Top 20 Best Books on Leadership and Management [All-Time]
20 Definitive Leadership Books & Audiobooks to Inspire You to Lay the Foundation of Success. Lead a Team, a Business, a Country. It Starts here.
What is Leadership?
Leadership is the influencing word, the forthright movement in the right direction, the ability to make decisions and be followed. Leadership is your decision-making, the way you communicate, and your ethical values.
Do you want to be a leader of people, a business leader, or lead a revolution? Welcome to the 20 best books on leadership.
You will not learn how to lead by reading, but books can teach you a great deal about leadership.
Works by or about great leaders and leadership theory can offer essential lessons in leading others. Even if you do not learn how to lead, the top leadership books offer wisdom in life, strategy, and business.
Here are a few volumes that offer valuable insights into the art of leadership.
1. Developing the Leader Within You by John C. Maxwell
Maxwell has updated his classic analysis of leadership for the 21st Century with examinations of various leadership styles.
One advantage of Maxwell’s method is that he offers leadership insights for a wide variety of fields, including the church, government, and business.
The most valuable insight Maxwell examines is the leadership influence and a breakdown of different types of leaders.
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2. Leadershift by John C. Maxwell
Leadershift (2019) helps leaders and would-be leaders develop the ability and desire to make the changes in their leadership that will positively boost their growth and that of their organizations.
It shows how we can all achieve great things as leaders with the right mindset and the most up-to-date thinking.
A new work by one of today’s greatest experts on leadership. Maxwell shows how leaders can change organizations by implementing what calls “Leadershifts.”
The book emphasizes personal growth and examines the shifts that shaped his own career.
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3. If I Could Tell You Just One Thing by Richard Reed
If I Could Tell You Just One Thing: Encounters With Remarkable People And Their Most Valuable Advice by Richard Reed
Virgin CEO Sir Richard Branson describes this work as his favorite book on business leadership. Reed created the book by asking, “Given all that you have experienced, given all that you now know, and given all that you have learned, if you could pass on only one piece of advice, what would it be?”
The work applies to leadership because many of the people Reed interviewed were leaders in various fields. Those leaders range from former President Bill Clinton (D-Arkansas) to the Dalai Lama.
The research enabled Reed to collect an incredible amount of advice from extraordinary individuals. For instance, perfume entrepreneur Jo Malone told Reed, “No matter how bad it is, no situation is ever greater than you. you always have three options: you can change the situation, accept the situation, or change your mindset on how you see the situation.”
If you are looking for basic leadership insights from many leaders, If I Could Tell You Just One Thing is the reference book for you.
Many of the quotes distill the basic philosophies, ideals, and values of successful leaders in an easy-to-understand format. Some of the advice is practical, while other quotes are inspirational.
The late chef and television personality Anthony Bourdain offered a great piece of strategic advice for any leader or entrepreneur. The advice was, don’t work with “a**holes or toxic and obnoxious people.”
Bourdain’s simple but brilliant insight was that such rude and obnoxious people waste time, money, and resources while making your life miserable. Plus, they distract you from your goals while creating problems. Avoiding those individuals who get in your way is a good basic strategy to success.
The tremendous lesson If I Could Tell You Just One Thing teaches that valuable advice and useful insights are all around us if you are just willing to listen. Hence, this book offers a lesson in the power of listening and paying attention.
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4. Leadership is an Art by Max DePree
DePree shows how to lead and inspire creative individuals by recounting his work as CEO of the furniture maker Herman Miller Inc.
A must for those in manufacturing, technology, entertainment, and other fields where creativity is the key to profit.
The best leaders know that empathy and elegance are the keys to workplace success, not tough talk and harsh discipline. When you look at leadership as an art form, you won’t just improve your company but also make life better for the people you lead, too.
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5. The Ride of a Lifetime by Bob Iger
The Ride of a Lifetime: Lessons Learned from 15 Years as the CEO of the Walt Disney Company by Bob Iger – #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
One of the world’s top entertainment executives offers his philosophy of leadership.
Iger reveals that treating business acquaintances with respect led to his four most important deals. The acquisitions of Pixar, Marvel Entertainment, Lucasfilm, and 21st Fox, four companies that make up the modern Disney (NYSE: DIS) empire, resulted from personal relationships Iger established with those companies’ CEOs.
George Lucas sold Lucasfilm and Star Wars to Disney partially because of the way Iger treated him 20 years earlier. To explain, in the early 1990s, Iger, then an executive at ABC television, kept his word and allowed Lucas’s unsuccessful series The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles to run for two full seasons. Two decades later, Lucas remembered that when Iger offered to buy Lucasfilm.
Iger also muses on the importance of such values and attributes as optimism, courage, fairness, curiosity, focus, decisiveness, integrity, and thoughtfulness. An excellent account of ethical leadership in action in a cutthroat business by somebody who has walked the walk.
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6. Leading Change by John P. Kotter
Kotter shows leaders how to be part of the change rather than resist it. In particular, Kotter tells you how not to manage change. Instead, he offers a methodology for leading change and shaping its direction.
This classic is a vital road map to survival in today’s ever-changing world.
This book is a must-read for leaders in a business and technology landscape marked by constant change and continuous disruption. Leaders who want to learn how to leverage disruption can benefit from Kotter’s work.
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7. Excellence Wins by Horst Schulze
Excellence Wins A No-Nonsense Guide to Becoming the Best in a World of Compromise by Horst Schulze with Dean Merrill
Schulze, the Ritz-Carlton hotel chain’s former president, reveals his secrets for offering high quality and uncompromising customer service in a throwaway world.
In particular, Schulze shares his secrets for empowering employees to become leaders.
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8. The Fifth Risk by Michael Lewis
“The morning after Trump was elected president, the people who ran the US Department of Energy – an agency that deals with some of the most powerful risks facing humanity – waited to welcome the incoming administration’s transition team. Nobody appeared. Across the US government, the same thing happened: nothing.”
One of the greatest living business writers examines leadership from a different perspective than mid-level managers and employees. Lewis examines the careers of long-term federal civil servants in the United States.
In particular, Lewis shows how mid-level managers are the key to top-notch civil service and organizational consistency. A must-read for managers and leaders trying to understand those below them.
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9. Essentialism by Greg McKeown
Essentialism (2014) teaches you how to do better by doing less. By offering practical solutions for getting your priorities straight, Essentialism helps you eliminate all of the junk in your routine that’s keeping you from being truly productive and fulfilled.
McKeown offers insight into a leader’s daily routine and the importance of discipline. In particular, he offers advice on surviving the day-to-day struggles that shape every organization.
This book is unique because it focuses on the art of everyday survival for leaders rather than big-picture thinking and values.
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10. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Steven R. Covey
This book is a rare leadership classic that lives up to the hype. It was named the “most influential business book of the 20th Century” for a good reason. Covey shows leaders how to identify the most effective employees and get the most of them.
“Taught in every Business School in the Free World.”
Still one of the best blueprints for action for managers available. Covey’s book also serves as an insightful guide to the principles and philosophy of leadership. This book is a must-read for anybody trying to assemble a team or form an organization.
“The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People (1989) is the enormously influential self-help phenomenon that can teach you the principles of effectiveness. Once you make these principles into habits, you’ll be well on your way to more success, both in your personal and your professional life.” Blinkist Summary
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11. Emotional Intelligence by Daniel Goleman
In this behavioral science classic, Goleman examines the mental and emotional traits that make people successful. Leaders need this book because it shows what personality traits you need to look for in employees.
Importantly, Emotional Intelligence shows what kinds of employee organizations need to avoid if they want success. Moreover, Emotional Intelligence offers a coherent philosophy of leadership and success and shows how those principles apply to individual team members.
Understanding Emotional Intelligence can help leaders understand the motivations and thoughts of employees. Additionally, this pivotal work will help you identify emotional strengths and weaknesses in yourself and individual team members. Knowing those traits can transform a group of individuals into an effective team.
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12. When the Buck Stops With You by Alan Axelrod Ph.D
Harry S. Truman on Leadership
A very entertaining examination of the leadership philosophy of one of America’s greatest presidents.
Truman had little leadership or administration experience, yet he found himself thrust into the most powerful office in the world at the height of World War II. Axelrod does a great job of distilling Truman’s leadership philosophy and values for ordinary people.
A great book for ordinary people who find themselves in unexpected leadership positions. Many business leaders find themselves pulled from obscurity and suddenly placed into leadership roles. Also, Truman had to make extraordinary decisions, including using the atomic bomb and negotiating with one of the worst tyrants in human history, Joseph Stalin.
Truman’s ability to adapt to extraordinary situations can serve as a role model for any leader in any situation. Axelrod does everybody a service by distilling a set of leadership values anybody can apply from Truman’s career and sayings.
This is a rare book; there are only a few available on Amazon – It is Well Worth It.
13. Business Adventures by John Brooks
Business Adventures: Twelve Classic Tales from the World of Wall Street by John Brooks
This classic is a favorite read of both Warren Buffett and Bill Gates. In fact, Gates reveals that Buffett recommended Business Adventures to him.
Gates reports that Business Adventures is Buffett’s favorite business book. The Microsoft co-founder thinks Business is the best business book he’s ever read.
Brooks dissects corporate life and business strategy by examining notable events in the history of large companies. For instance, Brooks examines the epic failure of Ford’s Edsel car and the success of Xerox.
This book can help you understand what motivates two of today’s most successful business leaders.
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14. Creative Construction by Gary P. Pisano
Creative Construction: The DNA of Sustained Innovations by Gary P. Pisano
Pisano, a Harvard Business School professor, argues that large companies can thrive in a changing world.
Pisano challenges the conventional wisdom that only startups can innovate and enter new fields. Creative Construction, an intellectual framework for understanding disruption.
Pisano’s focus is on adapting big established enterprises to adapt to a changing market. Pisano spent three decades studying disruption on the ground. If you need a perspective about today’s market, this book is for you.
15. First, Break All the Rules by Jim Harter
First, Break All the Rules: What the World’s Greatest Managers Do Differently by Jim Harter
This book is based on a 25-year Gallup study of over 80,000 managers at 400 companies. The hope was to identify what the best managers do differently from everybody else.
This book offers important insights into human resources management, team building, team leadership, and employee/manager interactions. One person who swears by this book is Lori Goler, Facebook’s Vice President of People.
The most important lesson from this book is that the manager’s personal behavior shapes employee success. Harter emphasizes the differences between managers and leaders. Leaders look outward to see the big picture, while managers look inward to watch the details.
Thus, Harter offers an important insight into the difference between management and leadership. That lesson is successful leaders must be willing to break with the past and change everything. Leaders who do not learn that lesson will fail in today’s world of continuous disruption.
Pisano also shows how to get the most out of the best employees. One advantage of this book is that it is based on advice from real business leaders who are in the office every day rather than academics.
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16. Insanely Simple by Ken Segall
Insanely Simple: The Obsession that Drives Apple’s Success by Ken Segall
This book reveals and examines the simple philosophy that drove Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) to reach a $1 trillion market capitalization.
The philosophy imparted by Steve Jobs was simplicity. Segall got first-hand experience of that philosophy by sitting in the conference room with Jobs.
In the book, Segall reveals how Jobs made that philosophy reality and used it to drive Apple’s incredible turnaround. Segall shows how the philosophy drove Apple to perform better and faster and make more money.
Anyone who wants to apply their philosophy and values to a company needs to look at Insanely Simple. If you need a basic business philosophy to shape strategy, this is the book for you. It also provides a great introduction to marketing, advertising, strategy, and design.
If you want a book that offers a basic and easy-to-understand but proven business philosophy, Insanely Simple is it. Understanding the importance of simplicity can help any leader succeed.
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17. Seeing Around Corners by Rita McGrath
Seeing Around Corners: How to Spot Inflection Points in Business Before They Happen by Rita McGrath
Columbia Business School Professor Rita McGrath asks the interesting question, “how do leaders spot change and disruption before they occur.”
McGrath theorizes that change and disruption in business flow from inflection points. Hence, leaders who can spot the inflection points can profit from them. Steve Jobs, for example, spotted the inflection point of the smartphone and deduced how the phone could become a major source of entertainment and information.
Apple is so successful today because Jobs was a master at spotting inflection points and seizing control first. Jobs realized that smartphones could create a huge market for digital entertainment, so he created the App Store.
McGrath offers several strategies for spotting inflection points and capitalizing on them. In addition, she shows how to decentralize strategy to find several paths to success and customer loyalty.
Importantly, McGrath shows how entrepreneurs can spot new technologies and markets coming and take advantage of them. She does this by examining Netflix’s identification of streaming video and the construction of a platform to profit from that market.
Seeing Around Corners is a timely book because of its focus on digital platforms and markets. If you want to learn where a business is going and plan for it, Seeing Around Corner is a must-read.
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18. Connected Strategy by Nicolaj Siggelkow
Connected Strategy: Building Continuous Customer Relationships for Competitive Advantage by Nicolaj Siggelkow and Christian Terwiesch
This book answers the all-important question, “how do you turn an occasional shopper into a devoted customer?” The authors offer a comprehensive strategy of customer service designed to build relationships.
A connected strategy leverages technology by combining it with traditional customer service. Connected Strategy is a must for any leader who wants to make relationship building and customer service priorities.
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19. In Search of Excellence by Thomas J. Peters
In Search of Excellence by Thomas J. Peters and Robert H. Waterman Jr.
Taught in every Business School in the Free World.”
All leaders need to read this classic, which some readers call the “Greatest Business Book of All Time.”
Peters and Waterman studied 43 of America’s best-run companies to learn their management’s secrets. As a result, the two found eight basic principles that lead to management success.
If you need a basic philosophy of management and business leadership, this is the book for you. In Search of Excellence demonstrates the importance of management philosophy by teaching philosophy.
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20. Different by Youngme Moon
Different: Escaping the Competitive Herd by Youngme Moon
Harvard Business School Professor Youngme Moon shows how to make a brand stand out in today’s crowded and hyper-competitive market.
Young’s original research on Google and IKEA shows how mavericks can disrupt industries and build successful brands. I advise those searching for a unique path to success to look at Different.
This book also provides a great introduction to branding and marketing in today’s world. If you want to build something new and unique, this book is for you.
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Summary: The Best Books On Leadership & Management
No book can teach you leadership, but all the books we list here offer insights into leadership. Successful leaders read because successful leaders are constantly seeking new knowledge and wisdom.
The more you learn about leadership, the better a leader you will be. If you tell yourself I know nothing about leadership and need to learn, you could succeed as a leader.
Studying the best books on leadership is a great way to understand leadership and its importance.
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31 Must-Read Books for Aspiring CEOs and Entrepreneurs
Being a CEO or entrepreneur is not for the faint of heart. You've got to have a firm handle on the market and your product -- while inspiring employees and influencing stakeholders. Sound like a tall order? It is.
So, if you see the letters "CEO" in your future, it's never too early to start preparing with these powerful and inspiring books. Start your education now and your business and employees will thank you later.
Best Books for CEOs
1. "The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers" by Ben Horowitz
This book captures what it's really like to lead a startup. Get practical advice on how to manage tough problems they don't cover in business school.
Review: "This book can be read as 'The Art of War' for business. The first few chapters alone make this book amazing."
2. "Sam Walton: Made in America" by Sam Walton
Sam Walton shares how he created Wal-Mart and became one of the richest men in the world. Walton's thoughts on building a lasting business and "servant leadership" are important lessons for any executive to learn.
Review: "This book should be mandatory reading for any MBA student. What they don't teach you in business school is to recognize opportunity. Walton did that, and he did it repeatedly."
3. "Seeking Wisdom: From Darwin to Munger" by Peter Bevelin
Learn how thoughts are influenced, why you're quick to misjudge, and how to improve the way you process new ideas. This book isn't just about running a company -- it's full of advice on thinking bigger and understanding what motivates the people we work with every day.
Review: "Bevelin summarizes the pitfalls of the human psyche, while providing lasting wisdom. It's a book you can pick up any time to learn something for business, investing, or life."
4. "Zingerman's Guide to Giving Great Service" by Ari Weinzweig
Weinzweig co-founded the beloved Michigan-based Zingerman's Deli. In this book, he speaks about the secret sauce that has made his business the focus of articles in The New York Times, The Atlantic, and Fast Company.
Review: "This book teaches all there is to know about customer service: The customer is your business. Once you accept, embrace, and get ecstatic about that -- everything about your company will skyrocket!"
5. "Managing Oneself" by Peter F. Drucker
Drucker argues we all must be our own CEOs. It's up to us to stay engaged and productive during our careers -- and you'll learn just how to do that in this page-turner.
Review: "Everyone has a different interpretation of success, and this book helps you understand which questions to ask to continue moving your career or life plans along."
6. "Behind the Cloud: The Untold Story of How Went from Idea to Billion-Dollar Company and Revolutionized the Industry" by Marc Benioff and Carlye Adler
This is the story of Salesforce as told by founder and CEO Marc Benioff. Learn how Benioff grew a startup from his apartment to one of the world's fastest-growing software companies -- in under 10 years.
Review: "Highly recommended! An entrepreneur's journey from idea to inception and launching their own company. "
7. "Let My People Go Surfing: The Education of a Reluctant Businessman" by Yvon Chouinard
Chouinard, the founder and owner of Patagonia, tells how he founded the outdoor gear retailer and built a company with strong values and culture.
Review: "This is one of my favorite business books of all time. It's the story of Patagonia interspersed with business lessons. Yvon's vision of sustainability, profitability, employee happiness, and service (repair) is refreshing."
8. "Positioning: The Battle For Your Mind: How to Be Seen and Heard in the Overcrowded Marketplace" by Al Ries and Jack Trout
Learn how to position yourself as a leader and your company as a respected brand. The trick? Getting your ideas to stick your audience's mind. If this sounds like inception -- trust me, it's only the beginning.
Review: "The author efficiently demonstrates several positioning tactics and weaves them into a playbook. The author's incredible use of real blue-chip and no-name company stories effectively communicates his point."
9. "The Creator's Code: The Six Essential Skills of Extraordinary Entrepreneurs" by Amy Wilkinson
This book is based on in-depth interviews with more than 200 entrepreneurs. Through her research, Wilkinson identified six disciplines we need to master to transform our ideas into real-world success.
Review: "Wilkinson did a great job picking the brains of today's greatest entrepreneurial heroes, telling amazing and inspiring stories, and conveying that knowledge in a practical framework."
Need a strategy for dealing with the daily anxiety of running a business? This book is key to finding balance, clarity, and a rational way forward.
Review: "This book is very rejuvenating and revolutionary. It really helps captivate the realism today. If you're trying to improve your well-being and seek truth, this is the book for you."
11. "Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion" by Robert Cialdini, PH.D.
Understand the cognitive biases humans use to make decisions, and learn how to use that knowledge to lead a business. Cialdini shares six psychological principles and explains how to use them to become a skilled persuader.
Review: "Reading this book will open your eyes to the techniques used by others to influence you. You will also understand how deeply ingrained some of these principles are."
12. "EntreLeadership" by Dave Ramsey
In this book, Ramsey explains how to work on your business instead of in it. He argues your company is only as strong as its leaders, and your team will never grow beyond you. So, the real question is, "Are you growing?"
Review: "Great practical business book! It's full of good reminders for those with experience, and it's a great way to learn business from an entrepreneurial perspective. Highly recommend -- especially if you're in business for yourself."
13. "Setting the Table: The Transforming Power of Hospitality in Business" by Danny Meyer
Meyer is one of America's leading restaurateurs, and this book is all about he got there by providing world-class customer service. Learn Meyer's "Enlightened Hospitality" philosophy -- and how it will make you an effective, productive leader.
Review: "This book should be required reading for anyone who aspires to change paradigms and push themselves beyond what they think is possible. Meyer does an amazing job of balancing the need to achieve with the need to treat people well."
14. "Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance" by Angela Duckworth
Duckworth is a psychologist who spent several years researching what makes successful people so successful. Her findings? It's not talent that helps some people thrive -- it's a blend of passion and persistence she calls "grit."
Review: "This is a really great book with good stories and analysis. I would recommend this to any business leader, entrepreneur, parent, or person... O.K., that's everyone."
15. "Meditations" by Marcus Aurelius
Think your problems are hard? Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius shares how he coped with life as a warrior and administrator of an empire. In the midst of natural disasters and war, Aurelius writes about his commitment to virtue above pleasure and tranquility above balance. CEOs and entrepreneurs often struggle to find balance and this book is a great North Star.
Review: "Meditations is a must-read for anyone interested in human behavior and Stoicism. While parts may be difficult to understand, the book provides marvelous insight into human behavior. Marcus has given us a way to see life and our role in other people's lives."
If you're looking for a guide to running a successful sales team, look no further. Written by an early Salesforce sales leader, this book spills what it takes for a team to generate highly qualified leads, create predictable revenue, and meet financial goals.
Review: "My highlighter ran out on page 133 of Chapter seven! This book is always on my first-to-grab shelf of resources. I use it every time I work on new marketing strategies, campaigns, and tactics for my clients."
Former HubSpot SVP and current Senior Lecturer at Harvard Business School Mark Roberge explains how to challenge conventional methods of scaling your sales organization. You'll learn how to apply data, technology, and inbound selling to every aspect of sales acceleration.
Review: "This is one of the most important books for sales leaders, entrepreneurs, and CEOs of emerging companies ever written. Why? Because it helps an outsider with no prior sales experience view sales through the lens of an engineer, while creating frameworks for analysis of operational aspects from day one."
18. "The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable" by Patrick Lencioni
Lencioni tells the story of a CEO facing a leadership crisis: She must unite a dysfunctional team threatening her company. Throughout the book, he outlines an easy-to-follow model and actionable steps for building a cohesive, effective team.
Review: "I've read a lot of leadership books and this one is my favorite. It's told in fable form with a made-up company and staff. The ideas presented about developing a team seem obvious, but when you dig deeper you realize how challenging it can be."
19. "Playing to Win: How Strategy Really Works" by A.G Lafley and Roger Martin
"Playing to Win" outlines the strategic approach Lafley and his strategic advisor, Martin, used to double Procter & Gamble's sales, quadruple profits, and increase market value by more than $100 billion.
Review: "Much has been said about this book. My only add is if you need to understand strategic thinking processes of large corporations -- and CEOs in particular -- this is an excellent book."
Facebook's COO combines personal stories, compelling data, and remarkable research to explain how women can combine professional achievement with personal fulfillment -- and how men can benefit by supporting women in the workplace and at home.
Review: "This book changed my life. I'd been working in the same position at the same company for the last 12 years, and I found myself wondering why I wasn't being promoted or approached by competitors. I needed this book to push me to take the next step."
21. "Pour Your Heart Into It: How Starbucks Built a Company One Cup at a Time" by Howard Schultz
Learn how the Starbucks phenomenon was shaped and benefit from the wisdom Schultz gained along the way. The coffee giant's book illustrates how devotion to product excellence and employee satisfaction can lead to exponential success.
Review: "This is one of the best books I've read in a long time. It's a how-to book for running a business. In it, Schultz talks about having a vision and giving more than you promise."
22. "Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap and Others Don't" by Jim Collins
Collins' book takes a deep dive into what it takes for good, mediocre, or even bad companies to achieve greatness. Five years of research, 28 companies, and thousands of interviews allow the reader to learn what it really takes for a company to be exceptional.
Review: "We take for granted the products and services many companies provide, and we pay little attention when these companies fail. Most of all, we don't pay attention to the very basic ideas that cause companies to fail. It's obvious the author put a great deal of effort into picking and analyzing these companies."
The ability to hire, manage, and retain great people is a critical skill for executives to have. This book is a comprehensive resource for leaders who want to be better at hiring, promoting, and growing great employees.
Review: "This book just oozes with wisdom. From recruiting to evaluations, this is one of the most well-researched and useful books on the market. There are books out there you wish you'd read earlier, and this one is on my list."
24. "The Innovator's Dilemma: The Revolutionary Book That Will Change the Way You Do Business" by Clayton M. Christensen
Are you doing everything right? Christensen argues your business could still fail. Read this book to glean valuable insights into changing technology and why it's critical to your company's success.
Review: "Attention all future game-changers: If you're looking to change the world, you can't follow the world's rules. This book gives you a blueprint for action."
25. "Rework" by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson
"Rework" shows you how to stop talking and start working. It's a straightforward handbook for anyone dreaming of starting their own business or being their own boss. The takeaway? You can't do it while stuck in traditional channels of business plans, competition, and investors.
Review: "Rework was an absolutely fantastic read! I highly recommend it to anyone who plans to start a business. The chapters are short but packed with tools that will help you focus on the real priorities of having a sustainable business and work environment."
26. "The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference" by Malcolm Gladwell
You know that moment when an idea takes off? That's what this book unpacks. Gladwell discusses the changing way people think about selling products and sharing ideas, trends, and social behaviors. Learn how to pitch your own ideas, listen to those of your staff, and be part of the great ones when they take off.
Review: "'The Tipping Point' is excellent at providing insight into how large changes can be caused by small ones. It summarizes three ways an idea can go from insignificant to catching on in a large way."
27. "What Got You Here Won't Get You There: How Successful People Became Even More Successful" by Marshall Goldsmith, Illustrated by Shane Clester
Businesses are filled with people who've worked hard to excel -- but only a handful reach the top. Goldsmith, an executive coach, shares the nuanced behaviors setting them apart. If you're wondering how to make the jump to a CEO or executive role reach for this book now.
Review: "As an executive coach, I work with high performers who sometimes wonder why they are stalled in reaching the next level of success. I found this book overflowing with insights I can use in these situations."
28. "Radical Candor: Be a Kick-Ass Boss Without Losing Your Humanity" by Kim Malone Scott
Taking on a leadership role can be challenging. But have no fear, this book provides a framework for building better relationships, a successful team, and culture in which your team can grow and thrive.
Review: "Radical Candor is one of the most helpful books on management I have read. Not only is the theoretical model (caring personally while providing critical feedback) incredibly helpful, but there are dozens of practical suggestions and tips on everything from 1-1 meetings to successfully managing large projects. This book really does lay out a framework to allow you and your staff to do the best work of your lives."
29. "Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World" by Adam Grant
How do you become a successful leader? Adam Grant uses academic studies and stories to illustrate how to recognize a great idea, move past doubt and fear, and build a culture that empowers people to see the world differently.
Review: "In Originals, Grant teaches us how to develop new ideas and how to vet them; how to pitch those ideas to others; when to trust our gut and when not to; the difference between power and status and so much more!"
30. "The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business" by Charles Duhigg
Our habits play a major role in our day-to-day lives, both at work and outside of it. Duhigg dives into the details behind how habits are formed and provides advice for breaking bad habits. Developing positive habits and breaking damaging ones will set you up for future success.
Review: "This book helps us understand how habits are formed and how we can use them to our benefit, change them when we need to and replace them when necessary. Duhigg does warn the reader that although we understand the way habits are made and altered it is not always easy to do it. Determining the actual cue, for example, can take some experimentation and work."
31. "The Outsiders: Eight Unconventional CEOs and Their Radically Rational Blueprint for Success" by William N. Thorndike
This book, recommended by Warren Buffet, details the stories of successful CEOs and their corporate management techniques. It's a must-read for anyone who hopes to lead a company someday.
Review: "The basic premise is that a successful CEO needs to do two jobs - a) run their operations efficiently and b) decide how to deploy cash generated by those operations. Business schools are great at training future CEOs to do the first. The skills required to be effective at the second job is closer to those of an investor and aren't a focus for those entering Corporate America.
Whether you've been a CEO/entrepreneur for decades or aspire to be one in the future, grab a few of these books and invest in your career and the well-being of those around you.
Want more? Read this Freakonomics book summary next.
14 Best Leadership Books to Read in 2022
You discovered our list of the best leadership books.
Leadership books are resources that teach leadership competencies, skills, and best practices. These works analyze which qualities great leaders share, and provide frameworks for building effective teams.
These books are similar to management books and books for CEOs, and include leadership books by women and mentorship books. These books help explore styles of leadership and develop leadership skills, executive skills and good leaders.
This article contains:
the best leadership books for new leaders
top leadership books
good business leadership books
executive leadership books
the best books on leadership and management
So, here is the list!
List of leadership books
Here is a list of newer releases and older bestsellers that cover effective leadership.
1. Leaders Eat Last by Simon Sinek
Like many great leadership books, Leaders Eat Last by Simon Sinek draws inspiration from military principles. The concept in question: high-ranking officers eat after their men, putting their reports’ needs before their own. Sinek makes the case that people-first leadership makes crews feel supported and respected. These feelings in turn compel employees to exhibit loyalty and exceed expectations. Sinek states that trust and psychological safety are the keys to excellence, illustrating this argument with multiple examples from different types of organizations around the world.
Notable Quote: “If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.”
Buy Leaders Eat Last by Simon Sinek.
2. Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead by Sheryl Sanderson
Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead by Facebook executive Sheryl Sanderson is one of the most popular leadership books for women. Inspired by personal experience and a TED Talk Sanderson gave in 2010, Lean In details the ways women hold back and miss career opportunities by being passive and polite. Sanderson encourages women to seek strong mentors, advocate for themselves, and assert their place in the business world. These actions can empower women to transform into leaders instead of merely accepting assigned roles.
Although the book is a few years old, the lessons are still relevant. Given the challenges to women’s careers a remote workforce presents, Lean In is worth a revisit.
Notable Quote: “In the future, there will be no female leaders. There will just be leaders.”
Buy Lean In.
3. The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership: Follow Them and People Will Follow You by John C. Maxwell
In The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, John C. Maxwell outlines clear guidelines for leaders to follow to maximize influence and ensure that employees achieve a common vision. The book shares wisdom such as “leadership develops daily, not in a day,” and “leaders understand that activity is not necessarily accomplishment.” The book explains each rule plainly and provides anecdotal examples, covering every aspect of leadership from attracting and forming teams to securing legacy by planning for succession.
Notable Quote: “You can’t move people to action unless you first move them with emotion…. The heart comes before the head.”
Buy The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership.
4. Dare to Lead: Brave Work. Tough Conversations. Whole Hearts by Brené Brown
Dare to Lead shares lessons on the power of vulnerability and empathy in leadership. Renowned “courage and shame” researcher Brené Brown makes the case that leadership is not about status or control, but rather recognizing potential in individuals and ideas. Dare to Lead presents a guide to becoming a courageous and confident leader.
Notable Quote: “I define a leader as anyone who takes responsibility for finding the potential in people and processes, and who has the courage to develop that potential.”
Buy Dare to Lead.
5. The Mentor Leader: Secrets to Building People and Teams That Win Consistently by Tony Dungy
Tony Dungy is a celebrated former NFL coach, and this work is a valuable leadership book. The Mentor Leader explains how to elevate those around you towards success with one simple principle: “your only job is to help your players be better.” Dungy outlines the critical elements of mentor leadership, including introspection, altruistic mindset, and modeling values. The Mentor Leader demonstrates how to maximize team potential and drive individuals towards optimal performance.
Notable Quote: “Engage, educate, equip, encourage, empower, energize, and elevate. Those are the methods for maximizing the potential of any individual, team, organization, or institution for ultimate success and significance. Those are the methods of a mentor leader.”
Buy The Mentor Leader.
6. Minority Leader: How to Build Your Future and Make Real Change by Stacey Abrahms
Representative Stacey Abrahms’ Minority Leader: How to Build Your Future and Make Real Change is one of the best leadership books around. The book gives instructions for leading as an outsider. For example, by using your unique perspective and resilience to enact impactful and lasting change even in the most seemingly rigid institutions. This work is a mix of memoir and instruction, guiding readers through steps to find passion and develop skills through topics like embracing otherness, owning opportunity, and overcoming failure.
Notable Quote: “Logic is a seductive excuse for setting low expectations.”
Buy Minority Leader.
7. The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers by Ben Horowitz
Becoming a leader may not mean assuming a pre-existing executive position within an established organization, but rather blazing an entirely new path and creating a company from scratch. In The Hard Thing About Hard Things, Ben Horowitz illustrates the realities of entrepreneurship, addressing how to build a business from the ground up, uncover unclear answers, and make tough calls and hard decisions with minimal guidance or backup.
Notable Quote: “Build a culture that rewards—not punishes—people for getting problems into the open where they can be solved.”
Buy The Hard Thing About Hard Things.
8. Primal Leadership: Unleashing the Power of Emotional Intelligence by Daniel Goleman, Richard E. Boyatzis, and Annie McKee
Emotional intelligence is one of the most underrated leadership skills. Leaders need to connect with their people to motivate and resonate with employees. Primal Leadership teaches professionals to identify and navigate feelings, empathize with employees, and build emotionally intelligent organizations. Emotionally intelligent leadership enables leaders to avoid misunderstandings and incorrect judgements, relate more closely to workers, and collaborate in true tandem with employees. The authors are professionals with years in the psychology and business consulting worlds, and illustrate their arguments through lived and observed experiences.
Notable Quote: “Not that leaders need to be overly “nice”; the emotional art of leadership includes pressing the reality of work demands without unduly upsetting people.”
Buy Primal Leadership.
9. Leadership: In Turbulent Times by Doris Kearns Goodwin
Leaders have a lot of pressure to lead their staff through times of turmoil. Perhaps the guidance leaders most need is on navigating a crisis, and reassurance that history’s greats encountered comparable challenges. Leadership: In Turbulent Times analyzes the obstacles faced by four American presidents: Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin Roosevelt, and Lyndon Johnson. Goodwin’s work examines the struggles, triumphs, and tactical approaches of each subject, holding each president up as an example of how to turn tragedy into achievement. This book is a masterclass in crisis management and transformational leadership, as well as a roadmap out of dark times.
Notable Quote: “Establish a clear purpose; challenge the team to work out details; traverse conventional departmental boundaries; set large short-term and long-term targets; create tangible success to generate accelerated growth and momentum.”
Buy Leadership: In Turbulent Times.
10. Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy SEALs Lead and Win by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin
The extreme environments of Navy SEAL missions provide the ultimate platform for leadership. Former commanders Jocko Willink and Leif Babin apply battlefield wisdom to the business world, preaching the philosophy of admitting mistakes and owning failure as a means to earn trust and respect from followers. Only by overcoming ego and facing reality head-on can leaders gain the clarity and strength to act in difficult situations. The authors employ military discipline and combat strategy to break down traits and approaches necessary to effective leadership.
Notable Quote: “Implementing Extreme Ownership requires checking your ego and operating with a high degree of humility. Admitting mistakes, taking ownership, and developing a plan to overcome challenges are integral to any successful team.”
Buy Extreme Ownership.
11. How to Win Friends & Influence People by Dale Carnegie
Dale Carnegie’s How to Win Friends & Influence People is one of the top leadership books of all time. Almost a century after the book’s initial publication, the sentiments within the pages still ring true. Carnegie’s guide to winning favor in the business world is a masterclass in soft skills. Leadership hinges upon resonating with people and winning followers. Carnegie breaks down the basics of persuasion, revealing how to sell others’ on your abilities, convince them of your vision, and assure folks that you have their best interests in mind. After all, one of the main components of effective influence is reading your audience’s feelings and motivations and reflecting that psychology and desire in your pitch.
Notable Quote: “Instead of condemning people, let’s try to understand them. Let’s try to figure out why they do what they do. That’s a lot more profitable and intriguing than criticism; and it breeds sympathy, tolerance and kindness. “To know all is to forgive all.”
Buy How to Win Friends & Influence People.
12. Conscious Leadership: Elevating Humanity Through Business by John Mackey, Steve Mcintosh, and Carter Phipps
Conscious Leadership is a manifesto to moral business practice. Head author John Mackey founded Whole Foods, and his commitment to sustainability, integrity, and compassion flavor his leadership advice. Conscious Leadership champions purpose and value-based leadership, urging leaders to embody beliefs and serve as role models for their working and wider communities.
Notable Quote: “Whether they know it or not, every person and every organization has the potential to embrace, enact, and unify people around a higher purpose.”
Buy Conscious Leadership: Elevating Humanity Through Business.
13. Leadership: Theory and Practice by Peter G. Northouse
Peter G Northouse’s Leadership: Theory and Practice is one of the best leadership books for new leaders. The book serves as a comprehensive textbook for leaders, covering a wide range of academic concepts and evidence-based learnings related to the field of leadership. The book covers various traits, behaviors, approaches, theories, and styles of leadership, serving as a catch-all index and manual for managers looking to make a mark.
Notable Quote: “Leaders who use coercion are interested in their own goals and seldom are interested in the wants and needs of followers. Using coercion runs counter to working with followers to achieve a common goal.”
Buy Leadership: Theory and Practice.
14. How to Lead: Wisdom from the World’s Greatest CEOs, Founders, and Game Changers by David M. Rubenstein
In How to Lead, David M. Rubenstein gathers insight, advice, and philosophies from trailblazing visionaries like Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Oprah Winfrey, Bill Gates, Warren Buffet and more. Each chapter has a unique perspective on leadership, offering multiple viewpoints on the secrets of success and the qualities of an effective leader. From these examples, readers can find inspiration and guidance to achieve their own visions. The content of How to Lead comes straight from Rubenstein’s own experience interviewing these industry leaders throughout the years.
Notable Quote: “A fair question might be, why should anyone really want to be a leader? First, a leader can create the type of change or results that will improve the lives of others. Second, a leader can motivate others to become leaders, and in turn improve others’ lives. And third, a leader can feel a sense of accomplishment and achievement that provides human fulfillment and happiness.”
Buy How to Lead.
Conclusion
The simple act of reading a book will not automatically transform an individual into a skilled leader. However, these books provide insight, guidelines, and actionable advice to build strong teams, earn respect, maximize potential, and leave a lasting impression on organizations.
Next, check out our lists of employee engagement books and books on diversity and inclusion, and these post with employee engagement best practices and leadership activities for work.
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