Start the Year Right // 4 Essential Reads on Leadership

Start the Year Right // 4 Essential Reads on Leadership

Leadership is the most evergreen of business topics, yet it remains extremely difficult to master.

What is leadership, exactly? It can feel like a mysterious mixture of interpersonal skills, emotional intelligence, knowledge, experience, charm, and charisma. But leadership is a skill—one that project managers can sharpen.

As John C. Maxwell, rightly puts it Everything rises and falls on leadership. ~

Year after year, an array of books come out with different authors trying to help demystify leadership.

They try to do their part by keeping the leadership subject fresh, and by bringing their varied perspectives to the task. 

Their research ranges from memoirs of captains of industry who recount their own journeys and the lessons learned along the way to musings of theorists.

As the year begins, we thought of putting together a list of books frequently mentioned by the different leaders who have hosted our events in the past year across our locations.

Here are our four selections that include some of the latest leadership bestsellers as well as some that have stood the test of time; between them, they represent a broad look at how to thrive as a leader of a company, a division, or a team.

These books offer ideas and strategies that change the way people think and disrupt  how businesses are conducted

The First 90 Days:

Author: Michal D Watkins

One of the most stressful challenges in the workplace is when you transition into a leadership role for the first time. In his book.

The First 90 Days, authored by Michael Watkins shares the secrets of how to make these transitions as smooth as possible. It offers self-assessments, checklists, and strategies on how to avoid the most common mistakes made by new leaders.

For about USD 20, the book shares a road map for taking charge quickly and effectively during critical career transition periods.

Whether you are a first-time manager, a mid-career professional on your way up, or a newly minted CEO, this book is packed with practical suggestions for how to successfully navigate through new scenarios. 

First, Break All the Rules: What the World’s Greatest Managers Do Differently

Author: Gallup

In this longtime management bestseller, Gallup presents the remarkable findings of its massive in-depth study of great managers.

Some were in leadership positions. Others were front-line supervisors. Some were in Fortune 500 companies; others were key players in small, entrepreneurial firms.

Whatever their circumstances, the managers who ultimately became the focus of Gallup’s research were those who excelled at turning each individual employee’s talent into high performance.

Gallup has found that the front-line manager is the key to attracting and retaining talented employees. This book explains how the best managers select an employee for talent rather than for skills or experience, set expectations, build on each person’s unique strengths rather than trying to fix his or her weaknesses, and get the best performance out of their teams.

And perhaps most important, Gallup’s research produced the 12 simple statements that distinguish the strongest departments of a company from all the rest. 

First, Break All the Rules is the first book to present this essential measuring stick and to prove the link between employee opinions and productivity, profit, customer satisfaction, and the rate of turnover.

Legacy

Author: James Kerr

What can you learn from one of the world’s most successful national sports teams – All Blacks from New Zealand? 

A lot, in fact, about leadership and business. Bestselling author, coach, and speaker James Kerr shares the top 15 lessons that you can learn from this legendary team in his book Legacy. 

In today’s volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous environment, personal leadership has never been more relevant and Legacy goes to the heart of how great leaders – and we are all leaders – ‘reboot’ and reframe their future.Legacy talks about everything from how to achieve world-class leading standards to creating a legacy to be proud of. 

It is a truly life-defining read that addresses the big questions – values, vision, mindset, and purpose – that, when answered, build the foundation for resilience, excellence, and sustained success.

Even if you are not an avid rugby fan, this is one of the best leadership books to read from the top leaders who are the best at what they do.

Lead from the Outside: How to Build Your Future and Make Real Change

Author: Stacey Adams

Probably the most highly recommended book on leadership, Lead from the Outside, book by Stacey Abrams is an influential and accomplished politician in the US known best for tirelessly galvanizing over 800,000 people of color to register as voters in Georgia. 

In fact last year, most of our After Office Hours speakers quoted this as one of their current reads or best reads.

This book is based on years of her personal experiences on how to harness your strengths even as an outsider and lead others to do the same. It is particularly relevant for leaders outside of the traditional white male-dominant hierarchy.