5 Must Read Leadership Books That You Might Not Have Read

Leaders never stop learning and improving. If you ask Warren Buffett, who is the 5th richest person in the world, what he does on any given day, he will tell you that he reads an average of 5-6 hours per day. He is constantly learning and growing by broadening his knowledge base through reading. Continue your personal growth by picking up one of these 5 must read books on leadership that you might not have read already.

#5 How Will You Measure Your Life

The author of this book, Clayton Christensen, is credited with developing the theory of “disruptive innovation“, one of the most influential business ideas of the century. This book, however, has a different focus. Steve Jobs, the founder of Apple, named How Will You Measure Your Life as the only book on business that had a deep influence on him. One of the most influential business books, this book focuses on how to find fulfillment in your life. Finding fulfillment in your own life will grow you as a leader and allow you to help others do the same. The content of this book was originally published in Harvard’s business magazine in 2010. Although the principles are deeply rooted in Christensen’s religious faith, these strategies can be used by anybody to find fulfillment in life.

#4 Strengthsfinder 2.0 

Strengthsfinder 2.0 is an updated version of Gallup’s online Strengthsfinder test. This book sat in the best sellers list for 5 years straight and for good reason. For the first time, people were able to take a test to analyze their top 5 personal strengths. Tom Rath argues that people spend their whole life focused on weaknesses they need to fix in their lives rather than really developing their strengths. Upon discovering your potentially hidden strengths, the book gives you hundreds of daily applications of those strengths.

The author, Tom Rath, is a consultant on employee engagement, strengths, and wellbeing. He is best known for his studies on strengths-based leadership.

#3 Leaders Eat Last

In the book Leaders Eat Last, Simon Sinek focuses on why some teams would give their lives for their teammates due to how much they trust each other while other teams only trust their teammates as far as they can throw them. He discovered the idea for this book during a conversation with a general in the Marines. The general told him about how when it comes to chow time, the lowest ranking Marines eat first, and those in leadership eat last. The principle taught with this practice is that leaders put their comfort and needs behind the comforts and needs of those they lead.

Although his surname may indicate otherwise, Simon Sinek is an optimist. His focus during leadership sessions is how leaders and organizations can inspire those they lead and how to use the power of why. He presents his ideas to world leaders, leaders of corporations, and leaders of small businesses.

#2 Good to Great

The book Good to Great is the culmination of 5 years’ worth of studies done to determine what a business must do to go from good to great. Jim Collins and his team of 21 researchers combed through data from hundreds of companies to find those that saw their stock have significant increases over the course of 15 years. They culled their findings down to 18 companies that had withstood the test of time. Those companies include Walgreens, Wells Fargo, Fannie Mae, and Gillette. The findings of how those companies got where they did are somewhat counterintuitive to today’s business culture. A few of the counterintuitive leadership qualities covered are humble leaders who are strong-willed rather than the typical outgoing CEO that many companies have.

Jim holds a bachelor’s degree in mathematical sciences and an MBA from Stanford University, and honorary doctoral degrees Jim Collins was named one of the 100 Greatest Living Business Minds by Forbes Magazine. He obtained his undergrad and graduate degrees at Stanford University and holds an assortment of honorary doctorates. Jim studies and teaches what makes great companies tick and is a Socratic advisor to leaders in both business and social sectors.

#1 Never Eat Alone

This best-selling business book has been called “one of ‘the most extraordinary and valuable business books’ of recent history.” It is used across the globe as a textbook for grads pursuing their MBA. A key misconception that Authors Ferazzi and Raz seek to rectify herein is the idea of networking vs. truly making connections with people. Ferrazzi’s approach to making connections is generosity so everyone wins and gets what they want. He gives principles of how to make genuine connections in the digital age by keeping constant contact with your online connections while also connecting your friends with other friends. The name of the book comes from the concept that invisibility is the enemy to success. Successful leaders in today’s digital world must make themselves seen on sites like LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook by creating content that foments engagement and keeps you connected with people who will help further your goals and interests.

The coauthor Tahl Raz is a best-selling author and an award-winning journalist. He is this founder and editor-in-chief of Jewcy Media. He has also served as as a Chief Content Officer as well as CEO of an online education company called MyGreenLight.

Keith Ferrazzi was the youngest person to make partner and to become Chief Marketing Officer at Deloitte Consulting. He raised the company’s brand recognition from relatively unknown to renowned, causing Deloitte Consulting to experience the highest growth rate in the industry. Keith helps organizations across the globe reach their goals by eliminating behaviors that impede those goals and creating new company habits and thereby increase the shareholders’ value. 

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