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 2025 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 40 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
- Dare to Lead: Brave Work. Tough Conversation. Whole Hearts, by Brene Brown (2018)
- Possible: How we survive (and thrive) in an age of conflict, by William Ury (2024)
- Digital Body Language: How to Build Trust and Connection, No Matter the Distance, by Erica Dhawan (2021)
- A Minute to Think, Reclaim Creativity, Conquer Busyness, and Do Your Best Work, by Juliet Funt (2021)
- Regenerative Performance, How to Thrive in an Always-On World Without Sacrificing Your Well-Being, by Dr. James Hewitt (2025)
Biography
- Sinatra: The Chairman, by James Kaplan (2016)
- Andrew Carnegie, by David Nasaw (2007)
Personal Interest
- Revenge of the Tipping Point: Overstories, Superspreaders, and the Rise of Social Engineering, by Malcolm Gladwell (2024)
- Surprised by Hope: Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church, by T. Wright (2018)
- Co-Intelligence, Living and Working with AI, by Ethan Mollick (2024)
As I stated at the start, leaders are readers, and if 2026 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.
