Leaders are the people that make a difference, they stand out from the crowd and are able to influence other people's opinion and action. This can be for good or bad.
Being a leader is far more than having a senior position at work. Any person at any level can be a leader. It's about clarity and determination to achieve - its about driving forward on your mission.
So if you are looking to brush up on your leadership skills and learn more why not take a read of the below to help you on your journey.
Here’s a list of must-read books on leadership:
Dive into the detailed reviews below to discover how each book can help you improve your leadership skills.
Book: Start With Why - Simon Sinek
Read this book to help with:
To help you understand how to find your purpose
How to inspire and lead others
How to analyse and improve your performance
About the book...
Sinek's book on 'Start with why' looks at how great leaders can inspire people to take action through the knowledge and believe of their own why.
The introduction of the book starts with short stories from inspiring leaders. These leaders all have one thing in common, they know their course of action. They know their why.
Part one looks at a world that doesn’t start with why. It's built upon assumptions, manipulation, promotion, fear and peer pressure. This gives you a view of those who do and do not know their why and the difference it can create.
Inspiring leaders communicate the same way in what Sinek describes as the Golden Circle. The Golden Circle provides an understanding on how leaders inspire rather than manipulate their followers.
He then goes on to discuss the methods to inspire using the Golden Circle principles giving you examples along the way and showing how this can be taught.
Leaders need a following – part three. Sinek discusses how trust is a feeling not a rational experience. We need to trust and work together to build success. He uses the example of Continental an airline that was struggling and making a loss and how they turned this around in a year to achieve profit.
This example also shows why it's important to build cultures to work to the same Golden Circle principles and when motivated by why success just happens naturally.
Being a leader is also about good communication through emotions and being understood. This helps to truly connect. But it's not just what you say, its also how you listen. Listening to followers and competitors to learn and understand them and their needs.
Part five delves into the challenges of success when your why can become lost and how being and feeling successful can be two different things.
The final part of the book looks at the origins of why. Sinek uses the example of a bow and arrow. The arrow has to be pulled back to gain the power to move forward. This is basically what he is saying for our why, we need to look back and accept the past to be able to move forward and achieve.
The past may show challenges and failures, but it is all about following your why forward so others can follow you as well.
Quotes from the book
“Trust is a feeling not a rationale experience. We trust some people and companies even when things go wrong, and we don’t trust others even though everything might have gone exactly as it should have. A complete checklist does not guarantee trust.”
“Energy motivates but charisma inspires. Energy is easy to see, easy to measure and easy to copy. Charisma is hard to define, near impossible to measure and too exclusive to copy. All great leaders have charisma because all great leaders have clarity of WHY.”
Is 'Start With Why' a good book?
I really enjoyed the stories and examples in this book of past leaders (good and bad). Seeing those who had their why and what this brought them in their journey and then those who didn’t have a why.
The book indirectly gets you thinking and mapping out your why as you read through it.
I'd say this is a book to read every couple of years, returning back to check on that why and ensure we are on the correct path.
Alternative Leadership Books
Looking for some more recommendations on the best leadership books? Here are some short summaries of other books I have read and would recommend.
How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie
This book is a classic! First published in 1936. Carnegie gives advice on how to build relationships, persuade people, win new customers and be a better speaker. The book helps you to understand people so you can build better relationships and in turn increase your confidence.
Here are three key takeaways from "How to Win Friends and Influence People" by Dale Carnegie:
1. The power of genuine interest and appreciation - Carnegie emphasises the importance of showing genuine interest in others and offering sincere appreciation. By focusing on the other person's interests, listening actively, and expressing genuine compliments, you can build rapport and strengthen relationships. This approach fosters trust and likability, making it easier to influence and persuade others.
2. Handling people and winning them over - A crucial lesson from the book is the art of handling people without making them feel criticised or diminished. Carnegie advises avoiding direct criticism and instead focusing on positive reinforcement. By acknowledging others' perspectives, showing respect for their opinions, and using encouragement, you can motivate and inspire cooperation and enthusiasm.
3. Influencing through understanding and empathy - Understanding the motivations and desires of others is key to influencing them effectively. Carnegie teaches that to win people to your way of thinking, you should align your arguments with their interests and demonstrate empathy. By addressing their needs and showing that you understand their viewpoints, you create a compelling case that resonates more deeply and persuasively.
Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman
Kahneman talks about the way we think using system one and system two. System one is fast, intuitive and emotional whereas system two is slower, rational, more deliberate and logical. The book shows you have our minds are tripped up by error and gives practical tips for slower and smarter thinking.
Here are three takeaways from "Thinking, Fast and Slow" by Daniel Kahneman:
1. Recognise and mitigate cognitive biases - Kahneman highlights various cognitive biases that affect decision-making, such as confirmation bias and overconfidence. As a leader, understanding these biases can help you and your team avoid common pitfalls. By actively questioning assumptions and seeking diverse perspectives, you can make more balanced and informed decisions.
2. Leverage system one and system two thinking - System One thinking is quick and automatic, useful for routine decisions and when immediate action is needed. However, for complex or high-stakes decisions, engaging System Two thinking—characterised by careful analysis and deliberation—can lead to better outcomes. Recognise when to rely on intuitive judgments and when to take a step back and apply a more deliberate approach.
3. Implement strategies for better decision-making - Kahneman provides practical strategies for improving decision-making, such as setting up “pre-mortem” assessments to anticipate potential failures and creating checklists to avoid common errors. Incorporating these strategies into your leadership practices can help you and your team make more thoughtful and effective decisions, ultimately leading to better outcomes and fewer costly mistakes.
Black Box Thinking by Matthew Syed
Black Box Thinking is is about creating high performance and finding that edge in a complex and changing environment. Syed uses case studies and real life examples to show you how to succeed and how we cannot grow unless we are prepared to fail.
Here are three takeaways from "Black Box Thinking" by Matthew Syed:
1. Embrace a growth mindset through failure - Syed emphasises that failure is not an endpoint but a crucial part of the learning process. By adopting a growth mindset and viewing failures as opportunities for improvement, you can foster a culture of innovation and resilience within your team. Encourage experimentation and constructive feedback, allowing your team to learn from mistakes and continuously evolve.
2. Implement systems for learning and improvement - The book illustrates the importance of creating systems that capture and analyse failures to drive progress. By adopting a “black box” approach similar to the technology used in aviation to investigate and learn from errors you can systematically review and understand what went wrong. Implementing debriefing sessions and rigorous post-mortem analyses can help identify patterns and prevent future issues, leading to more effective strategies and improved performance.
3. Foster a culture of openness and accountability - Syed argues that high-performing environments are characterised by transparency and accountability. Leaders who model openness about their own mistakes and encourage their teams to do the same can build trust and collaboration. Creating an environment where individuals feel safe to report errors and suggest improvements without fear of blame can lead to more innovative solutions and a stronger, more adaptive team.
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