Whether you're a new manager or a seasoned pro, this book lays out a set of leadership principles billionaire investor Ray Dalio uses to guide his work and life.
This book shows leaders what it takes to succeed, even during a crisis. It's a must-read for women looking to break into the still male-dominated corporate world.
1. The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership by John Maxwell
First published in 1998, this book has become a classic in the field of leadership. It has been credited with helping to shape the careers of business leaders and executives worldwide.
Leaders who possess a passion for victory inspire those around them to rise above their current situation and challenges. Winston Churchill, Michael Jordan, and other successful people are examples of passionate leaders who refuse to give up, even when the odds seem against them.
Great leaders know their own strengths and weaknesses and strive to improve themselves. They also build up and empower others by giving them resources, authority, and responsibility. They prioritize relationships and work on developing strong trust. They also have a succession plan and carefully pass on the baton when the time comes. This requires them to define their legacy, live it, and choose who will carry on their legacy.
2. Thrive by Arianna Huffington
In Thrive, Arianna Huffington, co-founder and editor in chief of The Huffington Post Media Group, shares her inspiring personal story and the science that transformed her life. In 2007 she experienced a brutal wake-up call: she collapsed in her office, hit her head on the corner of her desk, and broke her cheekbone. After a series of tests, she learned that her relentless pursuit of money and power had compromised her health and well-being. She needed to add a third metric to her definition of success: thriving.
This book is for anyone who wants to achieve real, lasting fulfillment in their lives and careers. It is for anyone who feels burnt out, is tired of the rat race, and wants to make a positive impact in the world. The science and strategies in this book will show you how to rethink what it means to thrive and how to incorporate it into your life.
3. The One Minute Manager by Ken Blanchard
The One Minute Manager tells the story of a young man who spends time with an experienced manager to learn his secrets of effective management. The manager reveals that he has found the magic formula for concurrently achieving results for the company and fulfillment for his people. And he says that being an effective manager only takes one minute per person each day.
The first secret, the manager says, is One Minute Goals. The manager also explains that he watches his employees closely and knows exactly what each is doing, when they are doing it, and where they need to improve.
The manager then reveals his second secret - One Minute Praisings. When he sees an employee doing something good, he immediately praises them for it. He explains that this helps the employee feel good about their work and gives them encouragement to continue with their positive behaviors.
4. Extreme Ownership by Navy SEALs
In the Navy SEALs, leadership is everything. Jocko Willink and Leif Babin share the most powerful leadership principles they learned on the battlefield in this action-packed war memoir turned leadership manual.
In one of their most harrowing operations, Willink’s team took fire from what they assumed was an enemy but ended up being another SEAL team. This ‘blue-on-blue’ incident cost the lives of two teammates and jeopardized Willink’s career (Willink & Babin, 2015).
Extreme Ownership teaches leaders to check their egos, communicate clearly, and make simple plans that are easy to understand and adjust in real time. This enables them to manage multiple time-sensitive and high-stake problems that may snowball into a larger problem. They also believe that a leader should delegate to departments with each department having a manager who is capable of managing the team effectively and efficiently.
5. The Advice Trap by Stephen Covey
A big part of leadership is listening to others, and this book explains how you can be a better listener by not sharing your opinions all the time. The advice in this book can make you more likable, and improve your relationships with coworkers and friends.
Being a leader isn’t all sunshine and rainbows, and this book will show you what to do when the shit hits the fan. It’ll help you deal with the challenges that come along with a high-level position, such as firing people or taking a company into bankruptcy.
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People is one of the most popular and widely adapted books in business, and Greg Link’s new book reveals how he took that book to incredible heights, publishing it globally and making it the best-selling foreign business book in history in Japan.
6. The CEO Next Door by Peter Drucker
One of the most influential management books of all time, this classic bestseller is a must-read for anyone interested in leadership. Management thinker Peter Drucker argues that leaders are not born, but made. He discusses how to develop the skills and behaviors that make an effective leader.
A must-read for every ambitious executive, this acclaimed management classic offers an unparalleled road map to success. Featuring the Clifton Strengths Assessment at its core, this book will help you discover your top themes and learn how to use them for your own growth, for your team’s performance and for your organization’s success. In this business thriller, author Roger Lowenstein gives an unauthorized account of the creation, early success, and abrupt collapse of Long-Term Capital Management (LTCM). The book also explains how a combination of arrogance, hubris, misplaced confidence, and mathematical certainties contributed to the fund’s demise.
8. The Leadership Challenge by Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner
Kouzes and Posner have interviewed countless leaders to discover what it is they do when they are at their best. They found that the stories they heard didn't sound like textbook management – they were tales of dynamic change and bold action.
Their research culminated in the Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership: Model the Way, Inspire a Shared Vision, Enlist Others to a Cause, Challenge the Process and Encourage the Heart. They believe that these are the classic leadership traits – and that they can be learned, not innate.
The authors also examine what constituents look for, expect and admire in their leaders, believing that these can be distilled down to four core concepts: Honesty, Forward-Looking, Inspiring, and Competent. This sixth edition has been fully updated to reflect the rapidly changing business environment, and is the gold standard on becoming an exemplary leader.
9. The Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner
In the business world, efficient teamwork can be a major competitive advantage. However, a lot of teams don’t perform as well as they could. In his best-selling book, Patrick Lencioni uses a leadership fable to reveal the most common hindrances to effective teamwork: lack of trust, dysfunctional politics, avoidance of conflict, misalignment of goals/priorities, and failure to commit.
Drawing on pioneering research that formed the basis of The Leadership Challenge, this all-new edition of a classic leadership book is an invaluable resource for anyone seeking to be a better leader. It’s a must-read for the 39-year-old manager trying to get his team to close more sales, the 45-year-old soccer coach who wants her players to care more about winning than individual glory, and anybody else who leads people. This is a powerful and provocative book that will help readers lead with their heart.
10. Thrive by Arianna Huffington
Arianna Huffington, co-founder of The Huffington Post and one of the world’s most influential women, is on a mission to redefine what it means to be successful. In Thrive, she calls for a third metric alongside money and power to create a life of well-being, wisdom, and wonder.
For years, Arianna Huffington viewed success solely through the prism of money and power. Despite being a media mogul, running one of the fastest-growing businesses in the world, and working an unforgiving 18-hour workday, she felt like her health and happiness were taking a backseat to her ambition. Then, in 2007, she fainted at her office and shattered her cheekbone. It was her wake-up call. From then on, she knew she needed to add thriving to her definition of success. And in Thrive, she shares everything she learned about doing just that.