The other day I came across a request for leadership books on a forum and here are four that came to mind
“Leaders eat Last,” by Simon Sinek, was a really nice overview of leadership from a biological and evolutionary lens. The basic thesis is that humans are biologically motivated to form groups via several chemicals, some of which emphasize personal achievement and others which emphasize group cohesion. Our society has gone out of whack favoring individual glory and the book is a polemic for balance. I am not a big fan of his “Start with Why Book” (it felt like a pamphlet dragged out to book length) but I thought this one was excellent.
“Leadership Pipeline,” by Ram Charan and Stephen Drotter, is a great overview of the different levels of leadership in management and the different challenges and mindsets required to succeed at each level. With seven levels, most of them won’t apply to one’s specific position, but it’s really useful to see the overall set to contextualize one’s own challenges.
“Extreme Ownership” and “Dichotomy of Leadership”, by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin. These books could be read individually but I think of the pair as an single work. It’s an easy read with a mix of stories from their military service and in the business world, with practical lessons to consider throughout the book, both as leaders and for one’s own individual mindset and performance.
“Tribes” and “This is Marketing”, by Seth Godin. I’m a huge fan of Seth’s Blog, but not as much of his books. But still he is a great provocateur and these two books deal directly with leadership. Well “This is Marketing” doesn’t exactly deal with leadership per se, but it sets a framework of how we are trying to improve the world in such a way that I consider it a leadership book. And “Tribes” is a good book on dynamics in the digital age and pushes one to take advantage of the opportunities we have in front of us.