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 2023 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 37 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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The 6 Types of Working Genius: A Better Way to Understand Your Gifts, Your Frustrations, and Your Team, By Patrick Lencioni (2022)
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The 16 Undeniable Laws of Communications: Apply Them And Make the Most of Your Message, by John C. Maxwell (2023)
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The Right Kind of Wrong: The Science of Failing Well, by Amy C. Edmondson (2023)
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Trust and Inspire: How Truly Great Leaders Unleash Greatness in Others, by Stephen M.R. Covey (2023)
Biography
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Wilson, by Kenneth Whyte (2014)
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Colonel Roosevelt, by Edmond Morris (2011)
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An Ordinary Man; The Surprising Life and Historic Presidency of Gerald R. Ford, by Richard Norton Smith (2023)
Personal Interest
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Practice Resurrection: A Conversation on Growing Up in Christ, by Eugene Peterson (2013)
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Not In It To Win It: How Choosing Sides Sidelines The Church, by Andy Stanley (2022)
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Good and Kind and Beautiful; Becoming Whole in a Fractured World, by Rich Villodas
As I stated at the start, leaders are readers, and if 2024 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.
