7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen Covey
This is a great book to understand the traits and mindset of great leaders; how to lead yourself and others, and create synergies. If I could only read one leadership book, this is it. Read it more than once.
21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, John Maxwell
One of several great books by John Maxwell on leadership to help leaders understand what is needed for people to follow them. As John says, "He who thinks he leads, but has no followers, is only taking a walk."
This is a well-written and easy-to-understand book on authenticity, courage, vulnerability, values, and other leadership traits and how to apply them in setting expectations (Clear is kind, unclear is unkind), having difficult conversations, and more.
Five Levels of Leadership, John Maxwell
Easy to read but thought-provoking to understand the progression through five levels of leadership, from starting out with only positional authority up to developing leaders and beyond.
One of the classics that covers why some companies succeed and others fail.
Emotional Intelligence 2.0, Travis Bradberry and Jean Greaves
Great book for understanding the various areas of emotional intelligence with examples of how to improve in each one. It provides an EQ assessment for the reader.
Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, Carol S. Dweck PhD
Great book on growth and fixed mindsets and the impact that mindsets have in every area of our lives. Having a growth mindset is key for leaders and leaders need to know how to recruit, hire, and retain growth-mindset team members if they want to build high-performing teams.
Emotional Intelligence - Why It Can Matter More Than IQ, Dan Goleman
Goleman is credited with introducing emotional intelligence into the literature. This book is more comprehensive and a denser read the Bradberry and Greaves but provides great examples.
Working with Emotional Intelligence, Dan Goleman
This book discusses the importance and application of emotional intelligence in the workplace. Lots of interesting studies are cited.
Blin
k - The Power of Thinking Without Thinking, Malcolm Gladwell
This book points out subtleties that most of us would never think of: unconscious biases, brain priming, how first impressions can be so damaging. Great read for some aha moments with topics that leaders can leverage to bring out the best in teams.
Everyone Communicates, Few Connect: What the Most Effective People Do Differently, John Maxwell
Great book on how to connect with people by making them feel seen, heard, and understood.
How to be compassionate yet candid while building a high-performing team that gets things done.
Tools and strategies for how to recognize, prepare for, and have high-stakes communications.
The Art of Persuasion: Winning Without Intimidation, Bob Burg
This book also fits under the Emotional Intelligence category. It is a great read for making people feel heard and understood and dealing with difficult people.
Written as a novel, this book is a favorite for understanding how to understand bottlenecks and the Theory of Constraints.
Execution - The Discipline of Getting Things Done, Larry Bossidy and Ram Charran
One of the leadership classics on how to get things done to achieve results and build a culture of execution
Living Your Best Year Ever, Darren Hardy
The first part of this book and the accompanying narrative by Darren Hardy causes you to dig deep to understand your values and goals and how to prioritize them. The second half of the book is a Weekly Rhythm Register to track the behaviors that will get results. This book, process, and weekly tracking is a game changer.
This book also falls under communications and the importance of being clear on so many things. Knowing and understanding exactly what is needed saves so much time and reduces rework and frustration.
Phenomenal book on how to organize your day to optimize productivity. It covers how to manage heavy cognitive loads, how to focus, triggers to consider, and so much more. Every leader should read this book to learn how to optimize team productivity as well as their own.
Great book for getting clear on goals and focusing on a quarter at a time. It provides a system for breaking work into manageable chunks, prioritizing it, documenting it, and tracking progress. Lots of practical guidance.
Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity, David Allen
GTD has great tips, tactics, and strategies for improving productivity.
A Sense of Urgency, John P. Kotter
Provides tactics for how to overcome complacency and mediocrity in the workplace.
Article: Want People to Understand how to Work with You?
Great article on clarity.
Transform Your Technical Skills Into Leadership
Great situational article for how a technical leader needed to adjust his leadership style.
Five Interview Questions that Instantly Reveal Leadership Potential In New Hires
Five great questions for leaders to ask themselves as well as candidates.
Don't Hide the Business Strategy from Your Technology Teams
Get technical teams involved in the business strategy.
Great article for new managers.
Dare to Lead, Brené Brown
Good to Great, Jim Collins
Radical Candor, Kim Scott
Crucial Conversations - Tools for Talking when Stakes Are High, Grenny, Patterson, McMillan, Switzler, Gregory
The Power of Clarity - Unleash the True Potential of Workplace Productivity, Confidence, and Empowerment, Ann Latham
Your Brain at Work - Strategies for Overcoming Distraction, Regaining Focus, and Working Smarter All Day Long, David Rock
The 12 Week Year - Get More Done in 12 Weeks than Others Do in 12 Months, Brian Moran, Michael Lennington