Recommended Reading
I've heard it said, "Readers are leaders..."
While reading books isn't the only prerequisite for leading...it certainly doesn't hurt. Here are a handful of books I've found helpful over the years.
Leadership and Development Books
Over the years I've been lucky enough to learn from some great leaders...who have recommended great books! Here are my favorites.
A Failure of Nerve - Edwin Friedman
This book is the #1 book I recommend to leaders. It expresses the challenges and realities of leading like no other book I've read.
Leadership and Self-Deception
I've learned more about the ways I trick myself into believing I'm right (when I'm not) through this story than most any other thing I've read. If you value self-discovery and growth, you should buy this book ASAP.
Mistakes Were Made, But Not By Me
If you were looking for a scientific reason to be humble, this book will help you out. I recommend this book to leaders because it shows how our self-justification can cloud our perception. Leaders would be wise to learn to listen to others and understand the traps of being overly self-reliant.
Multipliers
If you want to understand how and why you should invest in your team, read this book. Learn what it means to become a multiplier, and leaving your diminisher ways behind.
StrengthsFinder Books
Below are a handful of books which help you explore different angles of StrengthsFinder. If you've already takent the StrengthsFinder Assessment, I'd recommend buying the book used to avoid paying for an extra code. However, you could give the gift of self-discovery by passing along your extra code to a partner, friend or collegue.
StrengthsFinder 2.0
If you've never taken StrengthsFinder, this is a good place to start. Taking the StrengthsFinder® assessment is really easy to do! Purchase the book on Amazon.com or a local bookstore, use the code in the back to access the assessment online. If you have any questions about the assessment or your results, please feel free to contact me!
Strengths-Based Leadership
In Strengths Based Leadership, you'll learn the results of a study of more than 1 million work teams, conducted more than 20,000 in-depth interviews with leaders and 10,000 followers around the world to ask exactly why they followed the most important leader in their life. Based on their discoveries, the book identifies three keys to being a more effective leader: knowing your strengths and investing in others’ strengths, getting people with the right strengths on your team, and understanding and meeting the four basic needs of those who look to you for leadership.
Strengths-Based Selling
Strengths Based Selling explains sales talent and how to identify and maximize it. Equiped with the your strengths and this information, this book takes you through the selling process and shows you how to apply your talents at each step. The book also features action items that will help you make the most of your strengths in sales.
StrengthsQuest
StrengthsQuest was written by the late Donald O. Clifton, who was the former chairman of Gallup; coauthor of the bestseller Now, Discover Your Strengths; and recognized as the Father of Strengths-Based Psychology and the late Edward “Chip” Anderson, who taught education, psychology, and leadership at UCLA and Azusa Pacific University. Revised portions of the text were written by Laurie A. Schreiner, who has taught psychology and higher education at Azusa Pacific University and Eastern University. This book is one of the first books to unpack the ideas of StrengthFinder.
