Top 10 Recommended Books for Becoming a Better Leader
Legendary Coach, John Wooden once said, “Live as though you’ll die tomorrow. Learn as though you’ll live forever,” speaking in reference to living your life to the fullest and reaching your full potential. Which is exactly why we believe that continuous learning through reading is an essential part of growth and development.
The education a good book provides can stimulate the mind with new concepts, personal challenges and providing new ideas for how to handle challenging situations. To encourage you and your team to pick up a book or two, we put together a list of some of our favorites that will inspire you to think, grow and learn.
StrengthsFinder 2.0 – Tom Rath. “People who have the opportunity to focus on their strengths every day are six times as likely to be engaged in their jobs.” This shouldn’t come as a surprise to those who have worked with Carver Peterson in the past or follow our blog and social media accounts. Understanding your own strengths, as well as your colleagues, managers, and direct reports, is vital to the performance of yourself as a leader, as well as your team and business.
First, Break All The Rules: What the World’s Greatest Managers Do Differently – Marcus Buckingham & Curt Coffman. “You build on each person’s unique strengths rather than trying to fix their weaknesses.” The authors dissect the fallacies of traditional management and what works in today’s economy when it comes to effective management. It includes Gallup’s Q12 survey to measure employee engagement.
The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable – Patrick Lencioni. “All great relationships, the ones that last over time, require productive conflict in order to grow.” This story illuminates the complexity of building a highly effective team by acknowledging the common pitfalls. It provides the foundation to establish trust, instill accountability and buy into the team.
A Whole New Mind: Why Right Brainers Will Rule the Future – Daniel Pink. “The future belongs to a very different kind of person with a very different kind of mind – creators and empathizers, pattern recognizers, and meaning makers.” Pink discusses how to master the six fundamental principles including design, story, symphony, empathy, play and meaning for professional achievement and personal fulfillment.
Switch: How To Change Things When Change Is Hard – Dan & Chip Heath. “For individuals’ behavior to change, you’ve got to influence not only their environment but their hearts and minds.” The explanation of our rational mind and emotional mind and what makes change difficult. This writing includes how to overcome the tension between the left and right brain to make change easier and quicker.
Wooden on Leadership: How to Create a Winning Organization – John Wooden. “All good leaders strive for the same result and I’ve never met one worth his or her salt that wasn’t a good teacher.” A legendary coach on leadership, John Wooden shares how he accomplished his goals. Includes his 12 lessons in leadership and his Pyramid of Success as well as the essentials to building a winning organization.
Win Forever: Live, Work, and Play Like a Champion – Pete Carroll. “What Win Forever means to me is aspiring to be the best you can be, or as I like to refer to it, ‘maximizing your potential’.” A Super Bowl winning coach and a great example of finding your voice a leader. This book teaches you about developing your own winning philosophy and designing a plan to implement it.
The Power of Vulnerability: Teachings on Authenticity, Connections, and Courage – Brené Brown. “Don’t shrink, don’t puff up.” Dr. Brené Brown explains that authenticity and genuine behavior are the key in building deep and meaningful relationships. Also, she expresses that vulnerability is a display of courage and the birthplace of joy, belonging and creativity.
Exponential Organizations: Why new organizations are ten times better, faster, and cheaper than yours (and what to do about it) – Salim Ismail. “Today the only constant is change, and the rate of change is increasing.” A document of ten characteristics of Exponential Organizations, this book is both a roadmap and a survival guide for the CEO, entrepreneur and, most of all, the executive of the future.
Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose – Tony Hsieh. “At Zappos.com, we decided to build our brand to be about the very best customer service and the very best customer experience.” Tony focuses on culture, hiring the right fit and employee engagement which has a direct impact on how they serve their customers.
Carver Peterson helps growth-minded leaders and organizations achieve predictable and sustainable revenue growth through a refined strategy, defined process and aligned structure.
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