12 foot mini illusion sailboat for sale

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1985 Illusion Yachts Usa Illusion Yacht - 12' Boat $3,000

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Mini 12 Sailboats Boats for sale

Illusion Mini 12 Sailboats (2) with tandem trailer

Traverse City, Michigan

Posted Over 1 Month

Up for offer, I have two mini Illusion Mini 12 Sailboats in like-new condition. These boats were manufactured when 12 Meter sailboats were used in the America's Cup, and on their shape gives the Illusion of a 12 Meter sailboat. These boats are fun and easy to sail (you steer with your feet), and have every control line found on larger boats, from adjustable genoa cars to spinnaker pole controls, to adjustable backstays. They even have Harken roller-furling headsails. The boats have lived indoors (except when sailing) their entire lives and the original gel coat still shines like new. Each boat has two sets of sails (four sets total) - a dacron crusing set, and a mylar racing set. Both boats have full spinnaker gear and spinnakers. Included in the package is a custom trailer with new tires, wheel bearings, and lights. It is a very fun sailing package that is in great shape and needs nothing. Enjoy!

Illusion Mini 12 Sailboats (2) with trailer and hoists

Up for offer, I have two mini Illusion Mini 12 Sailboats in like-new condition. These boats were manufactured when 12 Meter sailboats were used in the America's Cup, and on their shape gives the Illusion of a 12 Meter sailboat. These boats are fun and easy to sail (you steer with your feet), and have every control line found on larger boats, from adjustable genoa cars to spinnaker pole controls, to adjustable backstays. They even have Harken roller-furling headsails. The boats have lived indoors (except when sailing) their entire lives and the original gel coat still shines like new. Each boat has two sets of sails (four sets total) - a dacron crusing set, and a mylar racing set. Both boats have full spinnaker gear and spinnakers. Included in the package is a custom trailer with new tires, wheel bearings, and lights. Also included are two custom aluminum hoists. It is a very fun sailing package that is in great shape and needs nothing. Enjoy!

2007 Prototype Mini Transat 6.50

Marina Del Rey, California

Make Prototype

Model Mini Transat 6.50

Category Sloop Sailboats

2007 Prototype Mini Transat 6.50 Designed by Pierre Roland. Built in the USA by D.Wood, this prototype Mini 6.50 has less than 2,800nm under its keel. "Biohazard" is completely build out of carbon fiber and optimized with amazing design features such as a canting keel, water ballasts, centerboard, twin rudders, a 12 foot bowsprit and a planning hull powered up by a 40 foot carbon mast. Well known Mini 6.50s/Open 5.70s builder and offshore racer, Jerome Sammarcelli, purchased the boat in 2015 and completely refitted it. The boat has been meticulously maintained and is fully equipped for offshore racing. In 2016, the boat has always finished on the podium, and also won the well known "Bishop Rock Race", a 200nm singlehanded race to Cortez Bank. Biohazard remains the smallest boat on the race course but is always one of the first to finish! Biohazard is ready for some serious offshore sailing and completely optimized for singlehanded or double handed sailing. Of course, you can always participate to regular buoy and coastal point to point races. Under PHRF Southern California, the boat rates 140 (buoy), 123 (RLC) and 120 (OWC). A recent survey (April 2016) established the replacement value of Biohazard at $120,000.

1968 Jensen Marine CAL-34

San Diego, California

Make Jensen Marine

Model CAL-34

1968 Jensen Marine CAL-34,"California Girl" is an incredible boat.I am third owner. Previous owner was a yacht broker, and this was his personal boat for many years, so he took exceptional care of her.Interior is beautiful, gorgeous wood, no tears in upholstery, new carpet, new three-burner stove and propane tank, Stainless Steal Sink. Sleeps 6 in 2 quarter births, convertible dinette and private forward v-birth.Private split head and sink between salon and forward cabin. In-line galley is conveniently located across from dinette. New mini-blinds. Large insulated ice-box with counter top access. Microwave included.Atomic 4 Engine starts right up (installed in 1975, major tune-up in 2015 (plugs, wires, rotor, distributor, electric fuel pump, valve adjustments. I motored it down from Seal Beach...16 hours of continuous engine running, purred like a kitten. These engines run forever, I am told.Sails are great (120% Genoa with new Sun cover), new LG main in 2011. New Lazy Jacks in 2016Standing Rigging replaced in 2005. Complete Rigging Survey in 2015.2 grp 24 house batteries new in 20131 grp 27 Engine battary new in 2015Battery Selector switch12v DC switch panel, voltage meter for both sets of batteries.New LED lights through-outStern Anchor with chain and line,Full cockpit cushions (no tears)Cockpit AwningCockpit seats 10New 15 Gal holding tank with diaphram discharge pump (2011)Dry Chemical Fire extinguisherVarnished Teak (excellent condition) with covers.New rub-rail in 2010New Raymarine tiller Auto-Pilot (love this tool)New Jenson marine stereo with cockpit speakers and MP3 Jack.All Navigation lights work.They don't make them like this anymore. The newer boats have much thinner fiberglass, than these classic models. This is a solid boat, ready to sail for years and years.I recently bought this boat (life-long dream to learn to sail).Sadly, a few days ago, I lost my largest client Unexpectedly and now have to liquidate most of my toys and reduce monthly expenditures (dock fees etc) as I just took a huge pay-cut. (selling my plane too :(So, I am selling for less than I paid only 5-6 weeks ago for a quick sale (and I got a good deal for the condition). So you are getting a great deal.I wish I could keep her. I have slept on it almost every weekend, and taken her out many times in last 6 weeks. She is a beauty.I bought a new Family-size Magma gas grill on stern of boat (with electronic start, it is best grill I have every used...paid 395 for it). I also spent 185 on doc Step, and some other minor goodies for it.I fell in love with this boat the moment I saw it. I love the design better than the other models out there, and it was built to last and last. $10900

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Illusion 12 Mini 12 Meter Sailboat

1980 ilusion.

• Price: Contact seller
• Make: Ilusion
• Location: The Colony, Texas, United States

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Blog – Posted on Monday, Jul 19

The 40 best leadership books of all time.

Who even needs leadership books? Surely I can just learn everything on the job, right? But try asking any CEO and they’ll no doubt tell you about how much they wished they’d known before setting out on their leadership journey.

The greatest leadership books offer insight and advice you can apply to both your professional and personal lives. In this post, we've put together the 40 best leadership books to give you a headstart on your peers. From world leaders like Nelson Mandela to business titans like Warren Bennis, they'll cover all the angles of leadership you'll need to sharpen your instincts and prepare to tackle the role head-on.

1. Legacy by James Kerr

What can the world’s most successful national sports team, New Zealand’s All Blacks, teach us about business and leadership? A lot, in fact: in Legacy, bestselling author, speaker, and coach James Kerr shares 15 lessons to learn from this legendary squad. 

Legacy offers a perspective that many others don’t, tackling everything from achieving world-class standards to creating a legacy to be proud of. However avid a rugby fan you are, this is one of the best leadership books to read if you want to learn from people who are the best at what they do.

2. Start With Why by Simon Sinek

In his global bestseller (and third most-watched TedTalk of all time), Simon Sinek posits the idea that why you do something is much more important than what you’re actually doing. Start With Why is based on that compelling premise: anyone can be a leader if they start by questioning their ‘why.’ Only once you find it, Sinek argues, can you encourage customers to believe in your business and lead a team of employees who understand your mission — giving your business the longevity it needs to survive.

3. The First 90 Days by Michael D. Watkins

Transitioning into a new role, especially as a manager, can be one of the most daunting and stressful challenges within a workplace. In The First 90 Days, Michael Watkins reveals a way to make these transitions as smooth as possible, offering strategies to avoid  the most common mistakes made by new leaders. With self-assessments and checklists to complete as you go, this leadership book is the perfect guide for leaders of any level who want to make the most of their first 90 days in a new role.

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4. Lead from the Outside: How to Build Your Future and Make Real Change by Stacey Abrams

Stacey Abrams is one of the most influential and accomplished politicians in the US. In reaction to her home state’s voter suppression laws, she worked tirelessly to galvanize 800,000 people of color to register as voters in Georgia. 

Lead from the Outside is her must-read guide, based on years of Abrams’ personal experiences, on how to harness your strengths as an outsider to become a better leader and inspire others to do the same. Particularly relevant for future leaders outside of the traditional white male hierarchy, it touches upon rarely discussed topics (such as the relationship between leadership and money), and will give you practical tools to make a difference yourself.

5. Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us by Daniel H. Pink

Do you know what really motivates you? According to Daniel Pink, too many business leaders mistakingly rely on extrinsic motivators (spoiler alert: it’s usually money). Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us shows how, by first understanding how motivation works, leaders can encourage their team far more effectively and produce real, meaningful results. Pink’s engaging writing style makes this book an easy read, powerfully inspiring people to examine their own motivational practices.

6. Leaders Eat Last: Why Some Teams Pull Together and Others Don’t by Simon Sinek

Great leaders make sacrifices so that their whole team can thrive — not just those at the top. The second Simon Sinek entry on our list of the best leadership books, Leaders Eat Last pulls back the curtains on all of the qualities of a true leader, including that willingness to eat last. After all, an office isn't so different from the battlefield. As in the Marine Corps, the best teams are formed when leaders put the needs of their teammates above their own, creating a trusting, mutually cooperative environment in the process.

7. How to win Friends & Influence People by Dale Carnies

Dale Carnegie’s How to Win Friends and Influence People has achieved superstar status within the genre of leadership books. And for good reason: Carnegie’s 1936 bestseller was one of the first to reveal how to achieve your maximum potential as a leader, sharing then-revolutionary advice such as being generous with praise, remembering people’s names, and showing genuine interest in other people’s opinions. 

Now in its tenth decade, the book has naturally been criticized in recent years for being somewhat outdated in its outlook — however, with investor and philanthropist Warren Buffett swearing by the book’s lessons, there’s still much you can  learn from Carnegie’s words.

8. The Making of a Manager: What to Do When Everyone Looks to You by Julie Zhuo

At 25, Julie Zhuo taught herself how to manage a team on the job. In her 30s, she published this critically acclaimed book so that you don’t have to make the same mistakes she did. 

The Making of a Manager is the culmination of her years of leadership experience, offering crucial strategies for dealing with pressure at work — especially when you don’t have formal management training. Zhuo is generous with her wisdom, sharing tips on succeeding in your first three months as a manager, hiring well to build the best team possible, and giving feedback which leaves people feeling more inspired and driven.

9. Leading Change by John P. Kotter

Change — whether that be personal or professional — happens every day. And in his book, Leading Change, John Kotter argues that we shouldn’t be afraid of it: instead, we should learn to make the most of it in order to maximize our opportunities. His legendary 8-step process is meant for people who not only want to deal with change, but also lead change within their organizations.

10. Long Walk to Freedom by Nelson Mandela

If you want to learn from one of the world’s most outstanding moral and political leaders, then Nelson Mandela’s autobiographical work Long Walk to Freedom should be on your list of great leadership books. An undeniably important voice in human rights and the fight for racial equality, there is much to be learned about leadership from the way Mandela approached struggle and adversity, becoming an inspiration for millions. You don’t have to be changing the world to implement some of his lessons — which include learning to forgive and to develop the strength to never give up — into your daily life.

11. The Truth About Leadership by James M. Kouzes and Barry Z. Posner

James Kouzes and Barry Posner, two of the biggest names in leadership circles, offer ten truths that all leaders should know in their bold, honest, and personal book, The Truth About Leadership . Based on 30 years of advanced research, it offers proven advice to help leaders move beyond the temporary trends and fads that modern-day social media spurs on. For millennials who want to go back to the basics and understand the simple truths of leadership, this is a must-read.

12. Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown

Feeling overworked and yet unproductive in a fast-paced environment? Trying to figure out what, exactly, is negatively impacting your leadership and overall output? As a Silicon Valley CEO, Greg McKeown is well-placed to impart the strategies needed to survive — and lead — in intense, competitive environments. McKeown believes the best leaders should develop set criteria for what is deemed essential work: as leaders, this allows us to channel our time and energy more efficiently to achieve greater results.

13. Dare to Lead: Brave Work. Tough Conversations. Whole Hearts. by Brené Brown

Next up on our list of the best books on leadership, Brené Brown’s Dare to Lead calls for more daring leaders who will take responsibility for finding potential in those around them. The struggles of leadership are not sugar-coated in this book! Instead, Brown reveals that to ‘dare to lead’ means tackling difficult conversations head-on, staying curious, and sharing our power with others around us to see the results we need.

14. The Four Fixations of a Brilliant Leader by Alan J. Sears

The Four Fixations of a Brilliant Leader continues the trend of Alan J. Sears’s brilliant books about leadership and management. Sears presents a unique setup: Part one is structured as a fictional anecdote, with leadership teachings woven throughout part one of the book. Part two then pulls back the curtains and explains the technical features, background, and key management behaviors shown in Part one. 

After his previous bestselling success, The Four Fixations of a Brilliant Leader proves that Sears has perfected the art of creating easy-to-visualize and relatable leadership scenarios for you to understand.

15. First, Break All the Rules: What the world's Greatest Managers Do Differently by Jim Harter

A few years ago, management consulting company Gallup studied more than 80,000 managers to reveal what the best ones do to stand out from the rest. Their findings? The best leaders didn’t hesitate to First, Break All the Rules — and they weren’t afraid of deviating from the norm. How do you blaze a fresh trail when it’s tempting to follow the crowd and safely blend in? Read this to find out.

16. Biased: Uncovering the Hidden Prejudice That Shapes What We See, Think, and Do by Jennifer L. Eberhardt

Unconscious biases affect our behaviors every day, no matter how well we think we navigate them. Jennifer Eberhardt is a pioneer in the field and has compiled her revolutionary findings in Biased: Uncovering the Hidden Prejudice That Shapes What We See, Think and Do. 

For all leaders, this book is doubly important to read: biases can affect staff diversity and retention rates and negatively impact the sense of unity among your team. Although bias is a universal human phenomenon, Eberhardt reassures us that, with a bit of work, it can be overcome.

17. The Introverted Leader: Building on Your Quiet Strength by Jennifer B. Kahnweiler

Jennifer Kahnweiler’s The Introverted Leader deals with an underrepresented topic in business. The broader culture often dismisses introversion as shyness or a lack of confidence. But Kahnweiler explains that the assumption that all introverted people are too shy to lead a team couldn’t be further from the truth. In reality, introverts have a different (but no less worthy) set of strengths which they can harness. And she’ll show you just how to capitalize on those strengths to shine in the workplace as an introverted leader.

18. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey

A staple in any list of the best books on leadership, Stephen R. Covey’s The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People has been read by millions of people worldwide. First published in 1989, Covey’s book's timeless insights cover proactivity, time management, and how to take the lead on what’s within your control. By Habit 7, you’ll be learning how to ‘Sharpen the Saw’ by creating a better work-life balance, leaving you with more energy to apply yourself as a leader to the right places.

19. Seeing Around Corners by Rita McGrath

The best leaders can anticipate change before it happens and “see around corners,” so to speak. Seeing Around Corners — the aptly titled book by Columbia Business School professor Rita McGrath — reveals just how to do that. More than that, McGrath demonstrates how to use what she calls ‘discovery-driven planning’ to predict and take control of these changes to lead your organization to success.

20. How to Own the Room: Women and the Art of Brilliant Speaking by Viv Groskop

While women have made numerous advancements in the business world in recent years, we have yet to arrive at true gender equality in the workplace. Viv Groskop wrote How to Own the Room: Women and the Art of Brilliant Speaking to show what some of the world’s most influential and inspirational women can teach us all about how we can replicate their confidence and conviction in our own personal and professional lives. From classic heavyweights like Virginia Woolf to modern-day icons like Michelle Obama, every woman is given a voice in this book to inspire others to own the room for themselves and continue fighting for a fair workplace for all.

21. Thinking, Fast and Slow by Kahneman

In a fast-paced and highly accessible read, Daniel Kahneman takes readers on a tour of the mind and explains how to utilize it to the fullest extent. Thinking, Fast and Slow breaks our thinking process down into two systems: System 1 is fast, instinctive, and emotional; System 2 is slower and more logical. 

While leaders of the past have often propped up System 1 as the preferred mode of thinking, Kahneman argues that the obvious assets of fast thinking can also incur faults and biases. By shedding light on the benefits of rational thought, Kahneman offers practical advice to help you tap into your own thinking system and take the lead in your business as well as your personal life.

22. Meditations by Marcus Aurelius

If you prefer to take age-old advice from emperors, the Meditations of Marcus Aurelius (the final of the “Five Good Emperors” of the Roman Empire) is the one for you. Aurelius famously adhered to the Stoic philosophy, which focused on humility, awareness, and control of one’s emotions. 

Meditations outlines the complex spiritual reflections and practices that Aurelius developed to lead a little organization known as the Roman Empire. While never intended for publication, the collection has since inspired countless leaders — including former president Theodore Roosevelt, who took a copy with him on a near-fatal eight-month journey through the Amazon.

23. Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap...And Others Don't by Jim Collins

What makes a company go from simply ‘good’ to ‘great’? What does it take to stand out from the crowd and make that leap? After five years of research and some surprising results, Jim Collins singled out 11 top businesses who have done just that for his book Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap...and Others Don’t. This bestselling leadership book introduces key concepts such as ‘Level 5 Leadership’ and ‘A Culture of Discipline,’ offering a comprehensive framework for both new and experienced  business leaders to take their companies to the next level.

24. On Becoming a Leader by Warren G. Bennis

Warren Bennis believes that leaders aren’t born — they’re made. And in times of so much global uncertainty, it’s never been more important to encourage people to take up leadership roles. On Becoming a Leader offers essential insights into what it takes to lead and has become a frequently-cited classic within the genre. Warren Bennis’s decades of experience (as President of the University of Cincinnati, visiting Professor of Leadership at the University of Exeter, and an advisor to four US Presidents) make him more than qualified to offer advice on becoming a leader.

25. If I Could Tell You Just One Thing by Richard Reed

Can’t settle for reading just one person’s leadership advice? Don’t worry. If I Could Tell You Just One Thing brings together the big names from a wide-ranging spectrum of industries to present all of their most valuable life tips. With people ranging from Sandi Toksvig and Olivia Coleman to Bear Grylls and Bill Gates, there’s truly something for everyone in this illustrious archive of advice. This book contains advice on work, relationships, creativity, and so much more — all of which can help boost your confidence and leadership skills in your own life. If we could tell you just one thing, it’s to pick this book up.

26. High Output Management by Andrew Grove

High Output Management immortalizes the management skills that Andrew Grove developed as the driving force behind Intel Corporation. This leadership handbook sugarcoats nothing and unveils Grove’s tried-and-tested techniques to motivate teams and increase performance. With his hard-won knowledge about building and managing a company from the ground up, High Output Management is an excellent handbook for anyone looking to actually exercise leadership!

27. Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead by Sheryl Sandberg

Sheryl Sandberg’s Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead quickly topped bestseller lists after its release in 2013, igniting crucial discussions on women and leadership. Gender equality in the workplace has undoubtedly improved in recent years — however, as Sandberg explains, there is still a long way to go. 

Indeed, many have criticized Lean In itself for its limited white and white-collar feminist perspective, and Sandberg has since admitted that her book wasn’t as inclusive as it could be. That said, the groundbreaking COO of Facebook still provides concrete advice for women on how to feel more confident in the workplace through small but crucial day-to-day changes.

28. Mental Models: 30 Thinking Tools that Separate the Average From the Exceptional. Improved Decision-Making, Logical Analysis, and Problem-Solving by Peter Hollins

Written by bestselling author and human behavior researcher Peter Hollins, Mental Models divides the psychological traits of good leadership into thirty defined models. With a laser-sharp focus on typical psychological traits in leaders, Hollins takes the best-fitting ways natural leaders react psychologically to situations and teaches you how to apply them to your own life as a leader.

29. Now It Can Be Told: The Story Of The Manhattan Project by Leslie R. Groves

Everyone knows of the Manhattan Project, perhaps the most intense and deadline-driven project in history. And for this project, one man was placed in charge of America’s efforts to build the first atomic bomb: Lt. Gen. Leslie Groves. 

This is his story, which doubles as a revealing and compelling account of multifaceted project management. From the technical details that Groves shares about decision-making and mitigating mistakes to dealing with conflict resolution in a large team, this book covers everything you need to know about large-scale leadership and management. If you’re looking for detailed insight on planning, communication, or how to lead a massive, compartmentalized team, then you won’t be let down by the man who went through it all under immense pressure to deliver.

30. Leadershift by John C. Maxwell

Globally renowned leadership-guru John C. Maxwell offers a written masterclass in how you can continue to innovate and improve your business in his formative work Leadershift. Maxwell outlines 11 key shifts — such as ‘Ladder Climbing to Ladder Building’ and ‘Positional Authority to Moral Authority’ — which every leader must embrace if they want to see success across their team. 

And you can trust him on this: each of these shifts played a role in shaping his personal trajectory, setting him up for new and better opportunities. The book’s simple and straightforward approach makes it one of the best leadership books for anyone ready to examine how they think and put in the work to achieve the best results possible.

31. Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl

Viktor Frankl’s 1946 book chronicling his time captive in Nazi concentration camps during World War II has riveted readers for decades. Man’s Search for Meaning is a deep exploration of Frankl’s lessons for spiritual survival, based on his own experiences surviving Auschwitz, as well as those of his patients during his time as a psychiatrist. Most of all, it is an enduring testament to Frankl’s theory that humans are driven by finding meaning in life — even if it stems from suffering.

32. Becoming by Michelle Obama

A captivating memoir in its own right, Becoming is a heartfelt invitation into Michelle Obama’s world that shines a light on her experiences and challenges from childhood to her time as the first African American First Lady of the U.S.A. As one of the most recognizable world leaders, Obama explains how the biases she faced motivated her to create the most inclusive White House to date. Like the woman herself, Becoming will inspire you, too, to carry on leading despite the adversities that you may face along the way.

33. More Than Enough: Claiming Space for Who You Are (No Matter What They Say) by Elaine Welteroth

Brought to you by the revolutionary editor who introduced social awareness to Teen Vogue, Elaine Welteroth’s More Than Enough will take you on a journey to come into your own. Welteroth draws on her experiences of climbing the ranks in the media and fashion world, particularly as a Black woman from small-town California, to share the lessons she learned along the way. 

This book stays true to its name, exploring how young women (particularly young Black women) bosses are more than enough, despite often being told otherwise — a highly recommended read, especially for aspiring Black female leaders.

34. Primal Leadership: Realizing the Power of Emotional Intelligence by Daniel Goleman, Richard Boyatzis & Annie McKee

In Primal Leadership , Daniel Goleman argues that the critical role of a leader is to manage the emotional atmosphere of their community. We’ve all experienced our moods brightening and dampening based on the people around us; Goleman expands upon this to build a compelling case that people look to their leaders to set the overall mood. This book shows that it’s possible to learn effective leadership, and Goleman has the practical advice that will help you develop that emotional intelligence and leadership competency.

35. Leadership Is an Art by Max DePree

If you’re less interested in the “hows” of leadership — particularly corporate leadership — and more interested in the “whys,” then you may want to turn to Max DePree’s pivotal book, a treatise on leading in a way that focuses on employee autonomy and well-being. DePree views leadership as a stewardship that cannot work without also empowering employees first. His book underscores the importance of building relationships, developing ideas, and creating strong systems within an organization.

36. The Ride of a Lifetime by Robert Iger

After becoming CEO of The Walt Disney Company in 2005, Robert Iger had a clear idea of where the company needed to go. The Ride of a Lifetime details his successful leadership as one of the most prolific CEOs in the world. Iger breaks down Disney’s success into four parts: quality content, embracing technology, large-scale thinking, and, most importantly, taking a decency-over-dollars approach to every project. According to Iger himself, this isn’t just a leadership book for aspiring CEOs , but for “anyone wanting to feel less fearful [and] more confidently themselves.” This is a large-scale success story to teach large-scale leaders!

37. How to Be a Positive Leader: Small Actions, Big Impact by Jane E. Dutton and Gretchen M. Spreitzer

How to Be a Positive Leader captures insights into how the small actions that leaders take can greatly affect individuals and organizations, encouraging them to be their best. Jane E. Dutton and Gretchen M. Spreitzer have built this book on a foundation of contemporary research from positive organizational scholarship to give you the most informative read. If you’re focused on creating a positive atmosphere and impact in your workplace, then Dutton and Spreitzer have got your back.

38. We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Adapted from her viral TEDx talk, We Should All Be Feminists draws on Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s experiences as a professional woman in a world filled with issues from blatant discrimination to more normalized and insitutionalized sexism. Adichie offers an analysis of what “feminism” means in the twenty-first century, and why gender discrimination is detrimental to both women and men. Of course, Adichie's nonfiction prose is just as witty and observant as in her fictional books — her recognizable writing style makes this book a masterclass in leadership as a woman and a joy to read as well.

39. The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers by Ben Horowitz

Ben Horowitz does not shy away from the thorniest leadership issues that even business schools don’t cover. Indeed, the whole premise of The Hard Thing About Hard Things discusses the problems that aren’t usually spoken aloud — like having to fire friends or poaching from competitors. This brutally authentic book breaks down the hardships that come with being a leader into three key ideas: being clear about what you want to be done, making sure other people are clear about what has to be done, and facing difficult questions early. Discussions on honesty and transparency — and their positive effects  on leadership — are at the forefront of this read.

40. Excellence Wins: A No-Nonsense Guide to Becoming the Best in a World of Compromise by Horst Schulze

A no-nonsense compilation of the leadership values that helped Horst Schulze triumph as cofounder of the Ritz-Carlton hotel brand, Excellence Wins argues that you can still follow the same principles to success, no matter your title or age. And of the principles that it advocates, Excellence Wins champions self-discipline and self-standards above all else — even in scenarios where it may not seem necessary. Give this a read if you’re willing to challenge yourself to become a more self-aware — and overall better — leader.

Looking for more books to leave you inspired and motivated? Check out our lists of 35 Inspirational Books to Change Your Life or 50 Best Self-Help Books of All Time !

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By Hannah L. Miller Leaders Staff

Hannah L. Miller

Senior Editor

Hannah L. Miller, MA, is the senior editor for Leaders Media. Since graduating with her Master of Arts in 2015,...

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Updated Oct 25, 2023

15 of the World’s Best Leadership Books

• The 15 top leadership books every great leader needs on their bookshelf:

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Great leaders intentionally make time for continued education. As difficult as it may be to step away from the office, reading a variety of books on leadership is an important key to refueling and refocusing yourself as a leader. For instance, it helps reveal your strengths, weaknesses, and provide the tools needed for innovation and growth.

Ready to reach your full potential as a leader? The following list of leadership books helps build a solid foundation of team-building and problem solving skills.

The 15 top leadership books every great leader needs on their bookshelf :

1. the 21 irrefutable laws of leadership.

Author: John Maxwell 

One-Sentence Description: Maxwell finds the commonal ities of great leaders, while also guiding readers through the 21 universal laws of successful leadership. 

Favorite Quote: “ I believe the bottom line in leadership isn’t how far we advance ourselves but how far we advance others. That is achieved by serving others and adding value to their lives. ”

Why You Should Read It: There’s a reason it’s ranked as one of the best leadership books of all time. Entrepreneurs, executives, and managers find Maxwell’s advice useful because it’s practical and easy to follow. Furthermore, The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership helps high performers figure out what they’ve been doing right and play into their strengths. Additionally, the book is beneficial because it offers plenty of ideas on how to fine-tune weaker leadership qualities . 

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2. Good to Great : Why Some Companies Make the Leap… and Others Don’t

Author: Jim Collins

One-Sentence Description: This book follows a five-year study that determines how “good” companies become great, beat their competitors, and achieve long-lasting success. 

Favorite Quote: “ Greatness is not a function of circumstance. Greatness, it turns out, is largely a matter of conscious choice, and discipline. ”

Why You Should Read It: Good to Great : Why Some Companies Make the Leap… and Others Don’t emphasizes the point that success doesn’t happen overnight. For entrepreneurs and leaders who feel frustrated, tired, and out of steam, this book helps reinvigorate drive and passion . Additionally, it’s comforting to know that many of the difficulties business owners experience as they grow aren’t uncommon. In fact, growing pains are evidence that a company is developing. Overall, the core message is progress is a process.  

3. Start with Why

Author: Simon Sinek

One-Sentence Description: Sinek provides a three-step framework that purpose-driven leaders use to inspire people to take action.  

Favorite Quote: “ People don’t buy what you do; they buy why you do it. And what you do simply proves what you believe. ”

Why You Should Read It: Start with Why is one of the best leadership books for receiving a foundational understanding of what it means to lead with purpose. Those wanting to refresh and revive their organizations should read this book first. Without a doubt, Start with Why changes the game on how leaders guide their companies. It explains the importance of putting purpose at the center of the business so owners and executives don’t lose focus on fulfilling the company’s mission . An understanding of how to lead with why has the power to truly transform any business for the better.

4. Think and Grow Rich 

Author: Napoleon Hill 

One-Sentence Description: Published in 1937, Think and Grow Rich studies the lives of wealthy individuals such as Henry Ford and Andrew Carnegie, defining 13 habits successful people share. 

Favorite Quote: “ The starting point of all achievement is DESIRE. Keep this constantly in mind. Weak desire brings weak results, just as a small fire makes a small amount of heat. ”

Why You Should Read It: Consistently ranked as one of the best books on leadership of all time, Think and Grow Rich helps readers understand the unique mindset of high performers. On the whole, Hill spent 25 years researching, analyzing, and understanding what makes people successful. Through 500 interviews, he found and wrote a formula for prosperity. Undoubtedly, the directive strategies are easily applicable, motivational, and provide timeless wisdom to anyone interested in leadership .

5. Wooden on Leadership 

Author: John Wooden

One-Sentence Description: Famed basketball coach John Wooden explains the 15 principles of success and the characteristics great leaders share. 

Favorite Quote: “ The best leaders are lifelong learners; they take measures to create organizations that foster and inspire learning throughout. The most effective leaders are those who realize it’s what you learn after you know it all that counts most. ”

Why You Should Read It: Wooden on Leadership inspires leaders through adages and advice given by one of the most successful coaches in sports history. In summary, Wooden teaches business professionals how to build a great team people love belonging to through his motivational words focused on morals and ethics. Overall, this is a must-read for anyone who wants to build an inspiring, sustainable team culture within their organization.

6. Extreme Ownership

Author: Jocko Willink and Leif Babin 

One-Sentence Description: Written by two Navy SEAL officers, this best-selling book relates their special operations experience to the leadership qualities all business owners, executives, and managers should possess.  

Favorite 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. ”

Why You Should Read It: The unique, interesting angle the authors take creates a fresh perspective within the genre. While some professionals might not feel this book would be applicable to their businesses, Extreme Ownership teaches lessons that help leaders understand what it truly means to lead—not manage or direct—others. With unique messaging filled with real-life experience, the book additionally provides instruction on how to successfully develop high-performing teams that can fulfill even the most difficult mission.

7. Dare to Lead

Author: Brené Brown

One-Sentence Description: Dare to Lead focuses on building a strong culture at work through vulnerability, courage, core values, and trust.  

Favorite 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. ”

Why You Should Read It: Dare to Lead is one of the best leadership books for building team culture . Brown, an accomplished researcher with a Ph.D. in social work, argues the long-standing belief that vulnerability correlates to “weakness” is false. In fact, she writes an entire book to prove that being vulnerable is both courageous and brave. Specifically, this trait is one of the best leadership qualities found in business owners, executives, and managers. For this reason, Dare to Lead is perfect for anyone interested in creating a constructive, supportive workplace. It teaches people how to connect, be more empathetic, and show up with authenticity.

8. The Effective Executive

Author: Peter F. Drucker

One-Sentence Description: This book focuses on effectiveness as a form of self-discipline—a requirement for all leaders (and a skill anyone can learn).

Favorite Quote: “ Intelligence, imagination, and knowledge are essential resources, but only effectiveness converts them into results. ”

Why You Should Read It: Success is dependent on effectiveness. From exacting change to inspiring employees, this is a quality leaders can’t afford to lack. Nevertheless, many business owners and executives unknowingly or knowingly behave, act, and communicate in ways that don’t positively impact their organizations. For example, ineffective leaders lack emotional intelligence and don’t dedicate themselves to learning how to become stewards of their employees and customers. In essence, The Effective Executive is for people who want to actively learn how to work on eliminating ineffective leadership traits and become drivers of positive impact.

9. 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

Author: Stephen R. Covey 

One-Sentence Description: Covey believes effective people align their values with universal principles—the seven habits describe a person’s relation to independence, interdependence, and continuous improvement. 

Favorite Quote: “ As you care less about what people think of you, you will care more about what others think of themselves .”

Why You Should Read It: While this leadership book has a simple title, the pages inside reveal Covey’s philosophical nature. For instance, Seven Habits of Highly Effective People asks readers to examine themselves by challenging their beliefs, perception, and world view. This book is important for leaders at all levels because it essentially teaches people how to be better, more connected, empathetic humans.

10. The Art of War

Author: Sun Tzu

One-Sentence Description: The Art of War teaches leaders how to create and implement strategic initiatives.

Favorite Quote: “In the midst of chaos, there is also opportunity.”

Why You Should Read It: Out of all the best leadership books mentioned, this 5th century B.C. military treatise is the oldest. There’s a reason it’s continued inspiring generations of strategic thinkers. While it was written for military leaders, the text translates well for business owners and executives who are responsible for developing and executing the company’s vision. In short, it takes readers through 13 chapters, each dedicated to a particular stage in the strategic implementation process.

 11. Awaken the Giant Within

Author: Tony Robbins

One-Sentence Description: World-renowned motivational speaker and coach Tony Robbins helps readers replace their bad habits, retrain their mindset, and increase their happiness so they can step into their greatness. 

Favorite Quote: “ Enjoy making decisions. You must know that in any moment a decision you make can change the course of your life forever . . . If you really want your life to be passionate, you need to live with this attitude of expectancy. ”

Why You Should Read It: Published in 1991, Awaken the Giant Within is full of the passion and charged words people would expect from a young Tony Robbins. As a coach focused on elevating people to their full potential, this is a great read for leaders dissatisfied by mediocracy. Although this book is more targeted toward young entrepreneurs and new business owners, it is a powerful read for those who want to live extraordinary lives as leaders.

  12. The 5 Dysfunctions of a Team

Author: Patrick Lencioni 

One-Sentence Description: Lencioni uses his knack for storytelling to resolve five common dysfunctional behaviors that inhibit even the best teams.  

Favorite Quote: “ Not finance. Not strategy. Not technology. It is teamwork that remains the ultimate competitive advantage, both because it is so powerful and so rare. ”

Why You Should Read It: Leaders must know how to both guide their teams and be a team player. This book stresses the importance of having a cohesive team dynamic. While the book is a fictional fable, it is a story many business owners and executives struggle with. Companies cannot succeed unless their teams work together. For this reason, the book points out dysfunctional behaviors that harm team culture . As a result, leaders can repair and avoid toxicity within their organizations using this insight.

13. How to Win Friends and Influence People 

Author: Dale Carnegie 

One-Sentence Description: Carnegie’s book provides insight on how likability leads to strong relationships, new friends and influence. 

Favorite Quote: “ You can’t win an argument. You can’t because if you lose it, you lose it; and if you win it, you lose it. ”

Why You Should Read It: First published in 1936, How to Win Friends and Influence People provides timeless lessons on how to win people over without using manipulation and morally unethical tactics. In essence, this book is a great read that proves likability goes a long way in life. The knowledge provided in Carnegie’s work is invaluable to leaders and customer-facing team members, such as sales teams. Additionally, the book teaches you how to advance your interpersonal skills.  

14.   Team of Rivals

Author: Doris Kearns Goodwin

One-Sentence Description: In this Lincoln biography, Kearns shows how the president united his former political competitors to abolish slavery and win the Civil War. 

Favorite Quote: “ In order to ‘win a man to your cause,’ Lincoln explained, you must first reach his heart, ‘the great high road to his reason. ‘”

Why You Should Read It: This leadership book is a masterclass on leadership and an interesting read for anyone who loves history. It shows how important it is to toss your ego aside when working with others. Rather than punishing his rivals, Lincoln welcomed several of these people into his cabinet and created a unified front that was capable of holding the country together. While the book has a rather political motif, it teaches executive leaders the value of bringing teams together toward a collective cause. Personal beliefs of individual group members may vary but there can be healthy competition among them, as long as it doesn’t get in the way of a larger, common objective.

15.   15 Invaluable Laws of Growth

Author: John C. Maxwell

One-Sentence Description: The third book in Maxwell’s “Laws” series provides readers with a new set of principles designed for growth and self-development. 

Favorite Quote: “ Most people who decide to grow personally find their first mentors in the pages of books. ”

Why You Should Read It: The continuous path of self-improvement differentiates a good leader from a great leader. When starting a business or accepting a leadership role, a person is really accepting the responsibility of dedicating their life to learning how to become better for those they’re responsible for guiding. To summarize, Maxwell helps people understand the required growing process and how to apply it to everyday life. 

Improving leadership skills by reading books requires an insatiable desire for applicable knowledge. However, those in leadership positions live busy lives, so it can be difficult to find time for continued education. This is why scheduling time on the calendar for learning and development is an important component of effective time management . Furthermore, doing so also helps keep people accountable for developing their leadership qualities and abilities.

Get started by:

• Selecting five books from this list.
• Determining how much time it will take to finish each book.
• Setting reading completion goals.
• Meeting the established deadline.
• Starting the process again.

Making reading a habit keeps leaders continuously learning. It’s also a great idea to share what you’re learning. For example, after finishing a book, write an encouraging, personal message on the cover page and pass it along to the friend, coworker, or employee it would best serve.

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Best leadership books: 29 of the most impactful reads

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Best leadership books for personal development

Best leadership books for people managers

Best leadership books for organizational leaders

Whether you’re a new leader or a veteran entrepreneur , a commitment to learning will help you become as effective as you can be — and there’s certainly no shortage of great leadership and management books to help you do just that.

The problem is that if you search "leadership books" on Amazon, you'll see over 50,000 titles. So how do you know where to begin? We’re here to make it simple for you with this list of the best leadership books of all time.

"Self-awareness and self-love matter. Who we are is how we lead" Brené Brown

If you want to become a good leader, it starts with working on yourself . Why? Effective leadership requires you to be able to manage yourself as well as others.

When you have a foundation of psychological strength, emotional intelligence , and self-awareness, it will naturally impact and improve your leadership skills. 

Below are the best leadership and self-help books for anyone who wants to work on their mindset, emotional regulation, and beyond. 

1. The Gifts of Imperfection , by Brené Brown

The Gifts of Imperfection is about practicing self-compassion and self-love. It asks us to embrace our own imperfections as we would anyone else’s and to accept our talents and gifts less as gifts for ourselves, and more as a gift to give to others. Once we know who we are and love who we are, we can engage others at that same level.

2. The Art of Possibility , by Rosamund Stone Zander and Benjamin Zander

The Art of Possibility teaches readers how to think divergently about the possibilities in front of them. The 12 practices for this pursuit can then open new avenues of thought and self-image. As a result, you can become a more insightful, better leader.

3.  The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People , by Stephen R. Covey

“If I really want to improve my situation, I can work on the one thing over which I have control: myself.” ― Stephen Covey

So many of us are outwardly successful, but still find ourselves wrestling with our inner habits. Enter bestselling author Covey’s seven habits to help you become more productive, build stronger relationships, and focus on priorities.

4. The Untethered Soul , by Michael Singer

The Untethered Soul is one of the most philosophical and spiritual leadership books available. It can help you pursue your inward journey by observing your ego self more objectively and dispassionately. By untethering yourself from the automatic thoughts and emotions that limit your conscious awareness, you can open the door to growth . 

5. Immunity to Change , by Robert Kegan and Lisa Laskow Lahey

This book offers an approach to change that can help you get unstuck from patterns that no longer serve you. By understanding your goals and what behaviors get in the way, you can release them and find the path forward.

6. Lean In , by Sheryl Sandberg

In Lean In , former Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg shares practical tips to help women succeed at home and in the workplace . The book is a compelling read backed by hard data and research, inspiring many women to take more risks and boldly pursue their goals.

7. Man’s Search for Meaning , by Victor Frankl

“Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms — to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way.” 

This quote from the author, who survived Nazi concentration camps, sums up the essence of this book quite nicely. 

8. GO: Put Your Strengths To Work , by Marcus Buckingham

Buckingham proposes that our strengths are those things that energize us (and make us stronger) and weaknesses are those things that drain our energy. Through that lens, we can look past our learned skills to our authentic talents.

9. The Five Thieves of Happiness , by John Izzo

Izzo’s main premise is that our natural state is happiness, yet there are forces at work to steal it from us. He names the five thieves as control, conceit, coveting, consumption, and comfort. Understanding the thieves lays a path back to happiness, or at least contentedness.

10. The Power of Meaning , by Emily Esfahani Smith

In The Power of Meaning , Smith teaches that ‘meaning’ and ‘purpose’ are not synonymous. Instead, purpose is but one of four pillars of meaning. The other three are belonging, storytelling, and transcendence. Each of us has a unique mix of these pillars that creates meaning in our lives. 

Knowing that allows us to apply ourselves more consciously to increase our sense of meaning, and thus increase engagement in our work. As leaders, we may also try to understand what gives our team members meaning.

11. How to Win Friends and Influence People , by Dale Carnegie

"Success in dealing with people depends on a sympathetic grasp of the other person’s viewpoint." - Dale Carnegie

Every successful leader knows that empathy is crucial to team collaboration. If you can’t connect on a deeper level with your employees, you’ll struggle to get results from them. Carnegie’s book is a roadmap to building that skill.

12. Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us , by Daniel H. Pink 

13. Tomorrowmind,  by Gabriella Rosen Kellerman and Martin Seligman

Navigating today's workplace can be challenging. With increasing fluctuations in workplace wellness, economic uncertainty, and work environments, flourishing can seem like an uphill battle. In their future-forward book, Seligman and our very own CPO, Gabriella Kellerman, have analyzed hundreds of thousands of workers in global industries to identify five psychological powers that are critical for workplace thriving in the 21st century. In their book, they offer actionable advice and science-backed insights to help leaders and their teams thrive.

The best leadership books for people managers 

Once you know how to manage yourself and your career , you’re ready to become an effective leader and manager. This is tricky, though, because leading people is about more than practical communication skills. There are many theories on what makes a great leader .

You’ll need to work on leadership traits like accountability and trustworthiness, as well as concrete things like managing poor performance and holding productive meetings . 

To help you learn both, here are the best leadership and business books for anyone in charge of managing a team .

14. The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership , by John C. Maxwell

“True leadership cannot be awarded, appointed, or assigned. It comes only from influence, and that cannot be mandated. It must be earned.” - John C. Maxwell

Maxwell is a widely respected author and speaker with over 30 years of leadership experience. In this foundational book, he shares the core, timeless laws of leadership that you’ll be sure to reference many times over the course of your career. 

15. Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy SEALs Lead and Win , by Leif Babin and Jocko Willink 

In this bestselling leadership book, U.S. Navy Seal Officers Willink and Babin share lessons learned on the battlefield. Using their experience as leaders of the most highly decorated special forces unit in the Iraq war, they teach readers powerful strategies to succeed in life and at work. 

16. True North , by Bill George

True North is about the art of leading others. According to George, True North is “the internal compass that guides you successfully through life. It represents who you are as a human being at your deepest level. It is your orientation point that helps you stay on track as a leader.” In short, this is a guidebook for authenticity in leadership .

17. Dare to Lead , by Brené Brown 

In this book, prolific author Brené Brown works to answer the question that early-stage startups, Fortune 500 companies, and everyone in between is asking: “How do you cultivate braver, more daring leaders, and how do you embed the value of courage in your culture?” The insights gained from her research will be sure to help you become a better, bolder, and more empathetic leader for your team.

18. Primal Leadership , by Daniel Goleman, Richard Boyatzis, and Annie McKee

Primal Leadership is all about the importance of emotionally intelligent leadership. In addition to offering practical advice, the authors address why great leaders need self-awareness and empathy in our increasingly technologically complex and oft-uncertain world. 

19. Beyond the Wall of Resistance , by Rick Maurer

Maurer is a change management advisor who understands that you have to overcome inevitable resistance in order for change to happen. He provides a compelling description of three levels of resistance: “I don’t understand it” (a knowledge gap); “I don’t like it” (an emotional gap); and “I don’t like you” (a trust gap). Then he explores strategies to make successful changes more often.

20. Five Dysfunctions of a Team , by Patrick Lencioni

“Remember, teamwork begins by building trust. And the only way to do that is to overcome our need for invulnerability.” -Patrick Lencioni

This book is important for teams looking to overcome the five common “dysfunctions”: absence of trust, fear of conflict, lack of commitment, avoidance of accountability , and inattention to results. When leaders carry a clear understanding of these five behaviors and how to remedy them, they are more likely to identify and correct them.

21. The 11 Laws of Likability , by Michelle Lederman 

This book explores the 11 laws that contribute to how likable someone is, and the success they will have networking and building relationships. The power in the laws comes from finding the ones most authentic to us and using them to tailor our engagement with others. 

The best books for organizational leaders 

The most senior business leaders in an organization are responsible for defining the company’s mission, values, culture, and strategy. The following books address many of these topics, for organizational leaders and those who want to become them.

22. Conscious Business , by Fred Kofman 

"Consciousness is the main source of organizational greatness." - Fred Kofman

This bestseller describes conscious business as transferring our conscious values as individuals into our work, and even better, into company values . It explores expressing values, understanding boundaries, communicating constructively, effective negotiations, and more.

23. Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap , by Jim Collins

"Greatness is not a function of circumstance. Greatness, it turns out, is largely a matter of conscious choice." - Jim Collins

Good to Great is a classic, must-read leadership book. In it, Collins outlines the research-based principles that separate consistent market segment outperformers from other companies with equal opportunity to do the same. 

It also provides insights into what makes a successful leadership team, how to build a culture of discipline, and how technology and analytics can make a difference in an organization's growth – when used correctly.

24. Start with Why, by Simon Sinek

Simon Sinek is an inspirational speaker and author best known for Start with Why . In the book, Sinek outlines his leadership theory , which is called the Golden Circle theory. Basically, he argues companies need to go beyond the practical benefits of what they offer. Instead of focusing on the “what,” they should turn their attention to “why?” This is because as Sinek says, “People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it.”

25. Leaders Eat Last , by Simon Sinek

After the success of Start with Why , Sinek continued his work with the New York Times bestseller Leaders Eat Last. Using true stories from Sinek’s work with the military, big business, and beyond, the book unpacks the idea that the best leaders sacrifice for their teams. Instead of operating solely from self-interest, they foster cooperation, trust, and safety.

26. Dealing with Darwin , by Geoffrey Moore

The core of this book is about understanding what gives organizations market power, and why it is difficult to find the resources to exploit those traits. The “core vs. context” framework of this book is brilliant in its ability to define the true power of your company, how to release resources for pursuing that advantage, and the implications for managing the strengths of your organizational talent pool .

27. How to Be an Anti-Racist , by Ibram Kendi 

When social injustices exist at the levels they do today, simply not being racist isn’t enough — one must be anti-racist. Kendi has a great knack for reducing this charged topic to a set of definitions and dimensions surrounding racism. 

This allows for more rational, and less emotional, discussions about dealing with racist policies and ideas rather than racists. The book contains a blueprint for organizations that want to re-examine their approach to inclusion and unconscious bias .

28. Moneyball , by Michael Lewis

Moneyball is a book about market disruption and competitive strategy. It chronicles the low-budget 2002 Oakland Athletics team and how they disrupted their industry with new approaches that gave them a distinct competitive advantage. That is until the industry changed.

Disruption sounds harsh, and it can be, both to your competitors and to your team who may be stuck in “old ways.” That said, good change management creates an opportunity for added market power.

29. The Hard Thing About Hard Things , by Ben Horowitz

“That’s the hard thing about hard things—there is no formula for dealing with them.” - Ben Horowitz

Ben Horowitz is a successful Silicon Valley founder and investor. His book is one of the best guidebooks out there for entrepreneurs , whether they’re just starting out or raising their final round of funding. Even if you’re not building a company from scratch, Horowitz provides great insights on mindset, business strategy, and old-fashioned hard work. 

Moving forward

Whether it’s audiobooks, e-books, or hard copies, consuming leadership books is one of the best ways to grow your skills and accelerate leadership training . — and your business. The most important thing is to take the time to prioritize learning from the many amazing business leaders who came before you.

Lead with confidence and authenticity

Develop your leadership and strategic management skills with the help of an expert Coach.

Ian Munro is a BetterUp Fellow Coach. Ian's passion in life is facilitating progress for others by synthesizing separate ideas and concepts into new ways of moving forward. As a Coach, he helps others find their authentic vitality and ways to let that lead the way in their life and career. Ian is a happy denizen of Vancouver Island off the west coast of Canada. His career as a leader in various business facets of IT allowed him to build a broad context of what makes businesses tick. He's never had a book speak to his true self as much as Fred Kofman’s Conscious Business (Brené Brown’s Gifts of Imperfection comes close).

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• The 40 Best Leadership Books of All Time to Help You Become a Truly Inspiring Person

We think leadership is something that’s taught in business seminars. If you make it high enough on the corporate ladder, perhaps your company will pay for some leadership training, and then, finally , you’ll become a leader. Ha! Leadership is about none of those things. Everyone can be a leader. Leadership is an attitude. It’s not tied to your title at all — or even your job, for that matter. This might sound confusing, but don’t worry: The best leadership books are here to explain!

The first time I understood leadership as anything other than a privilege for executives was when I watched Simon Sinek ‘s TED talk. You know, the famous one . “People don’t buy what you do; they buy why you do it.” If explaining your mission was such an act of service to the customer, then, surely, it couldn’t be just the higher-ups doing it! After all, it’s the people on the ground who make the sales.

When I was interning at BMW M, I loved my job because I loved the product. I believed in what we were making — sporty cars that are still highly functional — and I talked with enthusiasm about it wherever I went. That was leadership, too. “If you hire people just because they can do a job, they’ll work for your money,” Simon says. “But if you hire people who believe what you believe, they’ll work for you with blood and sweat and tears.”

The point of leadership is to inspire others to believe what you believe. Not in a twisted, “do my bidding” kind of way. True leadership is pure, good-hearted, and genuine. And it happens well beyond the confines of work. A single-mom taking time out of her busy day to help an old lady across the street is leadership. So is marshaling a team of 100 engineers to ship an important feature on time. Again: Everyone can be a leader — and a great way to become one is to start with some good leadership books.

That’s why, today, we’re compiling the very best titles on leadership for you. After summarizing over 1,000 books here at Four Minute Books, we’ve seen a leadership book or two. The following 40 titles will help you find courage, develop a strong set of personal values, improve group dynamics wherever you go, inspire others, manage difficult conversations, and a lot more!

As usual, we’ve made this list easy to navigate by sorting it into various categories. For each book we share, we’ll include our favorite quote from the author, a one-sentence-summary, a few words on why it might be a good pick for you, and three key takeaways. You’ll also find some shiny buttons to read each book’s summary on Four Minute Books or buy a copy of it on Amazon (affiliate links).

Simply use the clickable table of contents below, jump to the section you most want to learn about, and pick your next great read.

Okay, here we go. These are the very best leadership books!

Table of Contents

1. Leaders Eat Last by Simon Sinek

2. the 21 irrefutable laws of leadership by john c. maxwell, 3. the effective executive by peter f. drucker, 4. the hard thing about hard things by ben horowitz, 5. the leadership challenge by james kouzes & barry posner, 6. how to win friends and influence people by dale carnegie, 7. the 7 habits of highly effective people by stephen r. covey, 8. dare to lead by brené brown, 9. lean in by sheryl sandberg, 10. extreme ownership by jocko willink & leif babin, 11. principles by ray dalio, 12. linchpin by seth godin, 13. spark by angie morgan, courtney lynch & sean lynch, 14. entreleadership by dave ramsey, 15. leadership and self-deception by the arbinger institute, 16. the five dysfunctions of a team by patrick lencioni, 17. six thinking hats by edward de bono, 18. first, break all the rules by marcus buckingham & curt coffman, 19. the culture code by daniel coyle, 20. move your bus by ron clark, 21. tribal leadership by dave logan, john king & halee fischer-wright, 22. multipliers by liz wiseman, 23. unlocking potential by michael simpson, 24. presence by amy cuddy, 25. executive presence by sylvia ann hewlett, 26. the advice trap by michael bungay stanier, 27. crucial conversations by kerry patterson et al., 28. radical candor by kim malone scott, 29. the one minute manager by ken blanchard & spencer johnson, 30. people over profit by dale partridge, 31. the second mountain by david brooks, 32. the myth of the strong leader by archie brown, 33. how to be a leader by plutarch, 34. lead yourself first by raymond m. kethledge & michael s. erwin, 35. how to think like a roman emperor by donald robertson, 36. a promised land by barack obama, 37. becoming by michelle obama, 38. long walk to freedom by nelson mandela, 39. the ride of a lifetime by robert iger, 40. all in by billie jean king, other book lists by topic, other book lists by author, best leadership books overall.

Favorite Quote

“It is not the genius at the top giving directions that makes people great. It is great people that make the guy at the top look like a genius.” — Simon Sinek

The Book in One Sentence

Leaders Eat Last teaches you where the need for leadership comes from historically, what the consequences of bad leadership are, and how you can be a good leader in the modern world.

Why should you read it?

Few people are as inspiring, authentic, and empathetic as Simon Sinek. His talks get millions of views because when he speaks, we feel both heard and empowered. His other books , while also good, deal with more specific concepts, like “ starting with why ” or the idea of infinite games . This one, on the other hand, is his most extensive compendium on all things leadership, and that makes it a great all-around education for anyone hoping to lead others today.

Key Takeaways

• Safety means progress.
• Responsibility means actually caring about people.
• Technology has turned us into performance addicts.

If you want to learn more, you can read our free four-minute summary or get a copy for yourself.

“You can’t move people to action unless you first move them with emotion… The heart comes before the head.” — John C. Maxwell

The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership shows you that leadership is learned, not inherited, and that you too can become a leader if you internalize some of the universal principles of any leader-follower-relationship.

If you want a simple guide to leadership in the form of a set of clear directives, this book is your best bet. Maxwell is a leadership icon, and this book is a bible for CEOs around the globe. Worthy follow-ups, also by Maxwell: The 5 Levels of Leadership and Leadershift .

• Make sure you stand on solid ground and uphold the rules you want to inspire others to keep.
• Keep earning the respect of your followers.
• It’s okay to be a bad loser – it keeps you focused on winning.

“Intelligence, imagination, and knowledge are essential resources, but only effectiveness converts them into a result.” — Peter F. Drucker

The Effective Executive gives leaders a step-by-step formula to become more productive while developing their own strengths as well as their employees’ best traits.

Despite being a writer, Drucker was a man of action more so than words. His approach to leadership is based around productivity, so if you’re the kind of person who wants to roll up their sleeves and get going yet inspire others along the way, Drucker is your man. Also worth the short read: Managing Oneself .

• To be an effective executive you must lead by example, first developing your own skills.
• Learn how to make the right decisions and stand by them, no matter what others say.
• Focusing on the talents of your employees will build an efficient working environment.

“The only thing that prepares you to run a company is running a company.” — Ben Horowitz

The Hard Thing About Hard Things is an inside look at the tough decisions and lonely times all CEOs face, revealing what it truly takes to build a great organization and become a world-class leader.

Being a leader isn’t all sunshine and rainbows. This book will show you specifically what the rainy days look like. What happens when a business goes bankrupt? How do you fire people without needless suffering? This is a book for CEOs, but it’ll also help you become one because it’ll prepare you for some of the unpopular decisions you’ll have to make.

• The CEO should be the first one to shout when shit hits the fan.
• There are 2 types of CEOs, strategic and practical ones.
• Great CEOs must learn to be comfortable being uncomfortable.

“Leading by example is more effective than leading by command.” — James Kouzes & Barry Posner

The Leadership Challenge shares the top leadership lessons from 25 years of research, explaining what makes successful managers and how you can become one yourself.

If you’re looking for a great all-around introduction to leadership, pick up this one. You’ll get to know some of history’s most beloved leaders as well as their lessons for leading well, be it at home, in the office, or in your local organization. A great read for beginners!

• You’re always setting an example for those you lead — the only question is is it a good one or a bad one?
• The best leaders are proactive and look both for opportunities and challenges.
• If you want to achieve great things, you must trust your team members to make good decisions.

“Any fool can criticize, complain, and condemn — and most fools do. But it takes character and self-control to be understanding and forgiving.” — Dale Carnegie

How to Win Friends and Influence People teaches you countless principles to become a likable person, handle your relationships well, win others over, and help them change their behavior without being intrusive.

Most of leadership is just a blend of common sense and good manners. This book combines both. Smile. Be polite. Ask questions. Don’t ramble. There’s a reason this is a book recommended in so many fields: sales, marketing, entrepreneurship, self-help, and, yes, leadership — because the ideas make sense no matter where you work or what you’re trying to do. Learn to lead better and get some great life advice along the way!

• You can make a great first impression just by smiling.
• To be interesting to others, talk about their favorite topic: themselves.
• If you want to convince people, get them to say “yes” a lot.

“The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.” — Stephen R. Covey

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People will teach you both personal and professional effectiveness by first changing your view of how the world works, then giving you seven habits which, if adopted well, will lead you to immense success.

I don’t think this book needs an introduction. Is it a bit cliché? Perhaps. But are its principles timeless, and do they still work? Absolutely. Plus, every leader will implement the seven habits differently, as most of them are high-level guidelines more so than explicit instructions. This book belongs on every leader’s desk.

• Do the funeral test to discover who you want to be.
• Learn how to say no.
• Practice active listening whenever you talk to others.

Best Leadership Books for Developing Courage

“The courage to be vulnerable is not about winning or losing, it’s about the courage to show up when you can’t predict or control the outcome.” — Brené Brown

Dare to Lead  dispels common myths about modern-day workplace culture and shows you that true leadership requires nothing but vulnerability, values, trust, and resilience.

If you think you’re too shy, unconfident, or not skilled enough to be a leader, read this book. Brown will teach you that that’s not true, and that leadership comes, first and foremost, from the heart. A great read not just for women, just like Brené Brown’s other books .

• Courage and vulnerability  always  go together.
• If you can narrow your core values down to just two, you can navigate even the toughest of times.
• The seven behaviors that create trust can be summed up with the acronym “BRAVING.”

“In the future, there will be no female leaders. There will just be leaders.” — Sheryl Sandberg

Lean In explains why women are still underrepresented in the workforce, what holds them back, how we can enable and support them, and how any woman can take the lead and hold the flag of female leadership high.

If you’re a woman trying to make a name for yourself, this book will help you navigate the still male-dominated world of business. With a focus on hard work and ambition, this book shows young leaders new paths through a complex, and sometimes rigged, system, and it does so with empathy and understanding.

• Treat your career like a jungle gym.
• Learn to strike a balance between ambition and appeal.
• Before you become a mother, lean into your career as much as you can.

“Leaders must own everything in their world. There is no one else to blame.” — Jocko Willink & Leif Babin

Extreme Ownership  contains useful leadership advice from two Navy SEALs who learned to stay strong, disciplined, and level-headed in high-stakes combat scenarios.

Do you often lose your cool in stressful situations? Then grab this book. If you want to lead via composure, discipline, and focus, these two former SEALs will show you and your team a new, better way to make progress at work despite the chaos of life and business.

• A leader who takes responsibility for failure is vital to the success of a team.
• Pressure is inevitable as a leader; remaining calm and effective comes from establishing priorities and taking action.
• Managing risks before they pop up is a key attribute of great leaders.

Best Leadership Books for Discovering Your Values & Making an Impact

“Great questions are a much better indicator of future success than great answers.” — Ray Dalio

Principles outlines and breaks down the set of rules for work and life billionaire investor Ray Dalio, CEO of the world’s largest hedge fund , has acquired throughout his 40-year career in finance.

Reading this book will help you lay the foundation of both your personal and professional life. To be a successful leader, you’ll need a strong work ethic and a rock-solid set of principles that’ll guide you through your endeavors. Ray delivers both. There’s also a journal to go with the book, next to his other, also interesting books .

• Principles are powerful weapons in the fight against flawed thinking.
• Radical truth and transparency are two of Ray’s most important ideas.
• Great businesses use principles to create environments where the best ideas win.

“Transferring your passion to your job is far easier than finding a job that happens to match your passion.” — Seth Godin

Linchpin claims that the time of simply following instructions at your job is over, showing you how to make yourself indispensable and why that’s a must for career success today.

The bad news is that job security is gone. The good news is that, if you become indispensable, there’ll always be someone who wants to hire you. This book will teach you how to do just that by acquiring the right skills at the right time, showing initiative, and making an impact without asking for permission. Another good read from Seth on the topic: Tribes .

• Linchpins pour their heart, soul, and energy into their work.
• You have to make a conscious choice to overcome your fears to become a linchpin.
• Give genuine gifts without expecting anything in return.

“Small acts of service can transform relationships, teams, and cultures.” — Angie Morgan, Courtney Lynch & Sean Lynch

Spark teaches you how to become an influential, un-fireable asset to your team by leading regardless of your position, utilizing the power of creative thinking to make better decisions, and learning how to be more self-aware and humble.

One way to become indispensable is to contribute so greatly to the work of others that they’ll no longer want to do it without you. That’s what becoming “a spark” is all about. Learn how to supercharge those around you, and thus supercharge yourself and your career.

• Anyone can be an inspirational leader, “a spark,” regardless of their title.
• Sparks make better decisions and connect with others more deeply because they think creatively. 
• If you want to be a spark, learn to admit when you’re wrong, serve others, and become self-aware.

“If you as a leader allow people to halfway do their jobs and don’t demand excellence as a prerequisite to keeping their job, you will create a culture of mediocrity.” — Dave Ramsey

EntreLeadership will outline a path to becoming a great leader in your company by identifying the necessary management and entrepreneurial skills, then mastering them.

If you want a compendium of great, entrepreneurial leadership advice, compiled by someone who’s walked the walk, check out this book. Ramsey quotes lots of other smart leaders and explains how he implemented their advice in his own businesses. Worth the read!

• The most successful heads of new companies combine the skills of an entrepreneur and a leader. 
• To create a lucrative business, work on your marketing strategy. 
• You only get hardworking and loyal employees if you give out generous salaries and bonuses.

“Self-deception blinds us to the true causes of problems, and once we’re blind, all the ‘solutions’ we can think of will actually make matters worse.” — The Arbinger Institute

Leadership and Self-Deception is a guide to becoming self-aware by learning to see your faults more accurately, understanding other’s strengths and needs, and leaning into your natural instinct to help other people as much as possible.

This book will teach you how to spot deception in and by yourself as well as from others. It’ll also help you become more self-aware and have better, more genuine interactions with other people. It could just as well be a self-help book, and its positive effects will go well beyond the workplace!

• Seeing your own needs as more important than those of others makes you forget they are people just like you.
• You justify your worldview by inflating your virtues and overemphasizing other people’s weaknesses.
• If you want to beat self-deception, you must act on your instinct to help others in need.

Best Leadership Books About Teamwork

“When people don’t unload their opinions and feel like they’ve been listened too, they won’t really get on board.” — Patrick Lencioni

The Five Dysfunctions of a Team uses a fable to explain why even the best teams struggle to work together, offering actionable strategies to overcome distrust and office politics in order to achieve important goals as a cohesive, effective unit.

If you struggle to work well together with others, get this book. Learn how to build trust and communicate effectively, even mediate well between different parties. For any aspiring team player, this is a good read.

• If a group wants to facilitate trust, it must be open about weaknesses and mistakes.
• Everybody needs to be committed to decisions, no matter what the consensus is.
• Focus on a common goal instead of looking for individual results.

“We may have a perfectly adequate way of doing something, but that does not mean there cannot be a better way.” ― Edward De Bono

Six Thinking Hats divides thinking into six distinct areas and perspectives, which will help you, your team, and your company tackle problems from different angles, thus solving them with the power of parallel thinking and saving time, money, and energy as a result.

Are you looking for a framework that’ll make meetings smoother, more fun, and more effective? This is the book for you. The six thinking hats can seriously improve any group dynamic.

• The blue hat is the manager’s hat, which is worn to oversee the situation.
• When wearing the red hat, everyone is free to express their emotions without having to worry about being judged.
• The yellow hat gets you to pick up your shovel and start digging, because it’s the hat of the optimist.

“People leave managers, not companies.” — Marcus Buckingham & Curt Coffman

First, Break All the Rules claims that everything you think you know about managing people is wrong, revealing how you can challenge the status quo so that both you and those you lead will achieve their full potential.

Forget about financial incentives, tight deadlines, and demanding speeches. If you want a more human way of pushing others to do their best, check out this book. Learn to be a facilitator of happiness, provide people with autonomy, and good results will follow. This book will teach you how.

• Successful businesses have happy employees — because managers have the power to ensure team members are satisfied.
• To be a great leader, set baseline standards of performance, then let people choose how exactly to reach outcomes.
• When you want to improve employees performance, look to the top performers on your team, not mistakes or averages.

Best Leadership Books About Group Dynamics

“Vulnerability doesn’t come after trust — it precedes it. Leaping into the unknown, when done alongside others, causes the solid ground of trust to materialize beneath our feet.” — Daniel Coyle

The Culture Code  examines the dynamics of groups, large and small, formal and informal, to help you understand how great teams work and what you can do to improve your relationships wherever you cooperate with others.

If you want to learn how to integrate well in any group, collaborate better, and get your points across, this is a must-read. Charisma, or a lack thereof, is somewhat natural, but culture and communication can be learned. This book will show you how to use them to get people to cooperate and achieve big things.

• Build a safe environment to make everyone feel comfortable in working together.
• Share vulnerability to show no one needs to be perfect.
• Establish purpose through a common goal and a clear path to get there.

“Treating everyone fairly isn’t treating everyone equally.” — Ron Clark

Move Your Bus illustrates the different kinds of groups in organizations, how leaders can inspire those groups, and what individuals can do to become highly valued, productive members of the organizations they serve.

If you often find yourself frustrated with coworkers actions, this book is for you. Learn to accept that different people play different roles at work and in life, and you’ll be more efficient in giving everyone what they need to succeed.

• Have high expectations of people, then make it possible for them to deliver.
• Accept that different people perform on different levels.
• Let go of your sense of entitlement, forever.

“Change the language in the tribe, and you have changed the tribe itself.” — Dave Logan, John King & Halee Fischer-Wright

Tribal Leadership explains the various roles people take on in organizations, showing you how to navigate, connect, and lead change across the five different stages of your company’s “tribal society.”

Do you feel lost when you look at your company’s org chart? This book will help you navigate it, and not just on paper. Learn to identify the various groups in your organization and the stages they move through over time — and become a more efficient collaborator as a result.

• In the 21st century, tribes are still the most powerful social units in which we operate.
• Tribal progression depends on the quality of connections between its members.
• To change a group, you need to work with individuals first.

Best Books for Leaders Trying to Inspire People

“The highest quality of thinking cannot emerge without learning. Learning can’t happen without mistakes.” — Liz Wiseman

Multipliers explains the five types of people who inspire, support, and improve others in their organization, showing you how to become one as well as avoid diminishers, the people who drag down others and make it harder for them to perform.

Is there someone at work who always brings you down or even blocks you from accomplishing your tasks? This book will help you deal with them. It’ll also show you how to avoid becoming a “diminisher,” as Wiseman calls them, yourself. Plus, you’ll learn which type of “multiplier” you might be, and how you can best amplify the voices and work of others.

• Diminishers reduce the effectiveness of their team, while Multipliers expand their team’s capabilities.
• If you’ve got a Diminisher boss, hope rests in learning and applying some defensive strategies.
• Becoming a Multiplier and improving your workplace is as simple as following a few quick practices.

“Perhaps the best definition of coaching is ‘unleashing or unlocking the potential of another human being.’” — Michael Simpson

Unlocking Potential will teach you how to coach others in a way that brings to light their greatest strengths and capabilities, allowing you to make a true difference in people’s lives as a leader.

A good leader is similar to a good coach: They’ll help others help themselves, then get out of the way. This book will teach you which questions to ask when and how to empower those around you to do as much as they can on their own.

• The basics of effective coaching center around trust and potential. 
• You can encourage commitment by asking the right questions and help others execute effectively with the principle of flow.
• Asking a team member what feedback they’d give to someone in their situation brings out the best advice for them to follow.

Best Leadership Books About Presence

“Focus less on the impression you’re making on others and more on the impression you’re making on yourself.” — Amy Cuddy

Presence will grow your confidence by explaining how posture, mindset, and body language all reinforce your feeling of empowerment as well as your communication skills.

Do you lack confidence? This book will help bring it back. Through a series of useful exercises, you’ll feel inspired to stand up for what you believe in and hold your head high — literally and figuratively.

• If you want more courage and the ability to handle stress better, find and write about your #1 core value.
• Beat feelings of powerlessness by remembering past wins and other positive events.
• Your posture is evidence of how you feel about yourself, and by improving it, even right now, you will become more confident.

“Becoming a leader and doing something amazing with your life hinge on what makes you different, not on what makes you the same as everyone else.” — Sylvia Ann Hewlett

Executive Presence is an actionable guide to the essential components of a strong leader’s charisma, including and teaching you elements like gravitas, communication, appearance, and others.

A leader who has to yell every time to make their point is not a good leader at all. This book will show you how to command respect and meet people eye-to-eye — and that’s before you’ve even started talking. The book also has good tips for that, of course. If you want to exude authority and confidence wherever you go, get this book.

• Gravitas is the core of executive presence.
• It’s not  what you say that counts, but how  you say it.
• Your physical appearance matters a great deal.

“Coaching is the act of staying curious. Feedback is when you need to share your point of view.” — Michael Bungay Stanier

The Advice Trap will drastically improve your communication skills and make you more likable, thanks to explaining why defaulting to sharing your opinion about everything is a bad idea and how listening until you truly understand people’s needs will make a much bigger positive difference in their lives.

When you’re a leader, everyone expects you to tell them what to do. Often, however, that’s exactly the wrong thing! You must learn to help people figure out what to do on their own, and that’s what this book is about. Combine silence, transparency, and appreciation, and you’ll rise through the ranks thanks to your influence, not your aggression.

• Your Advice Monster takes on three personas that you need to be aware of if you want to beat it.
• Listen better by using keywords to prime yourself, repeating a single skill, and learning to make it enjoyable.
• Be generous when communicating with others in three specific categories.

Best Leadership Books About Communication

“It’s the most talented, not the least talented, who are continually trying to improve their dialogue skills. As is often the case, the rich get richer.” — Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, Ron McMillan & Al Switzler

Crucial Conversations  will teach you how to avoid conflict and come to positive solutions in high-stakes conversations so you can be effective in your personal and professional life.

Looking for a better way to handle high-stakes situations? Then this might be the right book for you. Speech is what separates us from the other animals, but if we don’t speak clearly, we might as well be throwing rocks. Master the STATE method described in this book, and how you communicate in difficult situations will change forever.

• When communicating, stay focused on your goals to avoid reacting emotionally. 
• Create safe conversations by showing the other person you value their opinions. 
• Use the STATE method to resolve conflict when it arises.  

“Make sure that you are seeing each person on your team with fresh eyes every day. People evolve, and so your relationships must evolve with them. Care personally; don’t put people in boxes and leave them there.” — Kim Malone Scott

Radical Candor will teach you how to connect with people at work, push them to be their best, know when and how to fire them, and create an environment of trust and innovation in the workplace.

Do you struggle to be open with people, especially about uncomfortable but necessary developments? Try Radical Candor . This book will help you build the transparency you need without offending people, and your results when working in and with a team will soar.

• To develop radical candor, you must learn to be honest and direct without offending people.
• Collaborative leadership is far more effective than just barking orders.
• Get to know your employee’s real motivations by having honest conversations.

“The best minute I spend is the one I invest in people.” — Ken Blanchard & Spencer Johnson

The One Minute Manager gives managers three simple tools that each take 60 seconds or less to use but can tremendously improve their efficiency in getting people to stay motivated, happy, and ready to deliver great work.

If you have a practice of giving compliments to coworkers but not telling them when they need to do better, this book is for you. The one-minute practices are easy and elegant. They also allow you to move forward without dwelling on people’s mistakes (or their accomplishments, for that matter). What an efficient way to lead!

• For each of your employees, set three goals you can review in one minute or less.
• Use one minute praise to give your employees positive feedback.
• A one-minute reprimand is more than enough to express your dissatisfaction.

Best Leadership Books About Ethics & Being of Service

“Authenticity is the act of telling people what you believe and care about, not telling them what you think they want you to believe or care about.” — Dale Partridge

People Over Profit evaluates the four stages most companies go through as they mature, moving from honest over efficiency to deception and, if they’re lucky, redemption, ideally helping them to foster seven core beliefs that will allow them to stay honest all the way to the end.

Most business books focus on tactics. Some focus on strategies. This is one of the few that addresses philosophy. If you can inspire a spirit of honesty among your first few employees, it’ll automatically become part of your company’s culture. Old employees teach it to new ones as the business grows, and you’ll still lead a virtuous company by the time it’s all grown up. A great read about developing a powerful organizational culture that can last for generations to come.

• Every company starts as an honest one.
• Good companies embrace transparency instead of trying to avoid it.
• By making better choices as a consumer, you can do your part to contribute to an honest-business world.

“We think we want ease and comfort, and of course we do from time to time, but there is something inside us that longs for some calling that requires dedication and sacrifice.” — David Brooks

The Second Mountain  argues that the key to living a meaningful, fulfilling, and happy life is not found in the pursuit of self-improvement but instead a life of service to others.

This book will show you how to truly put others first — and let everything else follow. Prioritizing those you care about will take care of many of the problems you worry about for yourself. It’s funny how it works, but it does. This book will convince you and show you how.

• Individualism causes a lack of social connections, which is why people feel adrift as they focus on the first mountain, material success. 
• Joy is better than happiness, and we receive it when we scale the second mountain — a life of caring for people. 
• Putting the needs of others above your own requires commitment and hard work; love alone won’t cut it.

Best Leadership Books With Out-of-the-Box Approaches

“There are many qualities desirable in a political leader that should matter more than the criterion of strength, one better suited to judging weightlifters or long-distance runners.” — Archie Brown

The Myth of the Strong Leader reveals why being a bold, charismatic leader might not be all it’s cracked up to be, showing that we give way too much credit to “strong” leaders and illustrating the problematic consequences this societal pattern entails.

Are you worried about how you’ll lead when you’re neither literally tall nor figuratively larger than life? Don’t fret! This book will dispel the common myth that leaders must be (or at least appear) strong. It’s a cultural phenomenon more so than anything else, and even the best leaders have big flaws, like all of us. An encouraging read for anyone feeling like they’re out of their depth!

• We have a deeply skewed idea of what it means to be an effective political leader. 
• A truly good leader needs to be humble and know how to listen to people. 
• The people who become the most influential leaders usually employ a collegial style of leadership.

“Leaders, in fact, must be more afraid of inflicting harm than of suffering harm themselves.” — Plutarch

How to Be a Leader is Greek philosopher Plutarch’s guide to leadership, using practical ideas, historical narratives, and political events to outline the qualities of the best leaders, including serving for the right reasons, speaking persuasively, and following more experienced leaders.

This book’s lessons aged like a fine wine. Leadership isn’t new. We’ve been doing it for as long as humans have existed. Plutarch will show you that the basics still apply, and that leadership isn’t rocket science. A fantastic read full of common sense and surprisingly relevant advice, given its age.

• A good leader wants to lead for the right reasons. 
• Persuasive speaking skills are a hallmark of leadership.
• We shouldn’t dismiss the strengths of more experienced leaders.

“A critical element of effective leadership is not to let the immediate take precedence over the important.” — Raymond M. Kethledge & Michael S. Erwin

Lead Yourself First highlights the importance of solitude, sorting your mind, and self-awareness in leading others, recommending strongly aligned goals and an inspiring mission to get others to take initiative on your shared objectives.

Leadership is about leading others, but that doesn’t mean to do it well you have to be around people all the time. In fact, the opposite is true! Solitude is necessary to think clearly, recharge, and return to those you hope to guide with renewed energy and motivation. This book will show you how to look inward to better navigate the world outside and help others do the same.

• Great leaders use solitude to deal with four aspects of their life.
• FOMO is a dangerous trap for anyone who is serious about their responsibilities.
• Solitude can help you alleviate negative emotions and triggers.

“The Stoic Sage, or wise man, needs nothing but uses everything well; the fool believes himself to ‘need’ countless things, but he uses them all badly.” — Donald Robertson

How to Think Like a Roman Emperor  combines the story of famous Stoic and Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius with lessons from modern psychology to help you become more emotionally resilient and develop the strength to overcome even the most challenging circumstances.

If a shy boy 2,000 years ago managed to get through life as an emperor (a life Marcus never would have chosen), then you, too, can show others the way. Inspiring through its story and enlightening through its lessons, this is a fantastic book full of pragmatic wisdom.

• We come from nature, and we’ll return to it eventually, so it’s only logical to live in agreement with it. 
• Life is about constant improvement, which is why we should all work on our virtues every day.
• Stoics know there’s no point in worrying over what you can’t control, so best just make your peace with it.

Best Inspiring Biographies of Famous Leaders

“Enthusiasm makes up for a host of deficiencies.” — Barack Obama

A Promised Land is former president Barack Obama’s memoir in which he explains how he got into politics, what it was like for him to be president of the United States from 2009 to 2017, and how he felt during some of his biggest achievements, like passing  the Affordable Care Act.

If you’re a fan of Obama, you’ll get a lot out of this book. If you’re not, you have to at least give the man credit: He led with composure and clarity, even if not all of his choices were right. Especially if you hope to lead in politics, this will be an enlightening read.

• Barack wanted to change the world from a young age, and he almost gave up trying to do so by political means.
• Once Obama’s popularity began to grow, it wasn’t long before running for president became the obvious choice.
• The Affordable Care Act and the assassination of Osama bin Laden are just two of the many notable events of Obama’s presidency.

“Now I think it’s one of the most useless questions an adult can ask a child — What do you want to be when you grow up? As if growing up is finite. As if at some point you become something and that’s the end.” ― Michelle Obama

Becoming will use Michelle Obama’s life story to  motivate you to move forward with your dreams regardless of your circumstances, criticism, or what people think.

Whether you’re the woman behind a strong man, charting your own path, or simply wondering how a First Lady deals with all the pressure and attention, this book is for you. Barack’s success can be credited as much to Michelle as to him, and together, they make for an extremely inspiring pair of human beings.

• Regardless of the changes in your world, you can strive to be your best and learn.
• Ignore people who tell you what they think you can’t be, pushing yourself to excel will lead you to people who believe in your potential.
• Don’t be afraid to try new things, even if you live in a place as traditional as the White House.

“I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.” ― Nelson Mandela

Long Walk to Freedom is the autobiography of Nelson Mandela, South African anti-apartheid activist, national icon, and the first South African Black president, elected in the first, fully democratic election in the country.

If you think you’re facing hardship, think again. This man spent more than 20 years in prison, yet still came out ready to forgive his oppressors — and he went on to do great things because of it. One of the most inspiring stories of all time. Highly recommended!

• Your best bet at finding true freedom is education.
• If you want to be remembered, you must learn to challenge authority.
• It’s most important that you don’t give up right after your biggest setback.

“Ask the questions you need to ask, admit without apology what you don’t understand, and do the work to learn what you need to learn as quickly as you can.” ― Robert Iger

The Ride of a Lifetime illustrates Robert Iger’s journey to becoming th e CEO of Disney, and how his vision, strategy, and guidance successfully led the company through a time when its future was highly uncertain.

Do you dream of being a CEO of one of the world’s most beloved brands? Then this book is for you. Bob Iger was loved as much by his employees as their customers love Disney. He truly is a one-in-a-million example of good leadership, and that’s why his story is worth listening to.

• Pay attention to what you think is coincidence — it just may end up leading you to success.
• Even if an idea you have sounds crazy, try it anyway, because you never know what great opportunities might come from it.
• Don’t give up on even the toughest of aspirations, and use your connections to make great things happen.

“Face your fears; live your passions, be dedicated to your truth.” — Billie Jean King

All In  is the autobiography of tennis and LGBT icon Billie Jean King, the first professional female athlete to come out as homosexual, as well as an astonishing player who won countless matches and tournaments, all while fighting for gender equality in sports up to the point of changing US legislation and significantly reducing discrimination in sports for women all over the globe.

Talk about winning against the odds. Billie Jean did it not just in tennis, but in politics too, managing to change the laws of the sport she played. She was also the first professional female athlete to come out as lesbian, and that requires yet another kind of leadership. What an inspiring individual!

• A combination of talent and hard work turned Billie Jean into a champion.
• A good role model can inspire determination and motivate us to push forward.
• Billie Jean had a tough romantic life and other significant challenges to face, none of which kept her from achieving her objective.

“When you compete against everyone else, no one wants to help you,” Simon Sinek says. “But when you compete against yourself, everyone wants to help you.” That’s what leadership is about. It’s an attitude of service, of putting others first, and when we do that, the people around us want us to succeed too.

I think most of us aspire to being inspiring, and often, that’s easier than we think. But even when leadership forces you to make tough choices, usually, the hardest decision is the one to lead in the first place. Once we’ve made up our mind to walk into the unknown, even when we’re afraid like everyone else, we’ll find that the path keeps unfolding right in front of us — and now, others can follow in our footsteps.

Whether you want to learn more about the basics of leadership or have 20 years of experience as an executive, we hope our list of the best leadership books will provide the little bit of inspiration you’ll need to keep taking small steps every day. Thank you for doing your best to lead. The world needs it more than you know.

Looking for more of the best books on various topics? Here are all the book lists we’ve made for you so far:

• The 60 Best Business Books of All Time (Will Forever Change How You Think About Organizations)
• The 20 Best Entrepreneurship Books to Start, Grow & Run a Successful Business
• The 14 Best Finance Books of All Time
• The 21 Best Habit Books of All Time to Change Any Behavior
• The 33 Best Happiness Books of All Time That Everyone Should Read
• The 60 Best History Books of All Time (to Read at Any Age)
• The 7 Best Inspirational Books That Will Light Your Inner Fire
• The 31 Best Motivational Books Ever Written
• The 12 Best Nonfiction Books Most People Have Never Heard Of
• The 35 Best Philosophy Books to Live Better and Become a Great Thinker
• The 34 Best Psychology Books That Will Make You Smarter and Happier
• The 25 Best Sales Books of All Time to Help You Close Any Deal
• The 33 Best Self-Help Books of All Time to Read at Any Age
• The 22 Best Books About Sex & Sexuality to Improve Your Love Life & Relationships
• The 30 Most Life-Changing Books That Will Shift Your Perspective & Stay With You Forever

Looking for more books by the world’s most celebrated authors? Here are all of the book lists by the author we’ve curated for you:

• All Brené Brown Books, Sorted Chronologically (and by Popularity)
• Jordan Peterson Books: All Titles in Order of Publication + The 5 Top Books He Recommends
• All Malcolm Gladwell Books, Sorted Chronologically (and by Popularity)
• All Michael Pollan Books, Sorted Chronologically (and by Popularity)
• Peter Thiel Books: A Comprehensive List of Books By, About & Recommended by Peter Thiel
• All Rachel Hollis Books: The Full List of Non-Fiction, Fiction & Cookbooks, Sorted by Popularity & the Best Reading Order
• All Ray Dalio Books, Sorted Chronologically (and by Popularity)
• All Robert Greene Books, Sorted Chronologically (and by Popularity)
• All Ryan Holiday Books, Sorted Chronologically (and by Popularity)
• All Simon Sinek Books, Sorted Chronologically (and by Popularity)
• All Tim Ferriss Books, Sorted Chronologically (and by Popularity)
• All Walter Isaacson Books, Sorted Chronologically (and by Popularity)

Last Updated on February 20, 2023

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The 20 best leadership books for anyone looking to build confidence at work, ranked

• Resume-writing firm Resume.io recently released a list of the 50 best leadership books, based on an analysis of top-rated books from the review site Goodreads.
• Some of the highest-rated books covering leadership include Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner's "Freakonomics"  and Sheryl Sandberg's "Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead."
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories .

It's always a good decision to have an arsenal of leadership books at your disposal – especially during the pandemic, where good leaders are needed to steer teams through crisis. 

In fact, the pandemic might prove the be the ultimate test of good leadership.

But with so many books on leadership to choose from, it might be hard to know which ones are the right choice.

The resume-writing firm Resume.io recently compiled 50 of the best leadership books of all time based on an analysis of the highest-rated books from review site Goodreads. The books are ranked based on their amount of positive reviews.

The wide-ranging list includes everything from the biography of late Apple founder Steve Jobs to the popular " Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead ," from Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg.

Boosting your leadership abilities is beneficial for the company's bottom line: Research from the global leadership firm Gallup shows that effective managers are better at retaining talent. 

These books offer insights for anyone who wants to bolster their leadership skills.

20. "Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity" by David Allen

Many leaders struggle to manage an overflowing inbox. To fix this, Allen created the "two-minute rule." This means if he sees an email, he makes a quick decision on whether it can be handled in two minutes or less. If the task requires more time, he skips it.

"Anything you can whip out and turn around in two minutes, you should," Allen said in an interview with Business Insider . 

According to Allen, this allows him to do a lot within a small amount of time.

Find it here>>

19. "Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap... and Others Don't" by Jim Collins

One theory that can help leaders through tough times is the Stockdale Paradox. Collin details this as the ability to confront the harsh reality of your situation and have faith that you will win in the end.

For background: Jim Stockdale was the highest-ranking officer trapped as a prisoner of war during the Vietnam War. Though he had no idea when he would return to the outside world, he led others in a powerful resistance against his captors.

Collin calls this a paradox because people need to balance optimism (or the hope they have for their life) with realism, which can be the uncertainty about the future. 

18. "Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead" by Brené Brown

All great leaders should express a more vulnerable side to their employees. According to Brown, it's important for leaders to put themselves out there — even though it may come at a far greater risk of getting criticized or feeling hurt .

To practice vulnerability, leaders should celebrate their imperfections and be more self-aware of their actions. 

17. "The 4-Hour Workweek" by Timothy Ferriss

Working only a couple of hours each week may actually improve the overall trajectory of your career, according to this popular book. Ferriss writes that there is power in striving to work just four hours per week. This can be done by outsourcing and eliminating parts of your workload.

This strategy may be especially useful for managers who are prone to overwork themselves. According to Ferriss, some of the benefits of working less include having more time to spend with family and maximizing your earning potential. 

16. "Think & Grow Rich" by Napoleon Hill

Leaders who read Hill's book can learn more about the power of desire: To be an influential leader, you have to want it .

Many successful people start with a certain amount of dreaming, hoping, planning, and desiring before they become rich. For example, Hill explains that coming up with new ideas is an important part of visualizing your success.

"Ideas are the beginning points of all fortunes," writes Hill . "Ideas are products of the imagination... Man's only limitation, within reason, lies in his development and use of his imagination."

15. "The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment" by Eckhart Tolle

Burnout, anxiety, and depression can be big issues to tackle in the workplace. That is why it's important for leaders to prioritize their employees' mental health.

In this best-selling book, Tolle offers leaders a guide to shift their mindset and embrace the power of mindfulness, recognize thought patterns, and learn to detach from their emotions.

14. "Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future"by Ashlee Vance

Sometimes as a leader, you need to reassess your employee's skill set to accelerate growth at a company.  

In Vance's 2015 book, " Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future ," he shares the story of how Musk stopped working with his longtime executive assistant in early 2014.

Business Insider reported that Musk reassessed the assistant's responsibilities and found that the job needed to be completed by multiple staffers rather than by just one person. Musk offered the ex-assistant another position at the company. However, she never returned to the office after that .

13. "The Prince" by Niccolò Machiavelli

Machiavelli teaches leaders to study the greats. And although this book dates back to the 1500s, learning from others is still a relevant skill in the modern world. 

"A prudent man should always follow in the path trodden by great men and imitate those who are most excellent," Machiavelli writes. "So that if he does not attain to their greatness, at any rate, he will get some tinge of it."

Another key lesson is that you should learn from and hire other smart people. This can improve any blind spots you have as a leader.

"The first method for estimating the intelligence of a ruler is to look at the men he has around him," he writes.

12. "Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead" by Sheryl Sandberg

Sandberg's famous 2013 book motivates women to improve their negotiation tactics, strive to fill leadership roles at work, and tackle their professional lives full-throttle.

One of Sandberg's most talked-about lessons is the importance of "sitting at the table." Simply put, this means that you shouldn't doubt your abilities in the workplace. This is especially true when you're contributing your ideas to the office.

With this in mind, if you don't sit at the table, you will not be able to show how much you can offer.

11. "The Art of War" by Sun Tzu

The ancient strategist wrote this manual for warriors, and it still has lessons to teach ambitious leaders. He recommends that leaders hire great people because weak, frustrated warriors will cripple the team.

"When the common soldiers are too strong and their officers too weak, the result is insubordination. When the officers are too strong and the common soldiers too weak, the result is collapse," writes Tzu in  an excerpt of the book . 

Also, Tzu says strong leaders don't just do something for the sake of doing something — they make sure it moves them closer toward their larger goal. 

10. "The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business" by Charles Duhigg

Learning and developing good habits can take time. But as a leader, it's important to know how to help teammates form these habits.  Duhigg writes that Starbucks changed employee reactions to customers by implementing dozens of routines in employee training.

Instead of reacting with anger when a customer is frustrated (for example, they received the wrong order), Starbucks employees use learned habits to de-escalate the interaction, Business Insider reported . 

One of these habits is the LATTE method. They listen to the customer, acknowledge the complaint, take action by solving the problem, thank them, and then explain why the problem occurred, writes Duhigg .

9. "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" by Robert T. Kiyosaki

As a leader, it's important to offer a range of skills to employees — including money management, Business Insider reported . 

"It's not how much money you make. It's how much money you keep," Kiyosaki writes. 

If you want to build teams that know how to budget finances whether at home or at work, you can start by teaching them smaller lessons. For example, this may mean learning the difference between an asset and a liability , one of the most significant distinctions to recognize if you want to get rich, Kiyosaki writes.

On top of that, help employees focus on improving their savings , that way they can have more money coming in.

8. "Who Moved My Cheese?" by Spencer Johnson

Johnson says it's important for leaders to embrace and anticipate change. This is especially true if leaders want their employees to feel more comfortable with new circumstances.

"What you are afraid of is never as bad as what you imagine," Johnson writes. "The fear you let build up in your mind is worse than the situation that actually exists."

Before reading this book, you may want to know that "cheese" is code for what you want to have in life. This can mean a promotion, a higher salary, or a healthy and safe family. "Moving the cheese" is a metaphor for the journey or maze you will go through to get there.

7. "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change" by Stephen R. Covey

According to Covey, some of the best leaders seek to first understand, then to be understood. 

"If you're a good listener and you take the time to understand a concept, it will help you convey your opinions, plans, and goals to others," writes former Business Insider correspondent Shlomo Sprung in an analysis of the book.  "It starts with communication and strong listening skills, followed by diagnosing the situation and then communicating your solution to others."

Another powerful way to influence others is through synergistic communication. Covey said this is when leaders open their minds and hearts to "new possibilities, new alternatives, new options."

6. "Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking" by Susan Cain

Most leaders do not have a strategy for targeting introverts in the workplace. If you want to be a successful manager, Cain said it's important to know how to communicate with all personality types .

"Introverts don't get the solitude they crave," said Cain, and that reduces their productivity and ability to be creative. To fix this, you have to set up offices with more privacy. This is because introverts work better when it's quiet, Business Insider reported.

Another way managers can target introverts is by challenging the belief that the best talkers in the room have the brightest ideas.

5. "How to Win Friends & Influence People" by Dale Carnegie

Many leaders struggle to offer feedback that motivates their workers. If you're struggling to change the behavior of your team, Carnegie notes it's necessary to avoid criticizing, condemning, or complaining.

"Any fool can criticize, condemn, and complain — and most fools do," Carnegie wrote. "But it takes character and self-control to be understanding and forgiving."

Having empathy is often key if you want to win over the people in your life. However , Carnegie says leaders should also acknowledge when a junior employee is not meeting expectations.

Leaders should address this issue in a way that acknowledges what is working, avoiding resentment, and encouraging improvement, Business Insider reported . 

4. "The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference" by Malcolm Gladwell

Effective leaders are also able to easily connect with other people, according to Gladwell. 

Business Insider reported that these "connectors" often have social networks of 100 people or more and have something intrinsic in their personalities that allows them to span many different worlds.

Additionally, Gladwell writes that strong leaders are able to communicate their ideas. This means making information easier for everyone to access.

3. "Outliers: The Story of Success" by Malcolm Gladwell

Gladwell is a Canadian-born journalist and author of five New York Times Bestsellers.

Leaders who aspire to be great should look to one of the most oft-quoted Gladwell-isms: It takes 10,000 hours, plain and simple, to be the best. According to the 10,000-hour rule, being a leader is less about finding employees with natural talent and more about developing talent. 

The book also notes that effective leaders do not always have a high IQ. Business Insider reported that an employee who has a supportive community that fosters, encourages, and values success, and subscribes to some form of the 10,000-hours theory, is much more likely to be successful.

2. "Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything" by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner

Levitt and Dubner's " Freakonomics " shows that good leaders offer some type of incentive to their employees. In a nutshell, the book shows that incentives (whether economic, social, or moral) are the cornerstone of modern life, Business Insider reported .

For example, this can mean offering a pay raise, promotion, or recognizing your colleague.  According to HR Gazette , incentives not only improve company morale, they can also make employees more productive. Incentives can encourage workers to do tasks more quickly because there is a reward attached to it.

1. "Steve Jobs" by Walter Isaacson

Isaacson's book about the late Apple CEO and founder Steve Jobs shows that most employees respond very well to affectionate leaders. One of Jobs' strengths was that he was likable and he made others feel that way as well, Business Insider previously reported . 

"Jobs could seduce and charm people at will, and he liked to do so," Isaacson writes. "People such as (former Apple CEOs) Amelio and Sculley allowed themselves to believe that because Jobs was charming them, it meant that he liked and respected them."

Career experts told Business Insider that effective leaders show everyone respect regardless of their position in a company.

A study from Arizona State University and Marquette University also found that employees who feel respected in the workplace are more loyal to their companies and perform better overall. 

Tat Bellamy Walker contributed to a previous version of this article. 

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History Books » Ancient History (up to 500)

The best books on leadership: lessons from the ancients, recommended by jeffrey beneker.

How to Be a Leader: An Ancient Guide to Wise Leadership by Jeffrey Beneker & Plutarch

Whatever modern leadership books may say about what's required to be a good leader, for the ancients there was only one vital requirement: studying philosophy. Jeffrey Beneker , Professor of Classics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, talks us through what ancient biographies reveal about how to be a leader.

Interview by Sophie Roell , Editor

The Rise and Fall of Athens: Nine Greek Lives by Ian Scott-Kilvert & Plutarch

The Greek Alexander Romance by Richard Stoneman

Atticus by Cornelius Nepos & Nicholas Horsfall

Agricola by Harold Mattingly, James Rives & Tacitus

Lives of the Eminent Philosophers Diogenes Laertius (ed. James Miller, trans. Pamela Mensch)

1 The Rise and Fall of Athens: Nine Greek Lives by Ian Scott-Kilvert & Plutarch

2 the greek alexander romance by richard stoneman, 3 atticus by cornelius nepos & nicholas horsfall, 4 agricola by harold mattingly, james rives & tacitus, 5 lives of the eminent philosophers diogenes laertius (ed. james miller, trans. pamela mensch).

T he books you’ve selected: are we talking about them because they’re ancient biographies or because they’re books about leadership? Or are those one and the same?

But I think he’s doing more. It has to do with the reality of the world Plutarch lived in versus the world that those ancient leaders lived in, and just what opportunities there were, and at what level a reader of his could exercise leadership in the Roman Empire of his day versus the Greek city-states or the Roman Republic of the past that he’s writing about.

Why do you think people started writing these kinds of books?

If you leave out the philosophers and Diogenes Laertius, the latest political biographer that I’ve included in the list is Tacitus. He gives, in some ways, the clearest explanation at the beginning of Agricola: that it was a tradition that people would speak about their lives and careers, and the lives and careers of others, as a way of memorializing what they had done. Also, if they had done well, to collect those details into a written life so that their contemporaries and future generations could look back at the qualities that these people had. Then in the ancient world—this is true for Plutarch, Nepos and Tacitus—they would have made a direct connection between the individual qualities, what we would call the character of the individual, and their success in leadership. They would have linked their character and success to education, and to the way they applied that education to make themselves better and then, after making themselves better, making their societies better too. That’s Plutarch’s argument the whole way through: that if you’re thinking about how to be a leader, it’s the character of the individual that is most important.

Nowadays if you pick up a biography , it can be about anybody; there’s no need for the subject to have been a leader. These ancient biographies are really interesting, just because we’re really at the beginnings of biography as a genre.

One of the common type of biographies today is overcoming a personal tragedy. That could be a family tragedy or addiction or something like that. The personal strength and character that’s displayed in overcoming a particularly difficult challenge is something that seems interesting to a modern audience.

Where I think Plutarch—and Tacitus too—are coming from is the perspective of, ‘We live in a society. What’s the individual’s role in that society? What can the individual do for himself or herself to prepare themselves to play a meaningful role and to be effective—to be a good follower if you’re not in charge, and if you are in charge, to be a good leader?’

It made me laugh when in one of the books, somebody was telling off Alexander the Great for playing the harp. They were like, ‘You shouldn’t be playing the harp, you’re supposed to be practising to be a leader. When you’re a leader, other people play the harp for you.’

Yes, and it’s not just knowing how to ride a horse or throw a spear or about the skills that you need to be a good soldier or a good leader. What’s important is having the intellectual capacity and ability to control your own behaviour and to make good decisions.

There doesn’t seem to be much leadership training these days. I suppose if you go to business school you get some version of it and there is demand for leadership books, but it doesn’t seem to be part of the normal school curriculum.

One thing is that the model we’re inheriting through these books is the ‘great man’ theory. The idea was to study the lives of people by recreating them in literary form. So Plutarch, at one point, talks about living with these characters from the past and having them over as guests. It’s a conceit. They’re using the word bios in Greek or vita in Latin—which is the word for both a real life and a written life. It’s the life of a person in the past we’re recreating so we can interact with them and learn from them.

“It was a tradition that people would speak about their lives and careers, and the lives and careers of others, as a way of memorializing what they had done.”

That model seems old-fashioned now. We don’t tend to put up as many statues as we used to; we don’t like to valorize. Again, it’s this trend towards the individual. The individual overcoming great odds is more what we like now—as opposed to putting people up (either figuratively or literally) on a pedestal, and saying, ‘We should all try to be like that person.’ That’s where these authors are coming from, though, and that’s part of why it went out of fashion.

The other thing is that these leaders are all great in one way or another because they conquered other people. So, in Tacitus, Agricola is great because, ‘Look at all the Britons and Scottish people he was able to conquer!’ Expanding the boundaries of the empire was one way of quantifying it, another was lists of the numbers killed. If it’s a big list of your enemy and a small list on your side, that’s a sign of greatness.

Yes, and not one we appreciate as much today.

I think perhaps in the days of, say, the British Empire, schooling would have elevated figures like Julius Caesar because young men especially were being trained to go out and expand, if not the boundaries of direct control, then the commercial boundaries and control over other peoples in the way that the Romans were. These were good models for that sort of career. But we’ve backed off of that. We’ve decided it’s better to have mutually respectful interchange with other peoples in the world.

Still, in the introduction to your book, How to Be a Leader: An Ancient Guide to Wise Leadership , you mention that the American Founding Fathers read Plutarch for insights into leadership: there is some advice in these books which is timeless, is that right?

I think so. The superficial view is, ‘I’m not going to be an Alexander or Julius Caesar, so I don’t need to read Plutarch.’ In fact, Plutarch’s audience had the same problem, because they were living under the Empire. There was an emperor at the top and the ability to rise up was limited. Even if you rose high in government, you were still going to be working under the umbrella and under the authority of an emperor.

Most likely, Plutarch’s readership would be trying to show good leadership in their own small town, or in their family, or among their group of friends. I think that’s why Plutarch focuses so much on the personal qualities that made, say, Alexander or Demosthenes or Cicero great leaders—not because you were going to become just like them in your career, but because you could take those qualities and apply them in much smaller, ordinary circumstances. It’s those qualities that are timeless.

One problem for every organization is that some individuals put their own interests ahead of the organization’s. That could be at the level of empire, it could be at the level of city, it could be at the level of household or just interaction with your friends. And one thing that you can train yourself against—if you follow Plutarch’s ideas of education and his view of the world—is asserting yourself to the detriment of others. Being a good servant is the first step to being a good leader.

For Plutarch, it’s always about putting “city before self”, as you mention in your book.

Let’s talk about these leadership books from the ancient world that you’ve chosen one by one. Obviously, we’ve talked quite a bit about Plutarch already. The specific book and edition you’ve chosen is The Rise and Fall of Athens: Nine Greek Lives , translated by Ian Scott-Kilvert. For someone interested in approaching this book, could you say a bit about how it’s structured, who it’s about and why it might be enjoyable to read?

This is a modern structure. Plutarch wrote Parallel Lives : so he went after a Greek and a Roman that he could put together in a single book. At a scholarly level, we get angry when people rip these books apart and put the lives into new collections, as in, ‘here are Greek lives of the Athenians and here are Roman lives from the Republic.’ That said, this Penguin collection does a really good job of grouping lives that are useful to read together.

So in The Rise and Fall of Athens , you get to see four stages in the development of Athens over time. In the early stages, Plutarch has to push back into legendary and mythological times, with the founders like Theseus and even Solon. Even there, we see resonances of the way we mythologize or turn the stories of our founding figures into legends. In the US, for example, we have George Washington, who cannot tell a lie. We have these little myths that we tell to demonstrate the character of our founding figures. That’s what Plutarch is dealing with in those early lives and he says it quite bluntly: ‘This is the quality of the material I’m working with. I’m trying to turn myth into history and write about these figures as if they were real.’

“If you’re thinking about how to be a leader, it’s the character of the individual that is most important.”

Then we get into the lives of the earliest real historical figures, such as Themistocles and Aristides. They were living at the time of the Persian Wars, when Greece was under attack by this large power and managed to fight it off. The Greeks that were living at this time realized that things were different before and after the invasion of the Persians. This stage resonates with people who have lived through the 20th and into the 21st century, because for Athens, it was like the big industrial push that happened as a result of World War Two. Athens was left with a huge navy—we would probably call it a military industrial complex—and they used it to knit together an empire in the Aegean Sea. Ostensibly, it was to keep the Persians from coming back, but in fact they asserted their own authority over large areas and did much more than simply protect against invasion. So this is the period of empire-building and commercial domination that follows the Persian invasion.

Then, in the age of Pericles, Nicias and Alcibiades—and even Lysander, who is the one Spartan included here—it’s about how the Greek cities got along and interacted in this new, globalized economy. The fact is they didn’t, and a 30-year chunk of the classical period of Greece is taken up by war. It’s waged by Athens and its empire or its allies on one side, and Sparta and its allies on the other. So these lives deal with leaders in that environment. That can be very instructive for the modern situation, seeing what Greeks were doing and how individuals responded. We see what sort of character worked in leadership in those days and what sort of character didn’t. Plutarch has examples of both.

Yes, give me an example of good and bad leadership from the book.

Plutarch really likes Pericles. It’s a hard lesson, perhaps, because the only way that Pericles is successful is by being something of a demagogue and a little bit too authoritarian. He realizes, for example, that the assembly at the beginning of the Peloponnesian War is going to make bad strategic decisions. So he refuses to call them to vote, to keep them from making a mistake. I was actually teaching a class on Greek civilization the very same week your prime minister, Boris Johnson, was refusing to call Parliament into session because he didn’t want them to make certain decisions about Brexit. To my mind, it was a very easy parallel. I could just grab newspaper headlines and put them on the screen for my students and say, ‘The stuff we’re reading about Pericles is not arcane; it’s happening right now again.’ So if you’re looking for examples of leadership, there’s an example of circumventing a democratic process because you’re wary of the outcome.

The flipside is someone who was related to Pericles, Alcibiades. Here’s someone who, in Plutarch’s telling of the story, can never really subordinate his own interests to the interests of the state. It’s always about him. And bad things happen to the Athenians, to the whole state, because of his desire to be this larger than life figure.

One point to mention here, maybe, is that Plutarch has strong views about how a leader conducts his personal life, doesn’t he? The traditional distinction, that it’s fine to behave badly in your private life—JFK, say, could be a terrible womanizer, but he was still regarded as a great leader—Plutarch isn’t having any of it. You have to be a good person in private and in public.

There is no distinction. In fact, Plutarch would argue that what you’re doing in your private life will predict what’s going to happen if we put you in charge of public life. If you can’t run the small economy of your household in a competent way, why would we put you in charge of the city’s economy? It’s that way of thinking.

In your book, How to Be a Leader, the Plutarch texts you’ve translated, are they from the Parallel Lives ?

No, there’s another body of work that’s collectively called the Moralia, which are treatises on lots of different topics. Most of them are philosophical and some of them are political. As he’s writing the Parallel Lives, he’s also writing political essays that take the principles and use examples from the Lives in a briefer form, to reinforce or support the arguments he’s making about how to be successful in politics.

And you mention in the book that you translated the passages of Plutarch that you felt were most relevant to political life in a modern democracy. Do you want to give an example?

There are parts about mentoring, that the best way to start in politics is to attach yourself to someone who’s experienced and learn by example. On the flipside, if you’re an experienced politician, you need to devote some of your energy to bringing the next generation along. You also need to be ready to step out of the way and give them a chance.

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We’re having that struggle right now in our own presidential election, where we have three candidates who are 70 years old or older. They’ve had a long career: shouldn’t they be stepping aside and letting another generation come through and take over? Why does the younger generation have to beat down the older generation to have a chance? That’s an issue Plutarch addressed pretty directly.

And would Plutarch approve of these older politicians?

He wants older politicians to remain engaged, but in a more relaxed way. So he would not approve of a 70-year-old man on stage debating and arguing back and forth with a 40-year-old man. He would like the 70-year-old to step back and be summoned by the people, who recognize his experience and want his help if, say, the ship of state runs aground. To name names, maybe Joe Biden has an argument here. He’s saying, ‘Our state is running aground and I need to come back to help right it. I’m the one with experience who can fix things up.’

So Plutarch would be happy with Joe Biden campaigning?

He would be happy that he’s made himself available to lead, though he’d be a little bit nervous that it’s Biden who’s pushing himself forward. He’s become the frontrunner now, so perhaps the party is saying, ‘Joe, we need you, come back in!’ I think, though, that Plutarch might question whether Biden’s motives are pure or whether he just can’t resist trying to get access to that highest office that’s eluded him in his career.

For Plutarch—and for the other authors as well, though less explicitly—to be a good leader, you have to study philosophy , don’t you?

There’s no other way. Plutarch has an essay, ‘To an Uneducated Leader.’ It sounds like an insult, but it could have been entitled ‘How to Become an Educated Leader,’ and the answer is philosophy. It’s what allows you to realize that an enthusiastic crowd cheering you on is not a good thing in itself, or that gaining wealth or being put in charge of an army is not a good thing in itself: what’s valuable is the good that you can do as a result of wielding power or holding office. If you’re satisfied with doing good—as opposed to gaining glory and gaining wealth—then you can be a good leader. And the only way to develop that realization, to have that maturity of thought, is through philosophy. That’s where you learn what is really valuable, what is really good. That’s where you learn the self-control and the self-discipline and how not to be distracted by the cheering crowd or the ability to become rich. If you can develop that kind of maturity, then you can become a good leader.

I have to say, Plutarch sets the bar quite high. Not only do you have to be this virtuous, perfect person in private and public, but then you also have to be good at public speaking so that everybody can find out about you.

It’s a very elitist system. You have to be well-educated and it’s your family and your money that are going to allow you to learn to speak well and to have access to philosophizing. Our word ‘school’ comes from the Greek word schole , which means leisure time. If you’re able to be educated, it means you don’t have to work every day to live. So the only way you can reach that status is to come from a wealthy, aristocratic background.

I’m going to mention that to my kids, because they’re always complaining about school.

For Plutarch, school is a huge privilege, because the alternative is going out every day and scratching the field and hoping that your land returns you enough to live through this year so that you can repeat the process next year. It’s never-ending. Ancient Greek agricultural life is very dreary. It repeats every year and it never gets better. You never work your way up. So schole is a really big deal. It’s the same in Latin. Ludus is school, but it’s also the word for a game or an entertainment. If you have time for ludus and fooling around, you can become educated, but it’s the one per cent that have that opportunity.

Let’s move on to the next of these leadership books, which is The Greek Alexander Romance . You’ve recommended a version translated and put together by Richard Stoneman. The Alexander Romance was the best-selling novel of the Middle Ages, wasn’t it?

Yes, all the way up to modern times. Alexander was a huge figure in Greece, mostly because of the Romance and the different forms it took. It’s a romance in the sense of a novel, we might call it ‘the Alexander Fiction.’

It’s a whole other take on leadership, in terms of a great leader from the past. Alexander himself seems to have realized that he was great from an early age. We talked earlier about the Athenian leaders when the Persians attacked Greece. Alexander inserted himself right into that history. Both Alexander and his father conceived of uniting the Greek cities under Macedonian leadership and going eastward and attacking the Persian Empire, ostensibly in revenge for their invasions of Greece. We know there were two Persian invasions, but the Persians were a constant presence. The Greeks themselves didn’t know that they weren’t going to come back, and the Persians kept gaining control over Greek cities in Asia Minor. So Alexander took off to conquer the Persian Empire and get rid of the Persian menace once and for all.

“What’s important is having the intellectual capacity and ability to control your own behaviour and to make good decisions.”

Alexander understands that this is a huge undertaking. It’s got major historical implications. So he brings Aristotle’s nephew, Callisthenes, along with him as a historian. He wants to put himself into that historical tradition, but also the tradition of Achilles and Homer. Achilles had Homer to write his story, and his story has become eternal. Alexander seems to have wanted the same sort of thing. So he wants a historian/biographer/romanticizer travelling along with him to write about his exploits.

Then what develops in the ancient tradition is that we have various histories that are histories as we would know them, but it’s these legendary stories that come to dominate Alexander’s reception. So he does all kinds of things in the fictional version—he flies on the back of a bird, he goes under the sea in a diving bell, he fights the Indian king Porus who is seven-and-a-half feet tall (Alexander defeats him in single combat). So he does all the things that a legendary/heroic/mythological figure might do.

But who wrote it and where did it come from, this Romance ?

It’s sometimes described as an open text. People were adding things to it over time. There are different versions of the manuscript tradition. In this edition by Stoneman; he’s knit them together.

For a long time, it was attributed to Callisthenes, and it probably has a historical core that started with him. But it’s been rewritten and augmented so much. For example, when the Greek world becomes a Christian world, Alexander is swept right along with that. He’s modernized and updated as time moves on.

It was only this year that the question about the name of North Macedonia was settled, and Alexander was huge in that debate. The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia was using him as a symbol and the Greeks were using Alexander, too, to make their own claim. Just six months ago, they put a new statue of Alexander in downtown Athens, near the arch of Hadrian and the Temple of Olympian Zeus. So, right in the middle of those ancient monuments, there’s a new monument of Alexander on his horse. He’s been a symbol like that for 2,000 years.

Do you think Alexander became famous because of this fiction being written about him, or was it written about him because he was already famous, do you think?

It’s a little of both. It’s a way of communicating just how big Alexander is, by talking about him in a discourse that was used for talking about someone like Hercules or Theseus or these other legendary founders who did larger-than-life things. If we tell Alexander’s story in that same mode, it elevates him and it says something about who he is. It doesn’t mean everyone believes these stories.

The parallel I like to cite is in the dome of the Capitol in Washington DC. There’s a mosaic in the very top, which is the apotheosis of George Washington. He’s shown up in heaven surrounded by 13 young women who are the 13 original colonies and there are other figures that represent characteristics of the United States. No one believes that George Washington was deified when he died, but by putting him into this common scene of apotheosis, by making him divine in art, it allows us to say something about the stature of George Washington and the magnitude of his accomplishments and what we think of him in terms of the history of the United States. It’s a mode of discourse that has immediate resonance and lets everyone understand what the level of achievement of this person is.

And Alexander consciously cultivated this idea that he would be remembered historically?

Let’s go on to the next book, which is Atticus by Cornelius Nepos. Atticus was a major figure of the late Republic and a friend of Cicero. Why do you think this book is worth reading? It’s quite short, actually.

Yes, that’s one of its virtues; it doesn’t try your patience at all. It’s maybe a little too brief: it’s written for an audience who knows the history of the time and the individuals involved, so it can be a little hard to read when things are just mentioned and alluded to.

The reason I think it’s interesting to read is because it’s written by a contemporary of Atticus. There’s a point in about chapter 19 where he writes, ‘I’d written up to this point while Atticus was alive. Now he’s dead and I’m going to put this little epilogue onto it.’ So it’s written by someone who was there to witness the events that were unfolding. In terms of people who study political history, this is one of the most interesting times in the history of Rome, because it’s right at the transition from Republic to Empire. It’s when the mechanism that allowed the Romans to run their government through a power-sharing system falls apart. It was an aristocratic elite, but they were sharing power among themselves.

Atticus is famous because he doesn’t choose sides. He’s incredibly wealthy and he could easily—and perhaps should—have picked a side and stuck with it. He’s an example of someone who’s able to navigate these difficult times. He doesn’t end up proscribed and in exile. He doesn’t end up dead, like Cicero, one of his best friends, did. He doesn’t choose the wrong side. We talk a lot about polarization now: either you’re on one side or the other, and there’s no room for compromise in the middle. Atticus is an example—and again, not to say things are exactly the same—of someone who was living in a similarly polarized time and who found a way to navigate that middle.

Cornelius Nepos writes, “He sought no offices though they lay open to him.” He was deliberately keeping a low profile, wasn’t he?

That’s right, and that could be a lesson as well, about how to get along in these times.

Another lesson is that some Romans had a hard time learning that you need to stop at some point. Going back to Joe Biden, is the last big thing he is going to do is get rejected by his party? Is that going to be the end of his career? Or should he have stepped back, and said, ‘I was vice president under one of the most popular presidents we’ve ever had’ and let that be enough.

Atticus is extreme in that he doesn’t want anything, or if he takes an office, he sets conditions on it such that it won’t involve him in politics in any larger way. A friend of his, Asinius Pollio, who has a family connection with Atticus and is mentioned in the book, seems to do a similar thing. He’s with Caesar during the first round of civil wars. He works his way up and goes on to become consul, which is the highest office in the state. He has a military triumph and then retires. I suspect that he looked around him and thought, ‘If I keep going, it can only end badly.’ Pompey, Caesar’s opponent, had three triumphs and he ended up beheaded in Egypt. So I think people who were savvy looked around and saw what happened to others.

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This is where we can make a connection back to Plutarch. Atticus is called Atticus because Attica is the region around Athens and he went to Athens to study. He has that philosophical background that allows him to see what’s really important. He avoids the stature, the glory and the wealth that he might have acquired by a political career and stays above and separate from it. Asinius Pollio sets a similar example. He goes to a certain point and stops. He becomes an intellectual figure. He writes a history. He creates the first public library in Rome. He is probably also someone who is educated and able to make an intellectual choice and not just be driven by the emotion and the excitement of politics.

In the introduction of the edition of Atticus you’ve recommended, which is translated by Nicholas Horsfall, it says that Atticus was an Epicurean, but that it’s not mentioned in the text. Is Atticus’s Epicureanism relevant?

So we’re now looking at a book about a leader by the great Roman historian Tacitus. He’s writing about his father-in-law, Agricola , who made his name in Britain. Again, it’s quite a short book, and quite fun to read if you’re based in the UK. He has lots of commentary about Britain, including about the foulness of the weather.

On the surface, Agricola is a tribute to his father-in-law and it’s really nice to have this family connection. A lot of ancient literature can oftentimes seem so distant and cold that it’s hard to see the human connection, but it’s strong in this book. In the introduction and especially in the conclusion, you can feel the real bond that Tacitus must have felt with this person.

It’s also a history of the times. So the dynasty that was established by Julius Caesar and Augustus died out in the year 69 with Nero. Then you have what’s typically called the Flavian dynasty, which ruled until 96. The third emperor in that dynasty was Domitian, who comes across in this biography as jealous of anyone who might be getting attention or might have a claim to power. Because he’s not part of the founding family and his dynasty has only just been established, he’s very protective. It’s therefore a difficult time to be involved in politics. Tacitus starts out with a discussion of how, in former days, if someone did something great, we would lift them up and we would tell their stories. But in Agricola’s day, we couldn’t do that because it would only cause danger, so that sort of thing was repressed. So, at the end of the biography, when Agricola comes back from Britain, he wants to keep a low profile. He doesn’t want anyone to talk about him. He doesn’t want anyone to thank him or raise him up. He wants to blend into the crowd because he’s worried that if he is seen as having done something too great or too important, he’ll be taken out. He manages to navigate that, and Domitian grudgingly gives him an honorary province at the end.

“Plutarch has an essay, ‘To an Uneducated Leader.’ It sounds like an insult, but it could have been entitled ‘How to Become an Educated Leader’ and the answer is philosophy”

By the time Tacitus is writing, Domitian is gone. There’s more openness; the leaders are more secure and not so jealous of other people. So Tacitus can write this story just like in the old days. He can lift up someone like Agricola, who had to be anonymous after all the great things he did in Britain. Tacitus is going to make sure Agricola gets his due for what he did and couldn’t talk about under Domitian.

Does it end badly for Agricola? Is he poisoned?

No, he dies of disease. But he’s young, in his 50s, so he doesn’t get a long life.

And again, as in all these leadership books, there’s a focus on education. Tacitus says Agricola was “trained in the liberal arts.” And then trained all the leading Brits in the liberal arts as well. That’s worth remembering in this day and age, when the liberal arts are often looked down on.

Yes, the theme that comes out of all of these books is that if you want to do great in business or in government, study philosophy and the liberal arts, because that’s your foundation. That’s what gives you the mindset, the self-control, the sense of values that are going to allow you to succeed.

The other thing that’s interesting in terms of leadership in this book is that when Agricola goes to Britain, he’s everywhere at all times. He’s working hard 24 hours a day. He’s putting the needs of his army and of his country ahead of his own comfort. The leaders before him were sitting back, saying, ‘I’m a general and I’m a big figure up here in Britain’ and then suffering losses and not doing well. Whereas Agricola puts his nose to the grindstone and gets it done, through hard work and self-sacrifice.

Also, he’s modest. Tacitus writes, “His very refusal to acknowledge his fame increased it.”

I think we’re at the last book now, which is by Diogenes Laertius. This is a delightful book, translated by Pamela Mensch. It ties in with the others—which emphasize how philosophy is critical to leadership—in that it’s an account of The Lives of the Eminent Philosophers . It says in the introduction, by James Miller, that this is a crucial source for much of what we know about the origins of philosophy in Greece, which I didn’t realize. Tell me more about it.

We don’t really know anything about Diogenes outside this book, but he’s living in the third century, when there was a tradition of collecting stuff. The Romans sometimes referred to the people who did this as antiquarians; they just liked to collect information and then organize it.

This is what Diogenes is doing. He’s got access to lots of sources and material that is lost to us. He had an eye on preserving those, but also on creating something that was useful for him for his own times. He sets it up chronologically, so he goes back and Book One contains the early, legendary philosophers. That is what allows us to observe the development of philosophy in a way that we couldn’t have otherwise.

He’s collected information on 82 philosophers, so it’s quite a lot of ground he’s covering.

One thing that is worth mentioning is that if your website were six books, I could have added hagiography to my list—either an individual or a collection of saints’ lives. Because this is also what happens with saints : their lives are collected and if you read through them all, you’ll notice there’s a familiar form. They all seem the same. You read about their childhood and then there’s something that happens that causes a conversion (if they’re living in the early days). Then they go on to do wonderful things and then they usually have either a good ending or a bad ending that further proves their saintliness.

“The theme that comes out of all of these books is that if you want to do great in business or in government, study philosophy and the liberal arts, because that’s your foundation.”

Life writing becomes very formulaic when we get to this stage of collecting and bringing lives together. The format is normally that the first part of each life is about the life itself, how the person lived. Then, at the end, there’s a collection of sayings or teachings that are the real legacy of the philosopher.

He says that the first person to use the term philosophy and call himself a philosopher was Pythagoras. I thought that was quite interesting, because I’d always presumed he was a mathematician. But Diogenes is very emphatic that philosophy started with the Greeks.

Philosophy for Diogenes—and for everyone before him—is a much broader term than it is for us. A better translation for it might be science, in the sense of scientific enquiry. We typically talk about the humanities and science as two separate things, but if you think about a systematic intellectual approach to a problem as scientific—whether it’s in a lab or it’s a mental or an ethical problem—that’s what these philosophers were doing. So, for example, the atomists (the first people to propose that everything is made up of atoms) are philosophers, not strictly scientists—because of the way that philosophy had this broad application.

The introduction points out that a type emerges of what philosophers are like. They’re adept at argument. They’re interested in the order of the world or how to live, or both. They’re often absentminded and indifferent to personal hygiene. They have body lice.

That gets at the type. Is that Diogenes’s mental image of a philosopher? It’s the other Diogenes, the Cynic, who is famous for living in a tub and ignoring personal hygiene. Does Diogenes Laertius take these 80+ philosophers and jam them into these same characteristics?

It’s actually not that different from the way we sometimes characterize an intellectual, philosophical type: not so concerned about personal appearance or social norms and things like that, but living in their heads.

And definitely absent-minded.

I was reading the entry about Aristotle, which describes his life and then, as you say, at the end there’s a collection of his sayings. Aristotle is asked how the educated differ from the uneducated and he replies that it’s “as much as the living from the dead.”

That’s the theme that’s run through our whole discussion, that education is the foundation of everything.

Another trope that emerges in this book is that philosophers always seem to be being asked questions and then coming up with one-line, pithy answers that are irrefutable. Again, I think they’re all being forced into a mould, that dialogic mode.

Did you read Diogenes in Greek before this translation came out?

Diogenes is one of those authors that you don’t—or I don’t—really read as much as, if you need to know something about Aristotle, or you need to know something about Pythagoras, you go into it and you read the section about that philosopher. I think that’s how he intended the work. It’s like an encyclopaedia or a reference work, more than a book with a beginning and an end.

He claims that Aristotle died by drinking Wolfsbane and he has four different versions of how Pythagoras died. How seriously should we take his accounts?

With a grain of salt. In the introduction it says, “modern scholars have generally dismissed Diogenes Laertius as a mediocre anthologist if not an ‘ignoramus.’” We probably shouldn’t trust anything that we can’t find in another source, but many of the things you read in here pop up everywhere when you read about these philosophers in modern accounts because, in the end, it’s all we have.

March 7, 2020

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Jeffrey Beneker

Jeffrey Beneker is Professor of Classics at University of Wisconsin-Madison.

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Home » Leadership Books

The Top 10 Leadership Books

Developing your leadership skills takes courage and practice, no matter where you’re at in your life. Whether you’re trying to build your dream career or fine-tune existing management skills, reading leadership books is an effective way to learn at your own pace while getting inspiration from seasoned leaders. What types of books should you look for? Top leadership books are recognized for addressing the many factors that impact someone’s ability to lead and manage. The best leadership books also provide hands-on applications so that a reader at any stage of the learning curve can benefit. Here, you’ll find a collection of great leadership books curated to provide guidance and inspiration.

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The 100: a ranking of the most influential persons in history by michael h. hart.

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The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene and Joost Elffers

The 48 Laws of Power distills 3,000 years of history into 48 essential laws, all derived from renowned world philosophers. The author uses engaging stories to relay strategies for achieving success in life. In studying the 48 laws, you will learn how to navigate interpersonal relationships so that they help you engage and influence others. 

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Business Wisdom of the Electronic Elite by Geoffrey James

One of the top leadership books out there, Business Wisdom of the Electronic Elite provides a synthesis of management practices used by recognized business leaders (including Bill Gates). Through a series of interviews with high-profile executives, the author presents strategies for running a business in today’s highly competitive world. You will gain inspiration as well as practical skills for building your competitive edge through the use of technology.

Cultural Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know by E. D. Hirsch, Jr.

Cultural Literacy: What Every American Needs to Know holds cultural literacy as the key to effective education. Recognized as one of the best leadership books on education, Cultural Literacy presents 5,000 little-known facts on the U.S. education system, including its failure to teach cultural literacy, the medium people use to grasp language, emotion and meaning. Hirsch stresses that via understanding cultural literacy, you will learn how to improve your communication skills.  

Don’t Shoot the Dog by Karen Pryor

Don’t Shoot the Dog presents intention as the driving force of human behavior. By using the principles of training and reinforcement, you can train anyone to do anything. You will gain practical skills for teaching yourself (and others) to achieve desirable goals.

Leaders: The Strategies for Taking Charge by Warren Bennis and Burt Nanus

Leaders: The Strategies for Taking Charge highlights leadership issues in corporate America, making the case that it’s not your business operations but your interpersonal skills that make or break effective management. You will gain mastery of four key principles to leadership: Communication, trust-building, inspiration and self-awareness.

The Roaring 2000s: Building the Wealth and Lifestyle You Desire in the Greatest Boom in History by Harry S. Dent

Published in 1999, The Roaring 2000s identifies opportunities and trends the author predicted would occur by 2008. One of the highest-regarded leadership books on the market, The Roaring 2000s foresaw the rise of small high-growth businesses, technological changes, shifting corporate practices and economic changes that would transform the American Dream. You will gain hindsight perspective on modern-day business best practices and strategies for adapting to an ever-changing landscape.  

The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey

The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People presents an integrated approach to overcoming personal and professional challenges. The book presents step-by-step guidance on how to treat yourself and others with fairness, integrity and dignity while being proactive in your life. You will also gain the ability to adapt more readily to change and the courage to pursue your goals.

The Situational Leader by Dr. Paul Hersey

The Situational Leader recognizes the pivotal role of people in any organization, counting it among the great leadership books of its generation. Since your team can make or break your business, it’s critical that you learn to lead your team effectively. You will learn strategies for adapting your leadership style to meet the needs of your staff, recognizing that different situations call for different management approaches. 

Spin Selling by Neil Racham

Spin Selling is a handbook designed specifically for sales managers. The book looks at the Huthwaite Corporation’s massive successes and how to replicate its methods. The book details how to increase profits through customized sales strategies . You will learn to acknowledge, identify and solve any problem that lands on your plate.

Find your next read and take your mindset to the next level with one of Tony’s top recommended books.

© 2024 Robbins Research International, Inc. All rights reserved.

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The best leadership biographies

Reading biographies of great leaders is essential for those who want to unlock their leadership potential and gain a better understanding of what it takes to be a successful leader. Through these success stories, you can learn from the mistakes and successes of leaders, and apply those lessons to your own personal and professional life.

Here are the 10 best books on the biographies of the most enigmatic leaders of all time.

We capture the essence of the first and most important three books in a more complete review:

Below we share with you the other…

Mahatma Gandhi: Autobiography ‧ Mahatma Gandhi.

In this masterpiece of history, Mahatma Gandhi, an iconic leader and pacifist, reveals his journey of self-discovery and struggle for justice and freedom. With sincere and direct language, Gandhi invites you to accompany him on his journey from humble beginnings to becoming the architect of the nonviolent resistance movement.

You will experience how Gandhi, through introspection and wisdom, develops the concept of “Satyagraha” or the power of truth, which would become the pillar of his struggle against oppression and colonial injustice.

In this autobiography, you will not only learn about the extraordinary life of this leader, but you will also be immersed in a masterful lesson on leadership, perseverance and compassion. Gandhi shares his ideals and beliefs, opening a window into his brilliant mind and passionate heart for humanity.

As you read this story, you will be inspired to discover how determination and nonviolence can move mountains and transform the world. Each page will confront you with the transformative power of peaceful resistance and encourage you to seek the truth within yourself.

“Mahatma Gandhi: Autobiography” is essential reading for all those who yearn for meaningful change in their lives and society. Through the experiences and reflections of this great leader, you will discover how embracing truth and compassion can lead to a more just and equitable future.

Mahatma Gandhi: Autobiography. History of my experiences with the truth.

Mahatma Gandhi │ Gaia

I have a dream: Martin Luther King Jr. The unauthorized biography ‧ Nóstica Editorial.

In this captivating biography, Nóstica Editorial presents you with the true essence of Martin Luther King Jr. beyond the headlines and conventional narratives. Through thorough and revealing research, you will meet the man behind the myth, with his personal struggles and courageous leadership in the fight for equality and racial justice.

From his beginnings as a Baptist pastor in Montgomery, Alabama, to his iconic “I Have a Dream” speech in Washington D.C., you will witness the journey of a man who dared to dream big and challenge the status quo. With emotive language and an immersive narrative, this biography will immerse you in the inspiring words and actions of Martin Luther King Jr.

Throughout the book, you will be immersed in the turbulent and transformative era of the civil rights struggle in the United States. You will experience how Martin Luther King Jr. embraced the philosophy of nonviolent resistance and led peaceful protests that shook the foundations of racial discrimination and segregation.

“I Have a Dream: Martin Luther King Jr. The Unauthorized Biography” is more than just a historical narrative; it is a call to reflection and action. Through the legacy of this tireless leader, you will be inspired to become an agent of change in your own community.

I have a dream. The unauthorized biography.

Nóstica editorial │ Nóstica

Leonardo Da Vinci: The Biography ‧ by Walter Isaacson.

Walter Isaacson, a master storyteller, will guide you through the intricate details of Da Vinci’s life, from his childhood in picturesque Vinci to his splendorous time in Florence and Milan, and his lasting legacy in the royal courts of Europe.

This account not only highlights Leonardo’s artistic prowess, but also reveals his talents as a scientist, inventor and visionary thinker. His inquisitive mind ranged from human anatomy to the engineering of flying machines, and his sketches and annotations reveal a mind ahead of his time.

In “Leonardo Da Vinci: The Biography,” Isaacson unravels the mysteries behind some of art’s most famous masterpieces and weaves a narrative rich with intimate and revealing details about Da Vinci’s personal and professional life.

Throughout these captivating pages, you will be inspired by Da Vinci’s insatiable desire to learn and explore. His tireless dedication and ability to see the world from a unique perspective will encourage you to look beyond the obvious and embrace your own creative curiosity.

This biography is an invitation to immerse yourself in the mind of a Renaissance genius and to contemplate the world through the eyes of a visionary. You will discover how Leonardo Da Vinci’s works continue to amaze and enrich our lives today.

By the end of this literary journey, you will not only have met one of the greatest geniuses of all time, but you will also have been prompted to embrace your own creative potential and follow in the footsteps of a man whose legacy lives on in art, science and imagination.

Leonardo Da Vinci. The biography.

Walter Isaacson │ Discussion

The long road to freedom ‧ Nelson Mandela.

In this powerful autobiography, the iconic South African leader shares his amazing odyssey from a rural childhood to become the world’s symbol of the struggle against oppression and injustice.

Through his words, you will witness Mandela’s unwavering determination to achieve equality and freedom for his people. From his participation in the peaceful resistance to his unjust imprisonment for 27 years, this account will immerse you in the strength and courage of a man who never gave up his principles.

Mandela not only recounts the dark moments of his imprisonment, but also shares his journey to forgiveness and reconciliation. His message of unity and tolerance resonates on every page, leaving a timeless lesson about the ability of human beings to overcome adversity and find the path to peace.

Throughout the book, you will delve into the challenges and triumphs of the struggle against apartheid in South Africa, and how Mandela’s perseverance and vision led his nation to freedom and democracy.

This autobiography is a window into the humanity of an exceptional leader whose humility and compassion enabled him to transform hatred into love and turn oppression into hope.

At the conclusion of this epic read, you will not only learn about Nelson Mandela as a leader and fighter for justice, but you will also be inspired to face your own challenges with courage and determination.

“The Long Road to Freedom” is a powerful testimony that, even in the darkest of times, the power of the human spirit can light the way to a more just and compassionate world. Dive into the essence of humanity and discover how one man can change the course of history and leave an indelible legacy in the heart of mankind.

The long road to freedom.

Nelson Mandela │ Debolsillo

Napoleon: a life ‧ Andrew Roberts.

In this fascinating biography, renowned historian Andrew Roberts invites you to explore the life and legacy of one of history’s most charismatic and ambitious leaders.

From his childhood on the island of Corsica to his meteoric rise as Emperor of France, this captivating narrative will take you through the key moments that defined Napoleon’s life. In a gripping style, Roberts will immerse you in the daring military campaigns that led Napoleon to dominate much of Europe and forge an unprecedented empire.

But this biography not only examines Napoleon’s military genius; it also reveals his complex personality and innermost motivations. Through Roberts’ meticulous research, you will learn about the man behind the myth, his successes and his failures, his triumphs and his personal challenges.

Roberts explores how Napoleon faced political and strategic dilemmas, how he ruled with a firm hand, and how his influence endures in modern history. This biography offers a comprehensive and in-depth look at the figure of Napoleon, capturing his genius, his ambition, and his enduring legacy.

“Napoleon: A Life” is an epic journey through history, a masterful portrait of one of the most iconic and complex leaders of all time. By immersing yourself in Napoleon’s life, you will be inspired by his ability to overcome seemingly insurmountable challenges and his indomitable spirit of conquest.

This biography will allow you to know Napoleon from all his facets, both his brilliant achievements and his controversial decisions. Through its pages, you will discover how one man can leave an indelible mark on the course of history and how his legacy continues to inspire and fascinate the world today.

Napoleon. One life.

Andrew Roberts │ Ediciones Palabra

Marie Curie Pasta ‧ Adela Muñoz Páez

In this captivating novel, you will be transported into the life of Marie Curie, an extraordinary woman whose passion for knowledge and research changed the course of science forever.

Adela Muñoz Páez will immerse you in the personal and professional life of Marie Curie, from her childhood in Poland to her outstanding academic career in Paris. Through evocative language and an exciting narrative, you will discover how Marie faced the challenges and prejudices of her time to make her way in the male-dominated world of science.

In “Marie Curie,” you will not only learn about her extraordinary achievements in the field of physics and chemistry, but also about her tireless dedication to research and her perseverance in difficult times. This novel will invite you to get to know Marie Curie’s unwavering spirit and her unquenchable thirst for knowledge.

Through its pages, you will witness how Marie discovers the radium element and develops the basis of radiotherapy, a milestone in the history of medicine. Her legacy lives on in modern science and her example continues to inspire women and men around the world to follow in her footsteps in the pursuit of knowledge and innovation.

“Marie Curie” is a window into the brilliant mind of a revolutionary scientist and an inspiration for those who dream big and wish to transcend the limits of the known. By the end of this captivating novel, you will be motivated to pursue your own passions and not give up in the face of adversity in pursuit of your boldest dreams.

Marie Curie.

Adela Muñoz Páez │ Debate

Never stop: Autobiography of Nike founder ‧ Phil Knight.

In this autobiography, the visionary entrepreneur shares his incredible journey from starting a small footwear company to becoming one of the most recognized brands in the world.

Phil Knight invites you to learn about the challenges and opportunities he faced while building the Nike empire. With direct and sincere language, he recounts the moments of uncertainty, failures and triumphs that shaped his path to success.

In “Never Stop,” you’ll discover the passion and perseverance behind the Nike brand, how key partnerships were forged and how innovation and creativity led the company to the top of the sports industry.

Throughout the pages, you will delve into the mind of a fearless leader and learn valuable lessons about leadership, decision making and building a unique company culture.

This autobiography is an inspiring testimony of how determination and vision can transform an idea into a global brand. Phil Knight’s story will show you how to turn adversity into opportunity and how to maintain a burning passion to achieve goals beyond imagination.

By the end of reading “Never Stop: Autobiography of the Founder of Nike,” you will be inspired to pursue your own aspirations and never stop in the pursuit of your biggest dreams. You will discover that, even on the most challenging path, perseverance and passion are the key to overcoming obstacles and leaving a lasting mark on the world.

Never stop. Autobiography of the founder of NIKE

Phil Knight │ Connect

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The 25 Best Leadership Books of All-Time

In case you don’t know, Summary.com identifies, selects, and summarizes the best business books that are published every year. And, since we’ve been doing this for the past 44 years, we’ve seen A LOT of leadership books filter through our offices. Literally thousands …

Most are good, some are great, and others go on to be business classics – the books that every aspiring manager or leader needs to read. These are the books that offer ideas and strategies that change the way people think and disrupt the way business is conducted.

That being the case, we decided to put pen to paper and publish our list of the top 25 Leadership Books of All-Time. Without further ado, here is our list (in no particular order):

1. The First 90 Days

The First 90 Days Proven Strategies for Getting Up to Speed Faster and Smarter by Michael Watkins

In The First 90 Days , Harvard Business School professor Michael Watkins presents a road map for taking charge in the first 90 days of a new management position. Avoid common new-leader pitfalls, secure critical early wins, and establish yourself in your new role. Named to the “100 Leadership & Success Books to Read in a Lifetime” list by Amazon , this book is the authority on leaders in transition.

2. The Five Dysfunctions of a Team

The Five Dysfunctions of a Team A Leadership Fable by Patrick Lencioni

In The Five Dysfunctions of a Team , Lencioni, the master of the business fable, turns his attention to why teams often struggle to perform. His in-depth analysis of the five dysfunctions (absence of trust, fear of conflict, lack of commitment, avoidance of accountability, inattention to results) helps leaders avoid the pitfalls that teams face as they seek to grow together and prosper.

Start with Why How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action by Simon Sinek

From the bestselling author of Leaders Eat Last , Start With Why posits that people won’t truly buy into a product, service, movement, or idea until they understand the WHY behind it. Drawing on a wide range of real-life stories, Sinek weaves together a clear vision of what it truly takes to lead and inspire.

4. The Leadership Challenge

The Leadership Challenge How to Make Extraordinary Things Happen in Organizations by James Kouzes & Barry Posner

The Leadership Challenge is about how leaders mobilize others in an effort to get extraordinary things done inside companies and organizations. The authors present their Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership® , which when executed efficiently, allow leaders to bridge the chasm between just getting things done and actually making great things happen. Read it to stay current, relevant, and effective in the modern workplace.

5. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People Powerful Lessons in Personal Change by Stephen R. Covey

The #1 National Bestseller that offers a holistic, integrated, principle-centered approach for solving personal and professional problems. Originally published in 1989, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People remains consistently relevant even as present-day challenges have become increasingly difficult. Live a life of great and enduring purpose with this business classic.

6. How to Win Friends & Influence People

How to Win Friends & Influence People by Dale Carnegie

First published in 1936, this classic self-help book has sold more than 15 million copies worldwide. Carnegie’s advice about persuasion, career advancement, communication, and influence are as important and relevant today as they were when the book was first published. Achieve your maximum potential with How to Win Friends & Influence People .

7. Execution

Execution The Discipline of Getting Things Done by Larry Bossidy & Ram Charan

Larry Bossidy, the legendary CEO of Honeywell International, Inc. , joins forces with consultant and prolific author Ram Charan to explain how getting things done — not strategy, innovation or anything else — is the most important function of a business leader. In this business bestseller, the authors examine in detail the three key processes of execution — people, strategy and operations — and show how all three are linked. Execution is the smart business leaders guide to getting things done.

8. Good to Great

Good to Great Why Some Companies Make the Leap … and Others Don’t by Jim Collins

Collins, the bestselling author of Built to Last , and his team of researchers identified 11 elite companies that made the leap from simply “good” to “great” performance. By introducing us to the time-tested business ideas of Level 5 Leaders , The Hedgehog Concept , and A Culture of Discipline, Good to Great offers leaders a complete framework for success. If there exists a must-read business book, this is it.

9. Primal Leadership

Primal Leadership Unleashing the Power of Emotional Intelligence by Daniel Goleman, Richard Boyatzis & Annie McKee

The book that established “emotional intelligence” in the business lexicon. Great leaders move us. They ignite our passion and inspire the best in us. When we try to explain why they’re so effective, we often speak of strategy, vision, or powerful ideas. But the reality is much more primal – great leadership works through the emotions. Primal Leadership describes what managers and executives must do to become emotionally intelligent leaders. A must-read for anyone that leads or aspires to lead.

Drive The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us by Daniel H. Pink

Most people believe that the best way to motivate is with rewards like money—the carrot-and-stick approach. That’s a mistake, says author Daniel Pink . The new world of work that Pink describes in Drive is built on leaders finding innovative and creative ways to tap into deep-seated desires: the need to be autonomous in our work, to get better at what we like to do and to find greater purpose in life.

11. The Lean Startup

The Lean Startup How Today’s Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses by Eric Ries

This entrepreneurial masterpiece is a must-read for anyone thinking about going into business for themselves. The Lean Startup introduces a methodology that focuses you on finding out what customers want as quickly as possible and then using scientific experimentation to prove that you’re making progress. Ries recommends launching as early and cheaply as possible, so you don’t waste time and money getting into the marketplace.

12. True North

True North Discover Your Authentic Leadership by Bill George

Former Medtronic CEO Bill George presents a comprehensive program for leadership success and illustrates how to create your own personal leadership development plan. Based on personal interviews with 125 top leaders including Charles Schwab, Howard Schultz ( Starbucks ), Anne Mulcahy ( Xerox ), True North shows how anyone who follows their internal compass can become an authentic leader.

13. Thinking, Fast and Slow

Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman

Nobel Prize winner Kahnemann takes us on groundbreaking tour of the mind – examining the two systems that affect the way we think. He describes System 1 (fast, intuitive, emotional) and System 2 (slow, deliberative, logical) and how the interplay between them shape our judgments and decisions. At approximately 500 pages in length, Thinking, Fast and Slow isn’t meant to be a fast read, it’s meant to be savored.

*** Summary.com Members have access to quick-read/quick-listen summaries of these first 13 books right on our website. If you’re not a member, get access to them now and save 15% ***

14. Wooden on Leadership

Wooden on Leadership by John Wooden & Steve Jamison

Focusing on the former UCLA Basketball coach’s legendary 12 Lessons in Leadership and his acclaimed Pyramid of Success , Wooden on Leadership outlines the mental, emotional, and physical qualities essential to building a winning organization. It also shows you how to develop the skill, confidence, and competitive fire to “be at your best when your best is needed” – and teach your organization to do the same.

15. Extreme Ownership

Extreme Ownership How U.S. Navy SEALs Lead and Win by Jocko Willink & Leif Babin

Willink and Babin, two U.S. Navy SEAL officers that led a highly-decorated special operations unit in Iraq, demonstrate how to apply tested leadership principles from the battlefield to business and life. The authors have taught the lessons from Extreme Ownership to countless leaders and hundreds of companies around the world in an effort to pass along their institutional knowledge about developing high-performance teams and ultimately, teaching individuals to lead and win.

16. Emotional Intelligence

Emotional Intelligence Why It Can Matter More than IQ by Daniel Goleman

A groundbreaking book that redefined what it means to be smart. Everyone knows that high IQ is no guarantee of success, happiness, or virtue, but until Emotional Intelligence , we could only guess why. Goleman’s research from the frontiers of psychology and neuroscience offers startling new insight into our “two minds”—the rational and the emotional—and how together they shape our success in relationships, in work, and even our physical well-being.

17. First, Break All the Rules

First, Break All the Rules What the World’s Greatest Managers Do Differently by Marcus Buckingham

In this longtime management bestseller, the author presents the remarkable findings of Gallup’s in-depth study of more than 80,000 managers. The data reveals that despite varying backgrounds and styles, great managers share one common trait – they don’t hesitate to break sacred business rules. In First, Break All the Rules , you’ll discover vital performance and career lessons for managers at all levels and discover how to apply them to your specific situation.

Tribes We Need You to Lead Us by Seth Godin

While best-selling author Seth Godin has authored more than 15 books ( Free Prize Inside , Linchpin , Purple Cow ), we consistently refer back to Tribes as our favorite. If you’re a leader looking to mobilize an audience (think employees, customers, investors, readers) around a central idea or want them to take a particular course of action, then this Godin book will provide the blueprint for you.

19. The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership

The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership Follow Them and People Will Follow You by John C. Maxwell

Maxwell, the world-renowned leadership expert, has authored dozens of books ( Leadershift , The 360 Degree Leader , Leadership Gold ) dealing with this topic that have sold millions of copies. In The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership , each of the laws has its own chapter that when read, understood, and put into practice, help to guide readers toward setting direction, aligning people, motivating, and inspiring – all with the ultimate goal of creating a leader that people want to follow.

20. Leading Change

Leading Change by John Kotter

Widespread and difficult change in business is no longer the exception – it’s the rule. Leading Change features Kotter’s legendary 8-step process for managing change that has become instrumental to leaders and organizations around the world. A practical resource for leaders and managers charged with making change initiatives work.

21. The Innovator’s Dilemma

The Innovator’s Dilemma When New Technologies Cause Great Firms to Fail by Clayton Christensen

The Innovator’s Dilemma demonstrates how even the world’s most outstanding companies can do everything right—yet still lose market leadership. Through his compelling multi-industry study, Christensen introduces his seminal theory of disruptive innovation that has changed the way managers and CEOs around the world think about innovation.

22. On Becoming a Leader

On Becoming a Leader by Warren Bennis

Deemed “the Dean of Leadership Gurus” by Forbes magazine, Warren Bennis has persuasively argued that leaders are not born—they are made. Delving into the qualities that define leadership, the people who exemplify it, and the strategies that anyone can apply to achieve it, his classic work On Becoming a Leader has served as a source of essential insight for countless readers.

23. The Effective Executive

The Effective Executive The Definitive Guide to Getting the Right Things Done by Peter Drucker

Drucker, the “Father of Modern Management,” originally penned this well-known, frequently-cited classic in 1967. The measure of a truly effective executive is the ability to get the right things done. The Effective Executive outlines the five practices that are essential to business management.

24. The One Minute Manager

The One Minute Manager by Ken Blanchard & Spencer Johnson

For decades, The One Minute Manager has helped millions achieve more successful professional and personal lives. As compelling today as it was when it was originally released more than thirty years ago, this classic parable of a young man looking for an effective manager is as relevant and useful as ever.

25. The Art of War

The Art of War by Sun Tzu

The Art of War is an ancient Chinese military treatise dating back more than 2,000 years ago. The work, which is attributed to the ancient Chinese military strategist Sun Tzu, is composed of 13 chapters – each one is devoted to an aspect of warfare and how it applies to military strategy and tactics. The Art of War is one of the most influential strategy texts in East Asian warfare and has influenced military thinking, business tactics, legal strategy and beyond.

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History has given us a plethora of powerful leaders who have devoted their lives to the advancement of their countries and their people. Part of what defines a good leader is their ability to make sensible decisions during catastrophes and trying times. Brilliant leaders of both ancient and modern times have left behind everlasting legacies. A common thread that ties together many great leaders is that they emerged during tough times and led their countrymen into a brighter future. This is a list of 10 books about such leaders, covering the life they led, their political stances and their contributions to society.

A.P.J. Abdul Kalam: A Life

Arun tiwari.

A man with an unconventional hairstyle and a calm demeanour, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam was one of the most dedicated Indian Presidents. He is also known as India’s Missile Man, as he advanced India’s ballistic missile programs. Known for championing youth causes, Kalam also launched the ‘What Can I Give’ movement in 2011 to defeat corruption as well as to realize his life’s goal of turning India into a developed country by 2020. Arun Tiwari captures Kalam’s grace and humility in A.P.J. Abdul Kalam: A Life through his personal interactions with him. Kalam seemed to embody the ideal Indian values of secularism and equality while being scientific and spiritual at the same time.

Buy it  here .

Gandhi: The Years That Changed The World

Ramachandra guha.

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, better known as Mahatma Gandhi or the Father of the Nation is considered one of the greatest leaders to have ever walked among us. A lawyer by profession, he became the driving force as well as the backbone of the Indian freedom struggle . His policy of non-violence and civil disobedience influenced many revolutions throughout the world such as the civil rights movement in the United States. Ramachandra Guha’s Gandhi is a study of Gandhi’s extraordinary methods, principles, struggles and influence on the world as he led his country to freedom in 1947.

The History Of Akbar Vol. I

Abu’l fazl.

Akbar was the third Mughal emperor of India and greatly influenced the course of Indian history as he created a powerful military system and instituted effective political and social amendments. Under Akbar, the Mughal Empire expanded significantly. At the same time, he maintained a harmonious balance among his diverse subjects. Akbar’s ethics and tolerant nature are still famed and considered an ideal for the modern Republic of India. Abu’l-Fazl, one of the Nine Jewels of Akbar’s royal court, wrote The History Of Akbar which includes elaborate descriptions of his political and cultural accomplishments and chronicles his journey as one the greatest emperors in Indian history.

Abraham Lincoln: The Prairie Years And The War Years

Carl sandburg.

The 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln, is also one of the most well-known leaders of all time. During his years as President, he led the nation through the Civil War, America’s bloodiest and most morally conflicted war, preserved the Union, wrote the Emancipation Proclamation, strengthened the federal government, and modernised the economy. Carl Sandburg’s Abraham Lincoln  is a significant work on the life of the president. Sandburg manages to cover almost every facet of his life and demonstrates why he is one of the greatest leaders ever. This Pulitzer Prize-winning biography is a fascinating read about the man.

Jean Edward Smith 

Franklin Roosevelt, better known as FDR, was an American statesman and President who led the U.S. through The Great Depression. Roosevelt was diagnosed with polio at the age of 29 and left paralysed in both legs. Not letting his personal difficulties get in the way, he contested the elections and went on to become the President in 1933. He is the only President who has been elected four consecutive times and remained President till his death in 1945. He also commanded the U.S. troops to victory in WWII, which resulted in the U.S. becoming one of two superpowers. Jean Edward Smith’s FDR is an engrossing read about Roosevelt’s intellect, his ability to master countless challenges and how he came to be known as one of the three greatest U.S. presidents.

Margaret Thatcher

Charles moore.

Margaret Thatcher was the first female Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. Known as the Iron Lady, she worked hard — despite facing resistance — to turn Britain into a more enterprising free-market economy. Thatcher advocated for the privatisation of state industries, pressed for lower taxes, faced trade unions head-on and reduced social expenditure across the board. Charles Moore, in his authorised biography Margaret Thatcher , gives us an insight into the exceptional figure of Thatcher. Based on unrestricted access to all of Thatcher’s papers, her unpublished interviews as well as those of her important colleagues, this is one of the most thoroughly researched reads on the Iron Lady.

Queen Elizabeth I

Elizabeth I was the Queen of England and Ireland and the last of the five monarchs of the House of Tudor. Never married and called the “Virgin Queen”, Elizabeth I defeated the Spanish Armada and ruled successfully in what is now known as the “Elizabethan Era”. As a monarch, she encouraged major cultural changes like the Renaissance and it is of interest to a literary audience to know that Shakespeare and Marlowe received her patronage. J.E Neale’s Queen Elizabeth I , which won him the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for Biography, is an elegant account of the Queen’s life, her reign and the flourishment of England under her.

Mandela: The Authorized Biography

Anthony sampson.

The first Black President of South Africa, Nelson Mandela was the leader of the Anti-Apartheid movement. He fought to rip apart the legacy of apartheid by taking a stand for equality of all South Africans, irrespective of colour. He was arrested for his revolutionary activities and spent 27 years in jail. Anthony Sampson was a close friend of Mandela and in  Mandela , he has comprehensively portrayed how Mandela went from being scorned by South Africa’s white population to being honoured as the President of the country. Nelson Mandela’s life has been one of courage and conviction, and Sampson has tried to capture it in its entirety.

Ataturk: The Rebirth Of A Nation

Patrick kinross.

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk is an extraordinary individual who was instrumental in the creation of the modern and secular state of Turkey, after the Turkish War of Independence. Atatürk was the Commander of the Ottoman Empire’s army’s 19th division during the 1915 Battle of Gallipoli, where his bravery and intelligence led the Turks to victory. He was elected as the first President of the Republic of Turkey on October 29, 1923.  Most progressive of his reforms was to introduce co-educational schooling and granting women full suffrage. He also ensured that women received equal inheritance rights.  Read more about this reformative leader in Ataturk  by Patrick Kinross, who portrays not only Atatürk’s journey in modernising the country but also how he dealt with the brutalities of civil war.

William Taubman

Mikhail Gorbachev was the last General Secretary of the Soviet Union. Appointed in 1985, Gorbachev’s domestic reforms and nuclear disarmament deals helped end the Cold War. He is also credited for his crucial role in the fall of the Berlin Wall and subsequent unity of Germany. William Taubman’s Gorbachev is based on the writer’s interviews with Kremlin aides as well as transcripts from Russian archives. It portrays the story of an ordinary boy who climbed to the top of a tyrannical system and his work in bringing about world harmony, despite severe resistance from some of his fellow countrymen.

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17 Best Leadership Books for Women to Read in 2024

You found our list of inspiring leadership books for women .

Leadership books for women are guides that help women obtain and excel in management and executive roles. This genre covers topics such as dealing with discrimination, speaking up and being heard, and earning the respect of direct reports, colleagues, and supervisors. The purpose of these books is to identify techniques, characteristics, and behaviors that improve professional women’s chances of becoming good leaders.

These works are a subset of business books and books on leadership , and help women to develop management skills and leader skills .

This list contains:

• best books for female CEOs
• biographies of women leaders
• books on female leadership
• leadership books by women
• leadership books for women of color

Here we go!

List of leadership books for women

From new releases to all-time bestsellers, here is a list of books every professional woman should read to achieve the ideal career.

1. Women and Leadership: Real Lives, Real Lessons by Julia Gillard and Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala

Women and Leadership explores the challenges females face while chasing or holding high positions. The book analyzes the lack of gender representation in modern leadership and delves into obstacles women who do manage to head countries encounter. This guide gathers interviews with major global leaders like Hillary Clinton, Jacinda Arden, and Theresa May. Authors Julia Gillard and Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala are also trailblazing female politicians, and bring firsthand experience to the conversations about the struggles women must surmount while navigating the political landscape. Women and Leadership is full of perspectives of powerful women and is a call to action for women to outlast discrimination and overcome the odds.

Notable Quote: “From childhood and throughout adulthood, socialization and stereotyping are part of what shapes women and men, including their leadership styles .”

Buy Women and Leadership: Real Lives, Real Lessons .

2. How Women Rise: Break the 12 Habits Holding You Back from Your Next Raise, Promotion, or Job by Sally Helgesen and Marshall Goldsmith

How Women Rise outlines common pitfalls that hold women back professionally and prescribes habits and hacks to help female leaders progress more quickly. The book explores 12 unhelpful habits that prevent women from meeting professional goals and suggests fixes for these hangups. Chapters address issues such as perfectionism, and people-pleasing, and reluctance to self-promote, and give female readers advice on how to make more effective career moves.

Notable Quote: “In other words, your habits are not you. They are you on autopilot.”

Buy How Women Rise .

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3. Nice Girls Don’t Get the Corner Office: Unconscious Mistakes Women Make That Sabotage Their Careers by Lois P. Frankel PhD

Nice Girls Don’t Get the Corner Office seeks to overturn the myths that the key to female success is being agreeable, taking care of others, and never causing trouble. From childhood, women are taught to be likeable and hyperconscious of the opinions of others. This book exposes the ingrained habits and beliefs that prevent women from advancing career-wise, and lays out strategies to overcome these roadblocks. Nice Girls Don’t Get the Corner Office targets self-sabotaging behaviors like taking on too many responsibilities, expecting to be acknowledged automatically, or failing to stand up for yourself and offers more effective alternatives.

Notable Quote: “You gain courage and confidence from doing the things you think you cannot do.”

Buy Nice Girls Don’t Get the Corner Office .

4. Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead by Sheryl Sandberg

Lean In is one of the most popular books on female leadership. Facebook executive Sheryl Sandberg encourages professional females to speak up, take risks, and be bolder in the workforce. The book gives advice on topics like mentorship, negotiation, and work-life balance. Sandberg seeks to help women overcome the tendency to shrink or shy away when met with resistance, spurring female leaders to instead “lean in” and take control of the conversation. Lean In is a manifesto for female ability and more equitable workplaces. Almost a decade after its initial publication, the book still inspires and empowers women leaders and sparks conversations about gender at work.

Notable Quote: “In the future, there will be no female leaders. There will just be leaders.”

Buy Lean In .

5. How Remarkable Women Lead: The Breakthrough Model for Work and Life by Joanna Barsh, Susie Cranston, and Geoffrey Lewis

How Remarkable Women Lead is one of the best books for female CEOs. Authors Joanna Barsh and Susie Cranston worked as consultants for McKinsey & Company for decades, and use this firsthand experience and expertise to analyze behaviors and identify patterns in high-performing female professionals. The book uses anecdotes about executives to explain how extraordinary women reached the top of their fields. How Remarkable Women Lead provides a blueprint for overcoming challenges, growing, and becoming an amazing female boss.

Notable Quote: “It takes time to find your strengths, and it takes even more time to turn them into capabilities.”

Buy How Remarkable Women Lead .

6. The Likeability Trap: How to Break Free and Succeed as You Are by Alicia Menendez

Many women are taught that to get ahead, they must be pleasant and well-liked as well as smart, skilled, and hard-working. Even famous and successful women at the top of their fields are subject to the double standards of being both agreeable and able. The Likeability Trap urges women to ditch the pressures of being liked and validated in favor of embracing and appreciating their true selves. The book gives recommendations for being more authentic while still achieving favorable professional outcomes.

Notable Quote: “If authenticity is necessary to be likeable, and critical to effective leadership, but women are encouraged to spend most of their careers trying to be more of whatever it is they’re told they’re not, how can they possibly be authentic, likeable, and effective leaders?”

Buy The Likeability Trap .

7. HBR’s 10 Must Reads on Women and Leadership by The Harvard Business Review

HBR’s 10 Must Reads on Women and Leadership is a collection of essays about high-performing women in the workplace. Like the other HBR top ten titles, this anthology brings together some of the most thought-provoking and popular publications on the subject from The Harvard Business Review. This resource explores topics such as female ambition, gendered power dynamics, the flaws in diversity programs, and career progression. Plus, HBR’s 10 Must Reads on Women and Leadership also contains an exclusive interview with Sheryl Sandberg.

Notable Quote: “A better metaphor for what confronts women in their professional endeavors is a labyrinth….As a contemporary symbol, it conveys the idea of a complex journey toward a goal worth striving for.”

Buy HBR’s 10 Must Reads on Women and Leadership

8. We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

We Should All Be Feminists is not strictly a business book, yet ranks among the books every professional woman should read. Inspired by the powerful TED talk of the same name, We Should All Be Feminists takes a deep dive into the ways in which culture limits both men and women through ingrained misogyny. The book lays out arguments for why all people can benefit from feminism and should proudly embrace the label of feminist, while also empowering women to rise above the expectations society lays upon them.

Notable Quote: “We teach girls to shrink themselves, to make themselves smaller. We say to girls, you can have ambition, but not too much. You should aim to be successful, but not too successful.”

Buy We Should All Be Feminists

9. That’s What She Said: What Men Need to Know (and Women Need to Tell Them) About Working Together by Joanne Lipman

That’s What She Said takes a revolutionary approach to women in the workplace. This book addresses the gender gap and points out the ways in which standard diversity programs can fall short. Instead of putting the responsibility of demanding fair treatment solely on women, the book addresses men and makes compelling arguments about how equality can benefit male colleagues in the workplace. Women can use this logic to more adeptly resolve conflicts and negotiate more easily and effectively.

Notable Quote: “Social scientists have calculated that a woman must be two and a half times more competent than a man to be viewed as his equal.”

Buy That’s What She Said .

10. More Than Enough: Claiming Space for Who You Are (No Matter What They Say) by Elaine Welteroth

More Than Enough is an uplifting memoir that relays the professional journey of former Teen Vogue editor Elaine Welteroth. Despite being young, female, and African-American, Welteroth managed to be one of the most successful heads in the publication’s history. This autobiography charts the path between Welteroth’s early life and later career victories. The prose is full of affirmations that assure readers they are capable and belong in professional spaces that often aim to exclude women with big ideas. More Than Enough is an instructional manual for breaking down barriers and remaking the professional world in your image.

Notable Quote: “When your dreams are bigger than the places you find yourself in, sometimes you need to seek out your own reminders that there is more. And there is always more waiting for you on the other side of fear.”

Buy More Than Enough , and check out more motivational quotes for work .

11. Rising Strong: How the Ability to Reset Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead by Brené Brown

Rising Strong is one of the most inspiring leadership books for women. Brené Brown researches and writes extensively about vulnerability, and in this book she speaks to overcoming hardship and failure, learning from setbacks, and coming back stronger than ever. Rising Strong teaches readers how to embrace discomfort, own failures, and find the courage to try again. The book helps readers be less scared of messing up and dare to continue on after falling short.

Notable Quote: “Compassionate people ask for what they need. They say no when they need to, and when they say yes, they mean it. They’re compassionate because their boundaries keep them out of resentment.”

Buy Rising Strong .

12. Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance by Angela Duckworth

Grit is one of the best leadership books by women. Psychologist Angela Duckworth argues that the key to success is grit, which she defines as a blend of long-term persistence and passion. The book uses case studies to observe how individuals survive and thrive in tough situations. This guide shows that grit is a learnable trait, and describes methods for increasing resilience such as specifying goals, strengthening professional support systems, and being more deliberate in practice and the pursuit of goals.

Notable Quote: “Our potential is one thing. What we do with it is quite another.”

13. In the Company of Women: Inspiration and Advice from over 100 Makers, Artists, and Entrepreneurs by Grace Bonney

In the Company of Women is a series of interviews with influential female leaders across a wide range of professions, from architects, to tattoo artists, to celebrity entertainers, and industry titans. Spotlights include Roxanne Gay, Michelle Quan, Lizzo, Carrie Brownstein, Janet Mock, and dozens of others. Drawing on a diverse and accomplished group of interviewees, the book presents different perspectives on what it takes to succeed as a woman in the modern professional world. In the Company of Women is full of entertaining and inspiring stories, wise words, and helpful guidance to motivate every reader to become her best self.

Notable Quote: “Winners are losers who got back up.”

Buy In the Company of Women .

14. Becoming by Michelle Obama

Becoming is one of the bestselling biographies of women leaders. In this memoir, former first lady Michelle Obama traces her life journey from the South Side of Chicago to the White House, relaying the leadership lessons she learned along the way. The book touches on themes like race, motherhood, and female achievement and explores shortcomings as well as triumphs. Becoming is as inspirational and honest as it is informative. Michelle serves as an example for bold women, and teaches readers how to follow in footsteps yet forge their own paths.

Notable Quote: “Most of us lived in a state of constant calibration, tweaking one area of life in hopes of bringing more steadiness to another.”

Buy Becoming .

15. The Little Black Book of Success: Laws of Leadership for Black Women by by Elaine Meryl Brown, Marsha Haygood, et al

The Little Black Book of Success is one of the most useful leadership books for women of color. The book seeks to empower Black female executives through practical advice. Each chapter teaches techniques to help Black women thrive in the corporate world while keeping identity intact. The book offers advice on dealing with racism at work, finding the self-assurance to speak up, connecting with coworkers, building a strong support system, and using leadership positions to shake up the system. The Little Black Book of Success is a guide to rising in the ranks as a Black woman without sacrificing a sense of self.

Notable Quote: “To become a leader you must have a positive mental attitude, which you can achieve with positive self-talk and looking at what is right with people instead of what is wrong with them.”

Buy The Little Black Book of Success .

16. The Confidence Code: The Science and Art of Self-Assurance—What Women Should Know by Katty Kay and Claire Shipman

The Confidence Code is a masterclass in self-esteem. The book stresses the importance of confidence in professional settings and shares strategies to help women believe in themselves and advocate for themselves at work. The authors explore the neurological aspects of confidence and conclude that while some elements of confidence are genetic, environmental, and habitual, there are actions individuals can take to improve and increase self-confidence, for instance, facing the fear of failure and taking risks. The Confidence Code explores the roots of low confidence in women and suggests tactics for rewiring the brain and becoming more self-assured. This book helps women grow the self-conviction needed to become workplace leaders.

Notable Quote: “Confidence, ultimately, is the characteristic that distinguishes those who imagine from those who do.”

Buy The Confidence Code .

17. Run to Win: Lessons in Leadership for Women Changing the World by Stephanie Schriock and Christina Reynolds

Run to Win is a handbook for female political candidates. Stephanie Schriock is the president of EMILY’s list, an organization that empowers aspiring female leaders to run for office. Although the advice is mainly geared towards politics, the lessons in self-confidence, resilience, ambition, and grace under pressure are applicable to any profession. Run to Win is a promise that women can achieve goals, make a difference, or, at the very least, cause a stir.

Notable Quote: “So, don’t decide not to take that next step because you don’t know how you are going to do all aspects of the job. Decide to take on the job and let me help you figure out the rest.”

Buy Run to Win .

Final Thoughts

Although women have made major strides throughout the last century, there is still more work to be done before women to achieve professional equality. A large disparity between the number of men and women in leadership positions still exists, in part because many women are still taught to follow and be supportive instead of shaking up the status quo. Female leadership books teach women how to find the confidence and voice needed to be effective leaders. Many of these guides are by influential women executives who want to empower a new generation of women to find their voices and change the world.

For more reading recommendations, check out these collections of books on management and books on inclusion and diversity .

We also have a list of the best ideas for Women’s History Month at work , a list of good leadership examples and a list of leadership games to play with employees .

Plus this guide to leadership qualities in the workforce and these leadership programs for work .

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FAQ: Leadership books for women

Here are answers to common questions about leadership books for women.

What are leadership books for women?

Leadership books for women are nonfiction books that teach women the skills and perspectives needed to thrive in the professional world. These works often cover topics such as mentorship, self-confidence, and handling sexism.

What are some good books for female leaders?

Some good books for female leaders include How Women Rise by Sally Helgesen and Marshall Goldsmith, HBR’s 10 Must Reads on Women and Leadership by The Harvard Business Review, More Than Enough by Elaine Welteroth, and Nice Girls Don’t Get the Corner Office by Lois P. Frankel PhD
.

What books should every professional woman read?

Books every professional woman should read include Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg, We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, and Becoming by Michelle Obama.

Why should women read books on leadership?

Women should read books on leadership because these guides can give female professionals the confidence and knowledge needed to progress more quickly career-wise. Reading the stories of successful female executives can help women avoid potential pitfalls, learn secondhand lessons, and employ more effective strategies that can propel their careers and professional goals to heights previously unimagined.

Author: Angela Robinson

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Leadership Biography

Robert E. Lee on Leadership

• Executive Lessons in Character, Courage, and Vision
• By: H.W. Crocker
• Narrated by: Jonathan Hogan
• Length: 8 hrs and 15 mins
• Overall 4.5 out of 5 stars 86
• Performance 4.5 out of 5 stars 75
• Story 4.5 out of 5 stars 76

Robert E. Lee scholar H. W. Crocker III is an esteemed Civil War historian. Skillfully summarizing Lee’s life, Crocker clearly extracts leadership lessons from the storied career of the South’s beloved leader and applies them to today’s business worldUnder General Lee’s management, a rag-tag army of poor farmers—vastly outnumbered, outgunned, under-supplied, and under-fed—consistently routed Union troops. Brilliantly seizing strategic opportunities, Lee stunned his foes and inspired his soldiers. He was decisive, focused, and humble.

• 2 out of 5 stars

Not for a history student

• By David S. Mathew on 04-18-16
• Release date: 11-18-11
• Language: English
• 4.5 out of 5 stars 86 ratings
• Robert E. Lee scholar H. W. Crocker III is an esteemed Civil War historian....

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Trillion Dollar Coach

• The Leadership Playbook of Silicon Valley's Bill Campbell
• By: Eric Schmidt, Jonathan Rosenberg, Alan Eagle
• Narrated by: Dan Woren
• Length: 5 hrs and 40 mins
• Overall 4.5 out of 5 stars 5,301
• Performance 4.5 out of 5 stars 4,368
• Story 4.5 out of 5 stars 4,358

The team behind How Google Works returns with management lessons from legendary coach and business executive Bill Campbell, whose mentoring of some of our most successful modern entrepreneurs has helped create well over a trillion dollars in market value. Bill Campbell played an instrumental role in the growth of several prominent companies, such as Google, Apple, and Intuit, fostering deep relationships with Silicon Valley visionaries, including Steve Jobs, Larry Page, and Eric Schmidt.

This is a eulogy, not a "playbook."

• By intangiblereverie on 04-17-19
• By: Eric Schmidt , Jonathan Rosenberg , Alan Eagle
• Release date: 04-16-19
• 4.5 out of 5 stars 5,301 ratings

The team behind How Google Works returns with management lessons from legendary coach and business executive Bill Campbell, whose mentoring of some of our most successful modern entrepreneurs has helped create well over a trillion dollars in market value....

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Losing and Finding My Virginity: The Full Story

• By: Richard Branson
• Narrated by: Richard Branson
• Length: 27 hrs and 10 mins
• Overall 5 out of 5 stars 1
• Performance 5 out of 5 stars 1
• Story 5 out of 5 stars 1

Available exclusively in audio, Losing and Finding My Virginity is both of Sir Richard Branson’s multi-million-copy bestselling autobiographies in one combined edition, fully revised and updated, and read for you by the author in full for the first time.

• 5 out of 5 stars

If you want to be inspired - listen to this!

• By Ilana Golan on 04-12-24
• Release date: 04-09-24
• 5 out of 5 stars 1 rating

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Lecciones de liderazgo creativo [The Ride of a Lifetime]

• Mi gran aventura al frente de la empresa que ha convertido la magia en realidad [Lessons Learned from 15 Years as CEO of the Walt Disney Company]
• By: Robert Iger, Belén Urrutia Domínguez - traductor, Jordi Ainaud i Escudero - traductor
• Narrated by: Rafa Serrano
• Length: 8 hrs and 47 mins
• Overall 5 out of 5 stars 2
• Performance 4.5 out of 5 stars 2
• Story 5 out of 5 stars 2

Robert Iger se convirtió en CEO de la Walt Disney Company en 2005 durante un momento difícil para la empresa. La moral se había deteriorado, la competencia era intensa y la tecnología estaba cambiando más rápido que en cualquier otro momento de la historia. Su proyecto de futuro se basaba en tres ideas muy claras: renovar el compromiso con la importancia de la calidad, integrar la tecnología en lugar de luchar contra ella y pensar con ambición y con una visión global para convertir a Disney en una marca más fuerte en los mercados internacionales.

• By: Robert Iger , Belén Urrutia Domínguez - traductor , Jordi Ainaud i Escudero - traductor
• Release date: 02-29-24
• Language: Spanish
• 5 out of 5 stars 2 ratings

El CEO de Disney comparte las ideas y los valores que le han permitido reinventar una de las compañías más admiradas del mundo e inspirar a las personas que dan vida a la magia....

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Hal Moore on Leadership

• Winning When Outgunned and Outmanned
• By: Harold G. Moore, Mike Guardia
• Narrated by: Johnny Heller
• Length: 5 hrs and 6 mins
• Overall 5 out of 5 stars 1,574
• Performance 5 out of 5 stars 1,381
• Story 5 out of 5 stars 1,369

Hal Moore led his life by a set of principles - a code developed through years of experience, trial-and-error, and the study of leaders of every stripe. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Moore's life touched upon many historical events: the Occupation of Japan, the Korean War, Vietnam, and the refashioning of the US Army into an all-volunteer force. At each juncture, he learned critical lessons and had opportunities to affect change through measured responses.

Exceptional Book On Leadership

• By William A. McGrath on 09-12-18
• By: Harold G. Moore , Mike Guardia
• Release date: 01-02-18
• 5 out of 5 stars 1,574 ratings
• Hal Moore led his life by a set of principles - a code developed through years of experience, trial-and-error, and the study of leaders of every stripe....

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• The Secret to Life
• By: Diane von Furstenberg
• Narrated by: Diane von Furstenberg
• Length: 1 hr and 44 mins
• Overall 4 out of 5 stars 966
• Performance 4.5 out of 5 stars 846
• Story 4 out of 5 stars 830

​Diane von Furstenberg, entrepreneur and philanthropist, presents her words to live by. In an easy-to-navigate A-Z dictionary format, designed to be browsed or listened to as a whole,  Own It  offers listeners Diane’s well-earned wisdom for enjoying both personal and professional growth at any age.

• 1 out of 5 stars

Some books should just never be opened

• By Mark on 06-08-22
• Release date: 05-19-22
• 4 out of 5 stars 966 ratings

​Diane von Furstenberg, entrepreneur and philanthropist, presents her words to live by....

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Conscious Capitalism

• Liberating the Heroic Spirit of Business
• By: John Mackey, Raj Sisodia, Bill George
• Narrated by: Grover Gardner
• Length: 11 hrs and 14 mins
• Overall 4.5 out of 5 stars 871
• Performance 4.5 out of 5 stars 746
• Story 4.5 out of 5 stars 738

Whole Foods Market cofounder John Mackey and professor and Conscious Capitalism, Inc. cofounder Raj Sisodia argue for the inherent good of both business and capitalism. Featuring some of today's best-known and most-successful companies, they illustrate how these two forces can - and do - work most powerfully to create value for all stakeholders, including customers, employees, suppliers, investors, society, and the environment.

Amongst top leadership and management books!

• By Konstantin on 08-23-14
• By: John Mackey , Raj Sisodia , Bill George
• Release date: 04-30-14
• 4.5 out of 5 stars 871 ratings
• Whole Foods Market cofounder John Mackey and professor and Conscious Capitalism, Inc. cofounder Raj Sisodia argue for the inherent good of both business and capitalism....

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John Wooden: The Inspiring Life and Leadership Lessons of One of Basketball's Greatest Coaches

• Basketball Biography & Leadership Books
• By: Clayton Geoffreys
• Narrated by: Mark Rossman
• Length: 2 hrs and 22 mins
• Overall 4 out of 5 stars 36
• Performance 4 out of 5 stars 32
• Story 4.5 out of 5 stars 32

In John Wooden: The Inspiring Life and Leadership Lessons of One of Basketball's Greatest Coaches , you will learn the inspirational story of arguably the greatest coach of the 20th century, John Wooden. Few coaches carry the same esteem as Wooden, known for not only being a highly effective coach, but also a mentor and friend to his players. Wooden consistently led by example by inspiring his players to build strong habits both on and off the court.

Wash Rinse Repeat

• By Rory K. on 09-09-22
• Series: Basketball Biography Books
• Release date: 02-21-18
• 4 out of 5 stars 36 ratings

In John Wooden: The Inspiring Life and Leadership Lessons of One of Basketball's Greatest Coaches , you will learn the inspirational story of arguably the greatest coach of the 20th century, John Wooden....

• The Making of an American Capitalist
• By: Roger Lowenstein
• Narrated by: Graham Winton
• Length: 18 hrs and 9 mins
• Overall 4.5 out of 5 stars 1,660
• Performance 4.5 out of 5 stars 1,431
• Story 4.5 out of 5 stars 1,422

Starting from scratch, simply by picking stocks and companies for investment, Warren Buffett amassed one of the epochal fortunes of the twentieth century - an astounding net worth of $10 billion and counting. His awesome investment record has made him a cult figure popularly known for his seeming contradictions: a billionaire who has a modest lifestyle, a phenomenally successful investor who eschews the revolving-door trading of modern Wall Street, a brilliant dealmaker who cultivates a homespun aura.

Life changer

• By Steven on 03-28-15
• Release date: 03-03-15
• 4.5 out of 5 stars 1,660 ratings
• Journalist Roger Lowenstein draws on three years of unprecedented access to Buffett's family, friends, and colleagues to provide the first definitive inside account....

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The Burger King

• A Whopper of a Story on Life and Leadership
• By: Jim McLamore
• Narrated by: BJ Harrison
• Length: 11 hrs and 5 mins
• Overall 4.5 out of 5 stars 52
• Performance 4.5 out of 5 stars 45
• Story 4.5 out of 5 stars 45

A rags-to-$9-billion-riches story. A crash course in Burger King history and fast food in America, The Burger King is McLamore's candid and conversational memoir. Written before his death in 1996, he talks of his life, the birth of the Whopper, and the rise of Burger King. McLamore's account of Burger King offers an instructive and inspiring tale to young entrepreneurs. Here's a story of entrepreneurship development from one of the top entrepreneurs of fast food chains.

Pure Capitalism

• By Rudolph Campos on 03-22-23
• Release date: 04-14-20
• 4.5 out of 5 stars 52 ratings

A rags-to-$9-billion-riches story. A crash course in Burger King history and fast food in America, The Burger King is McLamore's candid and conversational memoir. Written before his death in 1996, he talks of his life, the birth of the Whopper, and the rise of Burger King....

Transcend Fear

• A Blueprint for Mindful Leadership in Public Health
• By: Dr. Joseph Ladapo
• Narrated by: Dr. Joseph Ladapo
• Length: 5 hrs and 14 mins
• Overall 5 out of 5 stars 4
• Performance 5 out of 5 stars 4
• Story 5 out of 5 stars 4

Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo shares the inspiring story of how he came to be who he is. After experiencing abuse as a child, Dr. Ladapo was incapable of connecting emotionally with other people. He was dissociated from virtually everything in his life and numbly powered through college, medical school, and residency to become a doctor and university professor. It wasn’t until he fell in love with his wife that he was forced to come face-to-face with the enormous emotional and spiritual disruption caused by his deeply buried trauma.

Ladapo is a jewel in DeSantis’s crown.

• By Anonymous on 09-30-23
• Release date: 02-14-23
• 5 out of 5 stars 4 ratings

Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo shares the inspiring story of how he came to be who he is. After experiencing abuse as a child, Dr. Ladapo was incapable of connecting emotionally with other people....

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The Wisdom of the Bullfrog

• Leadership Made Simple (But Not Easy)
• By: Admiral William H. McRaven
• Narrated by: Admiral William H. McRaven
• Length: 3 hrs and 44 mins
• Overall 5 out of 5 stars 845
• Performance 5 out of 5 stars 749
• Story 5 out of 5 stars 747

The title “Bullfrog” is given to the Navy SEAL who has served the longest on active duty. Admiral McRaven was honored to receive this honor in 2011 when he took charge of the United States Special Operations Command. When McRaven retired in 2014, he had 37 years as a Navy SEAL under his belt, leading men and women at every level of the special operations community. During those four decades, Admiral McRaven dealt with every conceivable leadership challenge. The Wisdom of The Bullfrog draws on these and countless other experiences from Admiral McRaven’s incredible life.

Great book for anyone in Leadership position

• By Myrl on 04-06-23
• Release date: 04-04-23
• 5 out of 5 stars 845 ratings

From the acclaimed #1 New York Times bestselling author of Make Your Bed —a short inspirational book of advice and leadership lessons that Admiral McRaven collected over his four decades as a Navy SEAL....

Regular price: $14.81 or 1 credit

Sale price: $14.81 or 1 credit

Napoleon and the Art of Leadership

• How a Flawed Genius Changed the History of Europe and the World
• By: William Nester
• Narrated by: Matthew Josdal
• Length: 22 hrs and 21 mins
• Overall 5 out of 5 stars 3
• Performance 4.5 out of 5 stars 3
• Story 5 out of 5 stars 3

No one in history has provoked more controversy than Napoleon Bonaparte. Was he an enlightened ruler or brutal tyrant? Was he an insatiable warmonger or a defender of France against the aggression of the other great powers? Was he kind or cruel, farsighted or blinkered, a sophisticate or a philistine, a builder or a destroyer? One thing is certain, if the art of leadership is about getting what one wants, then Napoleon was among history's greatest masters.

• By Das Licht on 03-31-24
• Release date: 05-25-21
• 5 out of 5 stars 3 ratings

Napoleon and the Art of Leadership is a psychologically penetrating study of the man who had such a profound effect on the world around him that an entire era still bears his name....

The Savior Generals

• How Five Great Commanders Saved Wars That Were Lost - From Ancient Greece to Iraq
• By: Victor Davis Hanson
• Narrated by: Bob Souer
• Length: 10 hrs and 24 mins
• Overall 5 out of 5 stars 319
• Performance 4.5 out of 5 stars 285
• Story 4.5 out of 5 stars 284

Prominent military historian Victor Davis Hanson explores the nature of leadership with his usual depth and vivid prose in The Savior Generals , a set of brilliantly executed pocket biographies of five generals (Themistocles, Belisarius, William Tecumseh Sherman, Matthew Ridgway, and David Petraeus) who single-handedly saved their nations from defeat in war. War is rarely a predictable enterprise - it is a mess of luck, chance, and incalculable variables. Today's sure winner can easily become tomorrow's doomed loser.

• 4 out of 5 stars

A good history book tells about human nature.

• By Doruk Denkel on 03-03-20
• Release date: 09-24-19
• 5 out of 5 stars 319 ratings

Prominent military historian Victor Davis Hanson explores the nature of leadership with his usual depth and vivid prose in The Savior Generals , a set of brilliantly executed pocket biographies of five generals....

Regular price: $21.49 or 1 credit

Sale price: $21.49 or 1 credit

The Unemployed Millionaire

• Escape the Rat Race, Fire Your Boss, and Live Life on YOUR Terms!
• By: Matt Morris, Wallace Wang
• Narrated by: Matt Morris
• Length: 6 hrs and 37 mins
• Overall 4.5 out of 5 stars 215
• Performance 4.5 out of 5 stars 171
• Story 4.5 out of 5 stars 172

Have you ever imagined what it would be like to earn millions while you sit on the beach and enjoy your life? In The Unemployed Millionaire , you'll learn why it's no longer a pipe dream but a real possibility. The lowering of trade barriers and the emergence of the Internet have made it possible for almost anyone to set up a business from anywhere.

Tim Ferriss...call your lawyer

• By James Murphy on 10-25-09
• By: Matt Morris , Wallace Wang
• Release date: 10-13-09
• 4.5 out of 5 stars 215 ratings
• Have you ever imagined what it would be like to earn millions while you sit on the beach and enjoy your life? It's no longer a pipe dream but a real possibility....

Regular price: $24.06 or 1 credit

Sale price: $24.06 or 1 credit

Team of Rivals

• The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln
• By: Doris Kearns Goodwin
• Narrated by: Suzanne Toren
• Length: 41 hrs and 32 mins
• Overall 5 out of 5 stars 10,778
• Performance 4.5 out of 5 stars 9,534
• Story 5 out of 5 stars 9,542

On May 18, 1860, William H. Seward, Salmon P. Chase, Edward Bates, and Abraham Lincoln waited in their hometowns for the results from the Republican National Convention in Chicago. When Lincoln emerged as the victor, his rivals were dismayed and angry. Throughout the turbulent 1850s, each had energetically sought the presidency as the conflict over slavery was leading inexorably to secession and civil war.

Beautiful, Heartbreaking, and Informative

• By JJ on 09-10-12
• Release date: 05-17-11
• 5 out of 5 stars 10,778 ratings
• On May 18, 1860, William H. Seward, Salmon P. Chase, Edward Bates, and Abraham Lincoln waited in their hometowns for the results from the Republican National Convention....

Regular price: $26.24 or 1 credit

Sale price: $26.24 or 1 credit

The Men Who Lost America: British Leadership, the American Revolution and the Fate of the Empire

• The Lewis Walpole Series in Eighteenth-Century Culture and History
• By: Andrew Jackson O'Shaughnessy
• Narrated by: Gildart Jackson
• Length: 21 hrs and 5 mins
• Overall 4.5 out of 5 stars 355
• Performance 4.5 out of 5 stars 314
• Story 4.5 out of 5 stars 313

The loss of America was a stunning and unexpected defeat for the powerful British Empire. Common wisdom has held that incompetent military commanders and political leaders in Britain must have been to blame, but were they? This intriguing audiobook makes a different argument. Weaving together the personal stories of ten prominent men historian Andrew O'Shaughnessy dispels the incompetence myth and uncovers the real reasons that rebellious colonials were able to achieve victory.

It didn't lose me

• By Matt on 04-28-15
• Release date: 11-13-13
• 4.5 out of 5 stars 355 ratings
• The loss of America was a stunning and unexpected defeat for the powerful British Empire....

Regular price: $21.92 or 1 credit

Sale price: $21.92 or 1 credit

An Exorcist Tells His Story

• By: Fr. Gabriele Amorth
• Narrated by: Matthew Lloyd Davies
• Length: 6 hrs and 24 mins
• Overall 4.5 out of 5 stars 387
• Performance 4.5 out of 5 stars 339
• Story 4.5 out of 5 stars 338

In this powerful book, the renowned exorcist of Rome tells of his many experiences in his ministry as an exorcist doing battle with Satan to relieve the great suffering of people in the grip of evil. The importance of the ministry to "expel demons" is clearly seen in the Gospels, from the actions of the Apostles, and from Church history. Fr. Amorth allows the listener to witness the activities of the exorcist, to experience what an exorcist sees and does.

Spooky unsubstantiated ghost stories

• By Anonymous User on 09-13-20
• Release date: 07-14-20
• 4.5 out of 5 stars 387 ratings

In this powerful book, the renowned exorcist of Rome tells of his many experiences in his ministry as an exorcist doing battle with Satan to relieve the great suffering of people in the grip of evil....

Regular price: $13.75 or 1 credit

Sale price: $13.75 or 1 credit

Managing Humans

• Biting and Humorous Tales of a Software Engineering Manager
• By: Michael Lopp
• Narrated by: TJ Johnson
• Length: 5 hrs and 39 mins
• Overall 4.5 out of 5 stars 220
• Performance 4.5 out of 5 stars 169
• Story 4.5 out of 5 stars 171

Listen to hilarious stories with serious lessons that Michael Lopp extracts from his varied and sometimes bizarre experiences as a manager at Apple, Pinterest, Palantir, Netscape, Symantec, Slack, and Borland. Many of the stories first appeared in primitive form in Lopp’s perennially popular blog, Rands in Repose. The third edition of Managing Humans contains a whole new season of episodes from the ongoing saga of Lopp's adventures in Silicon Valley, together with classic episodes remastered for high fidelity and freshness. 

a little too punchy

• By Joel Bowen on 11-26-20
• Release date: 05-27-20
• 4.5 out of 5 stars 220 ratings

Listen to hilarious stories with serious lessons that Michael Lopp extracts from his varied and sometimes bizarre experiences as a manager at Apple, Pinterest, Palantir, Netscape, Symantec, Slack, and Borland....

Lead Like Walt

• Discover Walt Disney’s Magical Approach to Building Successful Organizations
• By: Pat Williams, Jim Denney - with
• Length: 7 hrs and 40 mins
• Overall 4.5 out of 5 stars 39
• Performance 4.5 out of 5 stars 35
• Story 4.5 out of 5 stars 35

Whether you are building a small business from the ground up or managing a multinational company, you can learn the seven key traits for leadership success from one of the greatest business innovators and creative thinkers of the 20th century: Walt Disney. Whether you know him as the first to produce cartoons in Technicolor, the mastermind behind the theme park Disneyland, or the founder of the largest entertainment conglomerate, Walt's story of creativity, perseverance in spite of obstacles, and achieving goals resonates and inspires as much today as it ever has.

Another Great Disney Book by Pat Williams!

• By Mark Bowser on 12-13-19
• By: Pat Williams , Jim Denney - with
• Release date: 09-03-19
• 4.5 out of 5 stars 39 ratings

Whether you are building a small business from the ground up or managing a multinational company, you can learn the seven key traits for leadership success from one of the greatest business innovators and creative thinkers of the 20th century: Walt Disney....

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The 20 best leaders biography books recommended by Jeffrey Goldberg, Roger Goodell, Mika Brzezinski, Jim Collins, Timothy Snyder and others. ... Anupam Gupta This one book has more leadership wisdom than all social media posts put together. A great gift for toxic bosses . Show 4 more ...

In this post, we've put together the 40 best leadership books to give you a headstart on your peers. From world leaders like Nelson Mandela to business titans like Warren Bennis, they'll cover all the angles of leadership you'll need to sharpen your instincts and prepare to tackle the role head-on. 1. Legacy by James Kerr.

Iacocca: An Autobiography by Lee Iacocca and William Novak. This book reveals the story of Lee Iacocca, one of the most iconic, enigmatic and interesting CEOs of the 20 th century. The son of ...

Best Sellers in Leaders & Notable People Biographies. #1. Oath and Honor: A Memoir and a Warning. Liz Cheney. Hardcover. 1 offer from $22.74. #2. Oath and Honor: A Memoir and a Warning. Liz Cheney.

The 15 top leadership books every great leader needs on their bookshelf: 1. The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership. Author: John Maxwell. One-Sentence Description: Maxwell finds the commonal ities of great leaders, while also guiding readers through the 21 universal laws of successful leadership.

16. True North, by Bill George. True North is about the art of leading others. According to George, True North is "the internal compass that guides you successfully through life. It represents who you are as a human being at your deepest level. It is your orientation point that helps you stay on track as a leader.".

Leadership Biography Books Showing 1-48 of 48 John Adams (Paperback) by. David McCullough (shelved 2 times as leadership-biography) avg rating 4.07 — 361,218 ratings — published 2001 Want to Read saving… Want to Read; Currently Reading ...

Leadership is an Art by Max DePree. Leadership is an Art, by Max De Pree. A lovely and influential volume on leading through (rather than in opposition to) your troops, particularly in the ...

Leaders Eat Last by Simon Sinek. 2. The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership by John C. Maxwell. 3. The Effective Executive by Peter F. Drucker. 4. The Hard Thing About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz. 5. The Leadership Challenge by James Kouzes & Barry Posner.

These books offer insights for anyone who wants to bolster their leadership skills. 20. "Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity" by David Allen. Penguin Group. Many leaders ...

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.

March 7, 2020. Five Books aims to keep its book recommendations and interviews up to date. If you are the interviewee and would like to update your choice of books (or even just what you say about them) please email us at [email protected] . Ancient History (up to 500) Best Biographies Leadership Ancient Greece Classical Studies Princeton ...

The 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential Persons in History delivers its message through the biographies of famous people who had a significant impact on U.S. and world history. The book offers a glimpse into the role of magnetism - the ability to win and influence people.Through self-discovery, you will learn to appreciate and take confidence in your unique personality.

Through the experiences and reflections of this great leader, you will discover how embracing truth and compassion can lead to a more just and equitable future. BOOK. Mahatma Gandhi: Autobiography. History of my experiences with the truth. Mahatma Gandhi │ Gaia. Buy on Amazon. I have a dream: Martin Luther King Jr.

Leadership Biography genre: new releases and popular books, including John Adams by David McCullough, Night by Elie Wiesel, How Ike Led: The Principles B...

These are the books that offer ideas and strategies that change the way people think and disrupt the way business is conducted. That being the case, we decided to put pen to paper and publish our list of the top 25 Leadership Books of All-Time. Without further ado, here is our list (in no particular order): 1. The First 90 Days.

The Yoga of Leadership: A Practical Guide to Health, Happiness, And Inspiring Total Team Engagement (1) by Tarra Mitchell (Goodreads Author) 4.24 avg rating — 21 ratings

Franklin Roosevelt, better known as FDR, was an American statesman and President who led the U.S. through The Great Depression. Roosevelt was diagnosed with polio at the age of 29 and left paralysed in both legs. Not letting his personal difficulties get in the way, he contested the elections and went on to become the President in 1933.

Leadership BS: Fixing Workplaces and Careers One Truth at a Time by Jeffrey Pfeffer. On Becoming a Leader by Warren Bennis. Breaking Why: Hacking and Rebuilding Strategic Emotions for Authentic Success by Frankie Russo. Lead with LUV: A Different Way to Create Real Success by Ken Blanchard and Colleen Barrett.

About Leaders. An instant national bestseller! Stanley McChrystal, the retired US Army general and bestselling author of Team of Teams, profiles thirteen of history's great leaders, including Walt Disney, Coco Chanel, and Robert E. Lee, to show that leadership is not what you think it is—and never was. Stan McChrystal served for thirty-four years in the US Army, rising from a second ...

Buy Becoming. 15. The Little Black Book of Success: Laws of Leadership for Black Women by by Elaine Meryl Brown, Marsha Haygood, et al. The Little Black Book of Success is one of the most useful leadership books for women of color. The book seeks to empower Black female executives through practical advice.

Leadership_biography Books Showing 1-4 of 4 Yeager: An Autobiography (Paperback) by. Chuck Yeager (shelved 1 time as leadership_biography) avg rating 4.22 — 5,724 ratings — published 1985 Want to Read saving… Want to Read; Currently Reading ...

Robert E. Lee scholar H. W. Crocker III is an esteemed Civil War historian. Skillfully summarizing Lee's life, Crocker clearly extracts leadership lessons from the storied career of the South's beloved leader and applies them to today's business worldUnder General Lee's management, a rag-tag army of poor farmers—vastly outnumbered, outgunned, under-supplied, and under-fed ...

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152 Market St, Moscow, PA 18444

• 8,470 sqft lot 8,470 square foot lot

Interested in selling your home?

• Property type Single Family
• Last sold $55.5K in 2011

RealEstimate℠

The following table summarizes the chart by comparing the earliest historic estimate, last year's estimate, and a forecasted projection to this month's current estimate for each valuation provider.

Our home values come from independent valuation providers, whose solutions are used by many financial institutions, insurance companies, and real estate agents. Each valuation provider applies a unique approach and methodology resulting in a range of values that consumers can use as a starting point for discussions with a real estate agent.

Property History

Price history, tax history, neighborhood, facts about 152 market st.

Commute time: Add a commute

is located in neighborhood in the city of Moscow, PA.

Check out other home values in Market St, Moscow, PA.

• $192,250 Median listing price
• $225,000 Median sales price
• 51 Median days on market
• $138 Median price per sqft

Nearby neighborhoods in Moscow, PA

• Hyde Park Median listing: $149,900
• Greenridge Median listing: $194,700
• Hill Section Median listing: $178,997
• South Side Median listing: $156,900

Nearby Home Values

Homes around $173,000.

• 1,549 sqft 1,549 square feet
• 4,792 sqft lot 4,792 square foot lot

• 746 sqft 746 square feet
• 4.6 acre lot 4.6 acre lot

Recently Sold Homes Near 152 Market St

• 1,700 sqft 1,700 square feet
• 0.66 acre lot 0.66 acre lot

• 1,814 sqft 1,814 square feet
• 0.39 acre lot 0.39 acre lot

• 2,754 sqft 2,754 square feet
• 0.46 acre lot 0.46 acre lot

• 2,780 sqft 2,780 square feet

• 5,100 sqft 5,100 square feet
• 0.52 acre lot 0.52 acre lot

• 3,847 sqft 3,847 square feet
• 0.53 acre lot 0.53 acre lot

• 1,832 sqft 1,832 square feet
• 2.8 acre lot 2.8 acre lot

• 1,121 sqft 1,121 square feet
• 0.45 acre lot 0.45 acre lot

• 1,284 sqft 1,284 square feet
• 0.88 acre lot 0.88 acre lot

• 1,050 sqft 1,050 square feet

• 1,962 sqft 1,962 square feet
• 0.3 acre lot 0.3 acre lot

• 1,580 sqft 1,580 square feet
• 0.76 acre lot 0.76 acre lot

See 152 Market St, Moscow, PA 18444, a single family home. View property details, similar homes, and the nearby school and neighborhood information. Use our heat map to find crime, amenities, and lifestyle data for 152 Market St. The property-related information displayed on this page is obtained from public records and other sources.While such information is thought to be reliable, it is not guaranteed and should be independently verified. Properties labeled Not for Sale are classified as such either because we do not have a record of such properties currently being for sale or because we are not permitted, by contract, law, or otherwise, to designate such properties as currently for sale. For the most accurate and up to date status of this or any other property, please contact a REALTOR®.

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• Sailboat Guide

Illusion 12

Illusion 12 is a 12 ′ 0 ″ / 3.7 m monohull sailboat designed by Jo Richards & Neil Graham and built by Illusion Yachts (USA) starting in 1981.

Rig and Sails

Auxilary power, accomodations, calculations.

The theoretical maximum speed that a displacement hull can move efficiently through the water is determined by it's waterline length and displacement. It may be unable to reach this speed if the boat is underpowered or heavily loaded, though it may exceed this speed given enough power. Read more.

Classic hull speed formula:

Hull Speed = 1.34 x √LWL

Max Speed/Length ratio = 8.26 ÷ Displacement/Length ratio .311 Hull Speed = Max Speed/Length ratio x √LWL

Sail Area / Displacement Ratio

A measure of the power of the sails relative to the weight of the boat. The higher the number, the higher the performance, but the harder the boat will be to handle. This ratio is a "non-dimensional" value that facilitates comparisons between boats of different types and sizes. Read more.

SA/D = SA ÷ (D ÷ 64) 2/3

• SA : Sail area in square feet, derived by adding the mainsail area to 100% of the foretriangle area (the lateral area above the deck between the mast and the forestay).
• D : Displacement in pounds.

Ballast / Displacement Ratio

A measure of the stability of a boat's hull that suggests how well a monohull will stand up to its sails. The ballast displacement ratio indicates how much of the weight of a boat is placed for maximum stability against capsizing and is an indicator of stiffness and resistance to capsize.

Ballast / Displacement * 100

Displacement / Length Ratio

A measure of the weight of the boat relative to it's length at the waterline. The higher a boat’s D/L ratio, the more easily it will carry a load and the more comfortable its motion will be. The lower a boat's ratio is, the less power it takes to drive the boat to its nominal hull speed or beyond. Read more.

D/L = (D ÷ 2240) ÷ (0.01 x LWL)³

• D: Displacement of the boat in pounds.
• LWL: Waterline length in feet

Comfort Ratio

This ratio assess how quickly and abruptly a boat’s hull reacts to waves in a significant seaway, these being the elements of a boat’s motion most likely to cause seasickness. Read more.

Comfort ratio = D ÷ (.65 x (.7 LWL + .3 LOA) x Beam 1.33 )

• D: Displacement of the boat in pounds
• LOA: Length overall in feet
• Beam: Width of boat at the widest point in feet

Capsize Screening Formula

This formula attempts to indicate whether a given boat might be too wide and light to readily right itself after being overturned in extreme conditions. Read more.

CSV = Beam ÷ ³√(D / 64)

Spin.: 45 sq. ft. ‘Mini 12’one-design single hander with pedal steering. Similar concept as the 2.4M but somewhat smaller. Ballast can be added or removed from a cavity within keel. Most recent Builder: Advanced Marine Structures www.amstructures.co.uk +44 (0) 1983 200011

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