We are often asked to recommend books that address a particular leadership challenge. While reading books certainly doesn’t guarantee behavior change, many people report that they are inspired and guided by what they learn in books.

Here are several of our favorites, grouped by topic.

Organizational success/resilience: Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap…And Others Don’t (Collins)

Great by Choice: Uncertainty, Chaos, and Luck–Why Some Thrive Despite Them All(Collins & Hansen)

Self-awareness: Leadership and Self-Deception: Getting out of the Box (Arbinger Institute)

The Anatomy of Peace: Resolving the Heart of Conflict (Arbinger Institute)

Leadership vision and communication: It’s Your Ship: Management Techniques from the Best Damn Ship in the Navy (Abrashoff)

Time management: Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity (Allen)

Executive leadership: What Got You Here Won’t Get You There: How Successful People Become Even More Successful (Goldsmith)

The Radical Leap: A Personal Lesson in Extreme Leadership (Farber) 

People effectiveness: Emotional Intelligence 2.0 (Bradberry, Greaves & Lencioni)

General leadership reference manuals: Successful Manager’s Handbook (Gebelein, Nelson-Neuhaus, et.al)

50 DOs for Everyday Leadership: Practical Lessons Learned the Hard Way [So You Don’t Have To] (Barrett, Wheatley & Townsend)

Communication: Crucial Conversations Tools for Talking When Stakes Are High (Patterson, Grenny, et al)

Team development: The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable (Lencioni)

Leaders Eat Last: Why Some Teams Pull Together and Others Don’t (Sinek)

Continuous improvement/Change: The Fifth Discipline Fieldbook: Strategies and Tools for Building a Learning Organization (Senge)

Our Iceberg Is Melting: Changing and Succeeding Under Any Conditions (Kotter, Rathgeber, et al)

Coaching: Eleven Rings: The Soul of Success (Jackson & Delaney)

Decision-making/Choices: Decisive: How to Make Better Choices in Life and Work(Heath & Heath)

Introverts as Leaders: Quiet Influence: The Introvert’s Guide to Making a Difference(Kahnweiler)

What are you reading, and why?

Let’s put those great ideas to work!

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