10 great books for new leaders

I’ve been asked a lot lately for my best recommendations on leadership books. You don’t have to be in charge of a team to be a leader, you are perhaps an IC who wants to influence and lead outcomes for projects, products or a team you work in.

One of the less talked about areas of leadership is “being a genuinely good person”. I don’t think it’s possible to lead well at any level without doing some work on yourself, and smoothing those rough edges. It takes a lot of courage and vulnerability, and it is a game changer. Spending time on this is an ongoing project, but there are many other tactical things you can do to be effective as well.

This is list is made up of my favorites, the books that most resonated with me, that I learnt most from, and that I go back to again and again. They’re in no particular order.

Braving the Wilderness: The quest for true belonging and the courage to stand alone — Brené Brown

Eleven Rings — Phil Jackson

The Intangibles of Leadership: The 10 Qualities of Superior Executive Performance — Richard Davis

Start With Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone To Take Action — Simon Sinek

Never Eat Alone: And Other Secrets to Success, One Relationship at a Time — Keith Ferazzi & Tahl Raz

Principles: Life and Work — Ray Dalio

Story Driven: You don’t need to compete when you know who you are — Bernadette Jiwa

Leaders Eat Last: Why Some Teams Pull Together and Others Don’t — Simon Sinek

Quiet Leadership: Six Steps to Transforming Performance at Work — David Rock

Multipliers, Revised and Updated: How the Best Leaders Make Everyone Smarter — Liz Weisman