Huma Siraj
All leaders make mistakes!
By considering what went wrong and what they might do differently in the future, great people can learn from them. These six leadership books will help you examine your own weaknesses and strive toward better team and personal leadership now that summer reading season has here. Each ensures that their teachings are retained long after you close them for the last time by using comedy, case studies, and/or real-world experiences.
1. Cara Moeller Poppitt — Confidence Unlocked: Step Out Before You’re Ready.
Big Freakin’ Change by Cara Moeller Poppitt is a manual for people dealing with significant life transitions, whether they are planned or not. Big Freakin’ Change, which is written in a straightforward but funny manner, will assist you in navigating such changes with strength and purpose while conquering the internal reluctance that frequently stands in the way of long-term self-improvement. Poppitt’s book is helpful for both career changes and life transitions. Using her experience empowering over 30,000 women and girls to take charge of their lives, Poppitt offers a radically straightforward “confidence model,” telling readers to take action first and let their confidence blossom as a result.
This is by no means another handbook that suggests you “fake it until you make it.” Poppitt provides a thorough and sophisticated roadmap for long-lasting transformation.
The key to this is a complete mental shift—realizing that you are not to blame for your current situation, comprehending that change is achievable, conquering your worries and finding your purpose, and having faith in yourself as you accept your new identity and the changes that accompany it.
2. John C. Maxwell — Increasing Your Impact from Anywhere in the Company with the 360-Degree Leader John Maxwell, who has coached hundreds of business executives and entrepreneurs, is the author of the modern leadership classic The 360 Degree Leader.
The 360 Degree Leader methodically dispels the most prevalent myths regarding personal transformation and assists readers in fulfilling the title’s promise of exerting influence up (to the boss), across (to peers), and down (to direct reports and beyond) with the aid of an interactive workbook that they can complete at their own pace.
3. Alan Willett — Leading the Unleadable: Handling Divas, Cynics, Mavericks, and Other Challenging Individuals in his engaging and perceptive book Leading the Unleadable.
Alan Willett examines the unsettling reality of managing big teams: not everyone will get along. Willett contends that some people are actually less likely than others to get along.
Dealing with what Willett refers to as “mavericks, cynics, divas, and other difficult people” can be done in a number of simpler ways, ranging from managing them out of the company entirely to putting them in projects where they can’t cause any harm. These strategies, however, are not the best for the group, the company, or the leaders’ own professional development.
Willett exhorts managers to recognize the potential in troublesome workers, beginning with the understanding that most people, including those who are difficult to work with, sincerely want to make a constructive contribution. He claims that meeting people where they are is lot simpler when you can see their good intentions.
4. Ryan Gottfredson — Becoming Better: The Revolutionary Science of Self-Transformation
Bestselling author and leadership expert Ryan Gottfredson focuses on a crucial reality that is left out of most other leadership books in his book Becoming Better. It is insufficient to “do better,” he asserts. “Being better” is necessary for genuine self-improvement. This is more complicated than it seems.
Since most performance improvement programs center on “doing better,” this is what employees often aim to accomplish when they want to get better. However, this strategy frequently fails.
Focusing on “being better,” on the other hand, is a more transformative strategy that most readers are either ignorant of or are more likely to oppose on a fundamental level. Gottfredson asserts that it necessitates a thorough comprehension of one’s mentality as well as a readiness to pursue a route to personal development supported by neuroscience.
He contends that because so few individuals really comprehend their “Being Side,” they fail to realize the immense potential that lies inside them.
Becoming Better should be on your summer reading list if you’re prepared to improve your impact and leadership, update your personal operating system, and change the way you interact with people.
5. David Ash — Simple Wealth: Six Tried-and-True Steps to Financial Independence
David Ash’s Simple Wealth, which was written during the darkest days of the Covid-19 outbreak, might as well be named “Keep Calm and Carry On.” Written for leaders and laypeople of all income levels, it is a tribute to a serene and morally grounded method of building and maintaining riches.
Ash stresses that this technique is perfect for anyone who wants to match their personal finances with the purpose they seek in life, and as the subtitle suggests, it is based on six tried-and-true principles.
Additionally, Ash warns readers against three counterproductive “money mindsets” that obstruct the acquisition of riches on purpose. He addresses readers who find it extremely uncomfortable to even consider money, much less make plans for the future, in a straightforward and courteous manner.
Additionally, he sheds light on the shadowy side of the financial industry by offering a useful manual for identifying and avoiding scams. Ash knows what he’s talking about. Because he was a near-penniless high school dropout, he knows the tremendous stress of not knowing where your next dollar will come from, unlike some financial experts. He is now a multimillionaire who works on his own terms and is semi-retired.
6. R. Michael Anderson — Leadership Mindset 2.0: The Neuroscience and Psychology of Realizing Your Maximum Potential
Instead of relying solely on feelings to improve as a leader, Leadership Mindset 2.0 offers a scientific method. In it, R. Michael Anderson draws on decades of expertise to assist executives at Microsoft and Uber in better understanding their teams, how to communicate under pressure, and how to handle challenging discussions with a variety of stakeholders. Anderson’s work mostly focuses on the change in thinking that great leadership necessitates on a personal level. You are not alone, he argues, because “impostor syndrome” is more common than most leaders realize.
In contrast to the fake version they think their teams want to see from the top, he counsels CEOs to embrace “true” authenticity. All of this makes for an inspiring summer read that can motivate individuals and teams to accomplish real, lasting change. Despite the fact that each of these books provides distinct leadership advice, they are all bound by the notion that leadership never truly stops at the conclusion of the workday. You may take charge of your personal life by applying the same strategies that have helped you thrive as a business leader.
As we approach summer, which should bring some leisure, contemplation, and relaxation, that’s a nice lesson to keep in mind.
