Leaders are readers.
And that’s one reason why, when two leaders connect, one of the first questions they will ask is, “So, what are you reading these days?”
I love to learn what other leaders are reading, and very often what they share with me ends up on my own reading list. And so, to the extent that my own readings from 2024 might be of interest to you, here is a glimpse of the books that impacted me the most this past year.
The 10 titles I have selected here are chosen from the 32 books I read, many of which are recent titles, and some of which go back a few years. As always, I have grouped my readings into three broad categories:
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Leadership
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Biography
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Personal interest
Please let me know in the comments below if you have read any of these, what your thoughts were on the titles you’ve read, and please make any other suggestions of books that impacted you this past year…
Leadership
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From Strength to Strength: Finding Success, Happiness and Deep Purpose in the Second Half of Life, By Arthur C. Brooks (2022)
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Love and Work: How to Find What You Love, Love What You Do, And Do It for the Rest of Your Life, by Marcus Buckingham (2022)
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Unreasonable Hospitality: The Remarkable Power of Giving People More Than They Expect, by Will Guidara (2022)
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Setting the Table: The Transforming Power of Hospitality in Business, by Danny Meyer (2008)
Biography
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Destiny and Power: The American Odyssey of George Herbert Walker Bush, by John Meacham (2016)
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A Man of Iron: The Turbulent Life and Improbable Presidency of Grover Cleveland by Troy Senik (2022)
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The People’s Tycoon: Henry Ford and the American Century by Steven Watts (2006)
Personal Interest
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Soul Survivor: How 13 Unlikely Mentors Helped My Faith Survive the Church, by Philip Yancey (2003)
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Losing Our Religion: An Altar Call to Evangelical America, by Russell Wilson (2023)
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12 Rules for Life; An Antidote for Chaos, by Jordan B. Peterson (2018)
As I stated at the start, leaders are readers, and if 2025 is a year that you purpose to up your leadership game in this area, develop a daily reading habit. You’ll discover greater impact by committing to reading 30 minutes per day than you will by setting a random annual reading goal.
Read with intentionality. Read with curiosity. Read with an application focus.
Read to lead.
