5 Book Recommendations for Every Leader
“Not all readers are leaders, but all leaders are readers.” - Harry S. Truman
Regardless of who you are or who you are leading, books are an important tool in growing your skills. There are so many to choose from. Where do you start? Well, I’ve got 5 of my favorites to start you off with today! Next week you will see a post on 5 Leadership books for Pastors here on my blog. Now, I’m not going to say these are the best books for everyone, but I personally find these books very helpful, and I will briefly share why!
1. Start with Why – Simon Sinek
This book is also related to the famous Tedx Talk of the same name. The book demonstrates how people don’t buy products from a company for the product but rather who they are and why they make the customer feel the way they do. Often we do not buy products for quality but rather the status or expected quality. In the same way, we are more likely to buy from an ethical or environmentally friendly organization as opposed to one that is not! For leaders, people don’t buy into you for what you know. They will follow you for your values and what you believe. If you believe and have a vision, that is your “Why.” Start With Why on Amazon
2. The 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth – John C. Maxwell
This is actually one of my favorite books by John. I have the privilege of being able to teach or coach it through Maxwell Leadership and also just having a passion for personal growth. In this book, John details 15 laws or areas of growth we need to be aware of. Whether you are a leader or just looking to grow personally or professionally. I highly recommend this book. It will aid you in creating a personal growth plan and identifying areas you do well or areas for improvement! 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth on Amazon
3. The Infinite Game Hardcover – Simon Sinek
All right, you got me. I’m a fan of Simon Sinek. To me, he is a fantastic storyteller and great at giving quality analogies. The Infinite Game takes a new approach to business or leading an organization. Rather than seeing others as threats, you see them as models. An example of this is Google and Apple. One will develop a new feature for their phone, and the other then will do likewise. Both customers eventually get the same feature, but they play off of each other to continue growing and improving. As leaders, we should not have an end goal but rather seek to build something that will last and leave a legacy. Continue growing, learning, developing, and leaving a legacy that lives beyond our lifetime!
4. The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership – John C. Maxwell
I promise there will be books other than John Maxwell and Simon Sinek on the list! They are just two of my favorites, and I love sharing their work! The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership is one of, if not John’s, best-selling book of all time! It is 21 leadership principles, laws, or thoughts to model leadership around. From self-awareness to leaving a legacy, this book covers it all! This is one of the books I will always recommend for leaders to pick up and read. It will be worth your time as a leader. I even did an entire short video series on each of the laws for my social media. You can find that playlist here.
21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership on Amazon
Honorable Mentions:
5. Atomic Habits – James Clear
While this may be the last on the list, I could argue I saved the best for last! This book is one of the best I’ve read in the last couple of years. James Clear takes the approach to identifying bad habits and breaking them or creating new habits. It is a book that can help you take control of your daily habits and form new habits to improve who you are or who you hope to become! This is a fantastic book full of evidence, examples, and resources to help on your journey!
I discussed all 5 of these in a video on my YouTube channel! If you would rather listen to or hear more thoughts on these books, check out the video here.
Nick Dyson is the owner of Dyson Leadership and is a
Maxwell Leadership Certified Speaker, Trainer, and Coach. Providing Leadership coaching, training, workshops, Lunch & Learns, and more!
To learn more about training provided by Dyson Leadership, visit our webpage.
