10 Best Leadership Books

If you've never read The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, you've been missing out on one of the best-selling leadership books of all time. If you have read the original version, then you'll love this new expanded and updated one. 

Internationally recognized leadership expert, speaker, and author John C. Maxwell has taken this million-seller and made it even better: 

• Every Law of Leadership has been sharpened and updated
• Seventeen new leadership stories are included
• Two new Laws of Leadership are introduced
• New evaluation tool will reveal your leadership strengths―and weaknesses
• New application exercises in every chapter will help you grow

Why would Dr. Maxwell make changes to his best-selling book?   

“A book is a conversation between the author and reader,” says Maxwell. “It's been ten years since I wrote The 21 Laws of Leadership. I've grown a lot since then. I've taught these laws in dozens of countries around the world. This new edition gives me the opportunity to share what I've learned.”

 

Provides advice on the "art" of leadership by the CEO of one of Fortune magazine's ten best managed companies.

Are you ready for the leadership moment? Merck's Roy Vagelos commits millions of dollars to develop a drug needed only by people who can't afford it. Eugene Kranz struggles to bring the Apollo 13 astronauts home after an explosion rips through their spacecraft. Arlene Blum organizes the first women's ascent of one of the world's most dangerous mountains. Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain leads his tattered troops into a pivotal Civil War battle at Little Round Top. John Gutfreund loses Salomon Brothers when his inattention to a trading scandal almost topples the Wall Street giant. Clifton Wharton restructures a $50 billion pension system direly out of touch with its customers. Alfredo Cristiani transforms El Salvador's decade-long civil war into a negotiated settlement. Nancy Barry leads Women's World Banking in the fight against Third World poverty. Wagner Dodge faces the decision of a lifetime as a fast-moving forest fire overtakes his firefighting crew. - Publisher.

Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln is a 2005 book by Pulitzer Prize-winning American historian Doris Kearns Goodwin, published by Simon & Schuster. The book is a biographical portrait of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln and some of the men who served with him in his cabinet from 1861 to 1865. Three of his Cabinet members had previously run against Lincoln in the 1860 election: Attorney General Edward Bates, Secretary of the Treasury Salmon P. Chase and Secretary of State William H. Seward. The book focuses on Lincoln's mostly successful attempts to reconcile conflicting personalities and political factions on the path to abolition and victory in the American Civil War. Goodwin's sixth book, Team of Rivals was well received by critics and won the 2006 Lincoln Prize and the inaugural Book Prize for American History of the New-York Historical Society. US President Barack Obama cited it as one of his favorite books and was said to have used it as a model for constructing his own cabinet, although he later wrote this was not the reason he chose Hillary Clinton as his Secretary of State. In 2012, a Steven Spielberg film based on the book was released to critical acclaim.

From Daniel H. Pink, the author of the groundbreaking bestseller A Whole New Mind, comes his next big idea book: a paradigm-changing examination of what truly motivates us and how to harness that knowledge to find greater satisfaction in our lives and our work.We've been conditioned to think that the best way to motivate ourselves and others is through external rewards like money—the carrot-and-the-stick approach. That's a mistake, Daniel H. Pink says in his transformative new book. The key to high performance and satisfaction is intrinsic, internal motivation: the desire to follow your own interests and understand the benefits in them for you. And Pink has discovered thirty years of scientific data that confirm these ideas and show an exciting way forward.As he did in his groundbreaking bestseller A Whole New Mind, Pink lays out the hard science for these surprising insights, describes how people and corporations can embrace such ideas (some of them are already doing it), offers details about how we can master them, and provides concrete examples on how intrinsic motivation works on the job, at home, and in ourselves.This is a book of big ideas that explains how each of us can find the surest pathway to high performance, creativity, and even health and well-being.

My first report on the subject was published as Leaders (Harper and Row, 1985, co-authored with Bert Nanus). Leaders covered the whats. On Becoming a Leader is the hows: how people become leaders, how they lead, and how organizations encourage or stifle potential leaders. - Introduction. Deemed “the dean of leadership gurus” by Forbes magazine, Warren Bennis has for years 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. In a world increasingly defined by turbulence and uncertainty, the call to leadership is more urgent than ever. Featuring a provocative new introduction, this new edition will inspire a fresh generation of potential leaders to excellence.

Most of the organizations where we live and work are marked by under-performing, often dysfunctional teams. Why? Because teamwork is an unnatural phenomenon, one that can only be achieved through an understanding of the basic human tendencies which cause group politics and self-interest. Unfortunately, too many leaders, and the consultants who serve them, focus on contrived exercises and tangential theories which do not address the core issues at the heart of dysfunctional teams. Lencioni provides a powerful theory about the five behavioral tendencies that corrupt teams. His insights are at once both groundbreaking and simple, and they are presented in a way that can be applied in any organization - immediately. The five dysfunctions: Recognition corrupts Results. The desire for individual credit erodes the focus on collective success. Popularity corrupts Accountability. The need to avoid interpersonal discomfort prevents team members from holding one another accountable for their behaviors. Certainty corrupts Clarity. The fear of being wrong prevents members of teams from making decisions in a timely and definitive way. Harmony corrupts Conflict. The desire for preserving harmony eliminates the occurrence of productive, ideological conflict. Invulnerability corrupts Trust. The fear of being vulnerable in front of team members prevents the building of trust within the team. The book begins with the fictional story of a woman who becomes CEO of a struggling, high-profile Silicon Valley company with a dysfunctional executive team and turns things around. Following the story is an analysis of the five corruptions, diagnostic questions to help readers assess their organizations, and a teamwork model giving them action steps to overcome the corruptions. This book is the equivalent of The Five Temptations of a CEO for teams ? and comes at a time when every company is grappling with how to create and innovate through group effort, rather than individual contributor effort.

Developing the Leader Within You is Dr. Maxwell's first and most enduring leadership book, having sold more than one million copies. In this Christian Leaders Series edition of this Maxwell classic, you will discover the biblical foundation for leadership that John Maxwell has used as a pastor and business leader for more than forty years. These same principles and practices are available for everyday leaders in every walk of life. It is a lofty calling to lead a group―a family, a church, a nonprofi t, a business―and the timeless principles in this book will bring positive change in your life and in the lives of those around you.

You will learn:

The True Definition of Leader. “Leadership is influence. That's it. Nothing more; nothing less.”

The Traits of Leadership. “Leadership is not an exclusive club for those who were 'born with it.' The traits that are the raw materials of leadership can be acquired. Link them up with desire, and nothing can keep you from becoming a leader.”

The Difference Between Management and Leadership. “Making sure the work is done by others is the accomplishment of a manager. Inspiring others to do better work is the accomplishment of a leader.”

God has called every believer to influence others, to be salt and light. Developing the Leader Within You will equip you to improve your leadership and inspire others.

*New York Times bestseller—over 40 million copies sold* *The #1 Most Influential Business Book of the Twentieth Century* One of the most inspiring and impactful books ever written, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People has captivated readers for nearly three decades. It has transformed the lives of presidents and CEOs, educators and parents—millions of people of all ages and occupations. Now, this 30th anniversary edition of the timeless classic commemorates the wisdom of the 7 Habits with modern additions from Sean Covey. The 7 Habits have become famous and are integrated into everyday thinking by millions and millions of people. Why? Because they work! With Sean Covey’s added takeaways on how the habits can be used in our modern age, the wisdom of the 7 Habits will be refreshed for a new generation of leaders.

Let's be honest.  A lot of books about West Point or leadership can be very dry.  Learning doesn't have to be that way. 

In "The Diary of a West Point Cadet," by Captain Preston Pysh, the author teaches essential West Point leadership through the most fun and unique reading of any book in its class.  Each intriguing firsthand account of Preston's top 12 enthralling and hilarious stories from attending West Point, will capture your interest and imagination.  The stories walk the reader down a personal journey many outsiders never see behind the thick stoney walls.  As an added bonus, Preston efficiently summarizes how each gripping story taught him a vital leadership lesson that prepared him to be a combat commander with the renown 101st Airborne Division.  If you are an aspiring cadet, a small-group leader, or even an emerging leader in corporate America, this book is for you.  

If you like twists and turns while reading and learning, you are in for a treat.  Learning about leadership and the United States Military Academy has never been this fun.  Prepare to be glued to your seat and the text as you experience unforgettable stories and lessons from "The Point."