5 books on leadership you should read now (if you haven’t already).
Knowledge is power and reading books on leadership written by specialists in the field will help you develop the skills you need to become a successful manager. Everyone can benefit from leadership training whether you’re just starting out on your management journey or you need a refresher course. Here are five books to give you a different perspective on leadership and help you lead a team with confidence and ease.
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey
This self-help book was first published in 1989 and is one of the classic books on leadership. The three habits outlined in the book focus on self-mastery – to be proactive, begin with the end in mind and put first things first. Habits four, five and six then address interdependence to think win/win, seek first to understand and then to be understood and synergize and seven is one of renewal and continual improvement.
The Leadership Challenge, 4th Edition by James M. Kouzes and Barry Z. Posner
This leadership classic continues to be a bestseller after three editions and twenty years in print. The fourth edition has been updated to reflect relevant case studies, research and methodologies. The book’s central theme is that ‘Leadership is Everyone’s Business’. The two authors outline ‘five practices’ and ‘ten commitments’ that have been proven by hundreds of thousands of dedicated, successful leaders.
The 5 Levels of Leadership: Proven Steps to Maximize Your Potential by John C. Maxwell
One of the most established authorities on leadership writing today, John C. Maxwell speaks to over 350,000 people each year and has shared his theories on business management for over 30 years. The book outlines the five steps to leadership and how to reach the pinnacle – the ability to invest in people and inspire them. The 5 Levels of Leadership: Proven Steps to Maximize Your Potential outlines the levels which are:
1. Position – People follow because they have to.
2. Permission – People follow because they want to.
3. Production – People follow because of what you have done for the company.
4. Pinnacle – People follow because of what you have done for them personally.
5. Personhood – People follow because of who you are and what you represent.
How to Win Friends & Influence People by Dale Carnegie
One of the top-selling books on leadership of all time, How to Win Friends & Influence People has sold more than 15 million copies in all its editions. Financial success, Carnegie believed, is due 15 percent to professional knowledge and 85 percent to ‘the ability to express ideas, to assume leadership, and to arouse enthusiasm among people’. The book gives valuable tips on how to lead people and positively influence them in the workplace.
On Becoming a Leader by Warren Bennis
In On Becoming a Leader recommended by former Vice President Al Gore, management expert Warren Bennis shows how individuals develop leadership traits and how organisations can encourage or stifle potential leaders. The book profiles dynamic figures from Fortune 500 companies, the entertainment industry and political and the non profit sector to demonstrate how all leaders share distinctive characteristics.
These five books are classic leadership books that outline management principles that have stood the test of time and are essential reading for anyone wanting to develop their leadership skills. So are the attributes of a successful leader due to nature or nurture? Are leaders born or made? Whatever the case, these books on leadership will help you obtain the skills you need to become a strong, confident and decisive leader.