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The beginning of a new year is a great time for reflection, goal setting, and training new skills. At Discovery and Story, we consider ourselves and all those we coach to be students of their discipline. There’s always something new we can learn from ourselves and from each other. This pursuit of knowledge allows us to hone our own ways of working when it comes to leadership, and help to inspire our teams to do their very best work.
“Throughout your life advance daily, becoming more skillful than yesterday, more skillful than today. This is never-ending.” ― Tsunetomo Yamamoto
Whether you’re a business owner or team leader who’s looking to brush up on some new techniques, or looking to inspire your team to develop their own leadership skills and style, we have some top tier book recommendations to inform and inspire!
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TITLE: The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
AUTHOR: Stephen R. Covey
WHO’S IT FOR: For change leaders, coaches, and mentors looking to help motivate and inspire your team, or just yourself, and improve efficiency and effectiveness.
WHAT’S IT ABOUT: This tried and true favorite offers a holistic principle-centered approach for solving problems at work and in life. Discover a step-by-step guide to live with fairness, integrity, service, and human dignity. These are the basic building blocks to adapt to change and live our fullest potential.
WHY WE LIKE IT: Change is constant, both personally and professionally – and caused by internal and external factors. This book helps leaders and teams navigate ways to cope with those changes with step-by-step instructions and stories to help inspire the team to embrace those changes and learn to roll with the punches.
TITLE: How to be an Inclusive Leader
AUTHOR: Jennifer Brown
WHO IT’S FOR: Leaders committed to inclusion and diversity, especially those who want to build teams with diverse backgrounds and empower representation.
WHAT IT’S ABOUT: Leaders at every level can help affect needed changes in the workplace to help close the wealth gap and create a more equitable future for everyone.
This bestselling book tackles what it takes to be an inclusive leader and how to address the challenges that hold many leaders back from doing so. The book discusses identity, privilege, and systemic inequities and gives an actionable approach to drive change.
WHY WE LIKE IT: DEI is pivotal in today’s workplace and our communities. Leading in situations where people come from different backgrounds builds strength and value. This book offers both opportunities for reflection and actionable strategies to grow and drive meaningful change for the areas we can impact.
TITLE: Traction
AUTHOR: Gino Wickman
WHO IT’S FOR: Entrepreneurs and solo-preneurs, and their management teams operating in an agile environment.
WHAT IT’S ABOUT: This book helps you improve in six key components of your business to give you better focus and grow the business The Entrepreneurial Operating System® described in the book offers a practical approach for business success.
WHY WE LIKE IT: We like the simplistic breakdown this book gives for running a business:
- VISION: vision setting and getting your team onboard
- PEOPLE: finding the right people in the right roles
- DATA: measurability and scorecards
- ISSUES: Identifying and solving issues quickly and effectively
- PROCESS: Building a process and getting the team to follow it
- TRACTION: Building team ROCKS and efficiency in meetings
These are important topics to review through the small business lens to create more agile teams.
TITLE: The Introverted Leader
AUTHOR: Jennifer B. Kahnweiler, PhD
WHO IT’S FOR: Introverted leaders looking to thrive in a changing and challenging work environment.
WHAT IT’S ABOUT: Based on conversations with over 100 executives who identify as introverts, Kahnweiler offers a four-step strategy to succeed in an extroverted world. Get advice and tips to prepare, be present, push outside of your comfort zone and practice so you feel confident in different situations.
The book also has an Introverted Leader Quiz to help you prioritize where to focus your efforts for maximum results. Learn how to apply the guidance when public speaking, leading projects, participating during meetings, and more.
WHY WE LIKE IT: As an introvert myself, I found this book insightful, encouraging, and inspirational to hear the success stories of so many other business leaders who have the same challenges I do in the corporate world. I also like that the focus isn’t on changing your personality, but more so your mindset and approach – which is manageable and can be tackled with the 4-step strategy explored in the book.
TITLE: Start With Why
AUTHOR: Simon Sinek
WHO IT’S FOR: Leaders looking to inspire loyalty among their teams and grow culture within their organizations.
WHAT IT’S ABOUT:
In studying the people who’ve had the greatest influence through history in the world, Sinek discovered that they all think, act, and communicate by starting with why.
Filled with real-life examples and stories, this book explains why some people and companies are more innovative and influential than others. And, most importantly, it inspires readers to do the same in their lives and careers. The book goes deeper into the content covered in his famous viral TED Talk.
WHY WE LIKE IT: Simon is an engaging and passionate speaker who talks about vision, empathy, and a strong pull model for bringing teams along on the journey of organizational growth. I’m personally a fan of the pull model, both in leadership and in marketing, since I think it builds stronger connections. It also provides opportunities for engagement, and encourages contributions.
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With these five inspirational books about leadership, you should have plenty of new tips and techniques to test as you set your goals for this year, plan your team development roadmap, and think through the evolution of your company culture.
If you enjoyed these recommendations, and want to continue to upscale yourself and your team, download this free guide 5 Tips to Dramatically Improve Your Presentation Skills. And also please consider joining our newsletter to get more tips, ideas, and inspiration to further evolve your organization and leadership skills!
This article may contain affiliate links, which means we might make a commission, at no cost to you, if you click on the link and make a purchase.
