difficult times. Each law is backed up by inspiring and practical examples from Maxwell’s personal experience.
John Maxwell has gone through every word of this book and updated it for the next generation of leaders, adding new insights to these timeless laws and incorporating lessons learned since he originally wrote the book. He removed dated stories and replaced them with fresh ones that apply to today’s world of business.
What he didn’t change are the powerful leadership truths that have been helping people become better leaders for the last quarter century. This is still the best book on leadership people can buy, whether they want to:
- Learn leadership on their own,
- Develop as leaders in a group, or
- Teach leadership to others as a mentor.
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