My leadership coaching clients often ask me for reading recommendations to fuel their personal growth.
Here are the five books I recommend most often, and why:
1) Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman.
Not a time management book (thank goodness!) but a meaning-of-life management book. If you experience overwhelm or dread, this book can shift your relationship with time and tasks.
Bonus: I also like Oliver B’s email newsletter (and did you know I have a
hashtag and #newsletter too?)
2) The Brooks books: I confess I once mixed up these two books when recommending to a client:
“The Second Mountain: The Quest for a Moral Life” by David Brooks
and
“From Strength to Strength: Finding Success, Happiness, and Deep Purpose in the Second Half of Life” by Arthur Brooks.
But it all worked out since these are both great for seasoned professionals who are moving beyond the external trappings of success to find deep meaning in their work and life.
3) On the other end of the experience spectrum, I frequently recommend “Making of a Manager: What To Do When Everyone Looks To You” by Julie Zhou to early professionals and new managers. Practical and humane.
4) For everyone who struggles with perfectionism and self doubt (who doesn’t?), I suggest:
“The Gifts of Imperfection: Let Go of Who You Think You’re Supposed to Be and Embrace Who You Are” by the one and only Brené Brown.
Less famous than her later books (and shorter) I find myself going back to it again and again for the truthful, vulnerable and practical wisdom.
Bonus: Her
#daretolead podcast is fantastic. Sadly it ended in Dec 2022 but still worthwhile listening.
5) I’m a big Amy Edmondson fan, and believe her work on
#pychologicalsafety should be required reading for any leader. I am in the middle of “The Right Kind of Wrong: The Science of Failing Well.”
She had me at “Science.” And “Failing.” Experimentation and resulting “little f failures” are the backbone of my own journey, and my coaching.
Are you inspired? Please pay it forward, and share a book that has inspired your own personal growth in the comments.
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