15 Must-Read Books for New Leaders
Jack Welch, the former CEO of General Electric, famously said “Before you’re a leader, success is all about growing yourself. When you become a leader, success is all about growing others.” Moving into a leadership role for the first-time is often one of the most challenging and stressful times in your career. And while it is critically important to focus on developing others, we would argue it is equally important to continue growing yourself.
When you’re a new leader, you must shift your mindset. Previously you were focused on your own responsibilities & success; and now you’re responsible for the success of others. Therefore, one could argue that there has never been a more important time to focus on growing as a leader. One way to gain new insights, change your perspective and learn from the successes & failures of others is through books. As Margaret Fuller says, “Today a reader, tomorrow a leader.”
With this in mind, we at Lead Connext, surveyed successful leaders on LinkedIn about the #1 book that all new leaders should read. We received a lot of great responses and have aggregated them for you below. Please note that we haven’t read all of the books on this list, but we’ve definitely added them to our list for 2020. Without further ado, here are 15 must-read books for new leaders.
Dare to Lead by Brené Brown
Death by Meeting by Frank Lencioini
It Doesn’t Have to be Crazy at Work by Jason Fried
Leaders Eat Last by Simon Sinek
Playing Big by Tara Mohr
Primal Leadership by Daniel Goleman
Start With Why by Simon Sinek
7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey
21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership by John C. Maxwell
The New One Minute Manager by Ken Blanchard
The Power of Vulnerability by Brené Brown
The Speed of Trust by Stephen M.R. Covey
The Weird CEO by Charles Towers-Clark
Give and Take by Adam Grant
You Were Born to Fly by Daniel Gomez
The above books cover a wide-array of topics ranging from the importance of vulnerability to the power of helping others to transforming meetings. Some are more personal in nature whereas others are business-minded. However our hope is that each will offer you a new perspective and ultimately challenge your notion of what it means to lead. Happy reading!
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**Please note that Lead Connext is an Amazon Affiliate Partner and may earn a small fee for qualifying purchases made using the links above (at no cost to you).