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 2022 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 35 books I read, many of which are recent titles, and some of which go back a few years. 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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Smart Leadership: Four Simple Choices to Scale Your Impact, by Mark Miller (2022)
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Reinforcements: How To Get People To Help You, by Heidy Grant (2018)
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Lead Like It Matters: 7 Leadership Principles for a Church That Lasts, by Craig Groeschel (2022)
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Cues: Master the Secret of Charismatic Communication, by Vanessa Van Edwards (2022)
Biography
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Hoover: An Extraordinary Life in Extraordinary Times, by Kenneth Whyte (2017)
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The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt, by Edmond Morris (2001)
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Greenlights, by Matthew McConaughey (2020)
Personal Interest
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Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don’t Know, by Adam Grant (2021)
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The Power of Regret: How Looking Backward Moves Us Forward By Daniel Pink (2022)
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The Series: What I Remember, What It Felt Like, What It Feels Like Now, by Ken Dryden (2022)
As I stated at the start, leaders are readers, and if 2023 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.
