The best leadership books, must-read!

Anna Jorge

2022-02-10

We are all familiar with the “I used to read so much back in the day… but I don’t have time anymore”, right? Well, this one may be the most heard and the least believed excuse in history when it comes to your reading habits. So, let us suggest something: what if we turn reading into training? What if reading became a tool for us towards being better colleagues, better workers and better leaders? Grab a pen and a piece of paper because here you’ll find our recommendations for the best books about leadership, workplace culture and success: briefly, the best books for managers and their teams. With them you’ll have something to reading every day of the week, and no more excuses!

So many books, so little time!

Best books about leadership: our recommendations

Monday: “A Promised Land” by Barak Obama

Is there anything better than one of the most influential personalities in the world to inspire leaders today and tomorrow? The former president of the United States of America takes our hand and leads us through his memoirs, from his early steps in politics to his election as the 44^th president of the United States, becoming the first African American to hold the nation’s highest office.

An intimate and introspective journey marked by his faith in democracy and the most personal side of such cross-border leading figure and his generation.

Find it here

Tuesday: «The Ride of a Lifetime: Lessons Learned from 15 Years as CEO of the Walt Disney Company» by Robert Iger, Joel Lovell

The day Robert Iger became CEO of The Walt Disney Company, both its workplace culture and its global situation were not the bets version of themselves, for sure. That’s when he decided to implement his own ideas, concepts never thought before that lead the company to what it is nowadays: a referent in its sector and one of the most admired companies in the whole world. In this book, he shares with us everything he learnt about taking risks, encouraging teams and convey your values properly.

Another of the greatest personalities in the business sector signs this book for the leaders of today and tomorrow, to push all of us to challenge ourselves as we never have before.

Find it here

Wednesday: “Work Rules!: Insights from Inside Google That Will Transform How You Live and Lead” by Laszlo Bock

The HR Manager in the company that has shaken up our relationship with knowledge cannot cope with the idea that work can be something so discouraging and frustrating, given that it’s something we invest so much time in. That’s why this manifest will teach you lessons such as always hiring more talented people than you (even though it takes some extra time), being exceptionally transparent and drawing a lesson from your best employees (and from your worst too).

This book will captivate you for being the most daring and irreverent read you’ll find here. Take notes!

Find it here

Thursday: “Leaders Eat Last” by Simon Sinek

Simon is considered the leader of the WHY movement, and that’s because knowing the reason behind every decision is key. With this book, the author wants to crack the code for team’s trust and commitment. After all, it’s science: if companies based their processes on unconditional support, their employees would feel more inspired and motivated, they would aim higher because they would know their company and their own team have their back.

Interesting, isn’t it? Strengthen your company culture and the social bond within your company to the top. You’ll be amazed! One of the best books to make you the best leader, indeed!  

Find it here

Friday: “No Rules Rules: Netflix and the Culture of Reinvention” by Reed Hastings, Erin Meyer

Netflix and chill this Friday? What kind of leader doesn’t admire this successful company culture? Netflix has been the ultimate revolution, and it is not by chance but because they established their business nature around freedom and responsibility, which allows them to keep up with the latest trends.

With this book, we’ll visit the deepest levels in the company with its cofounder Reed Hastings to find former workers’ memories about what it meant to work there, anecdotes and the business philosophy behind its success. One of the best books about leadership we could find!

Find it here

Saturday: “Can’t Buy Me Like:  how authentic customer connections drive superior results” by Bob Garfield and Doug Levy

As previously written by Lennon and McCartney, money can’t buy me love, but what about likes? This work studies how companies focused only on selling their product will have worse results than companies going beyond that. These second group breaks the mould by creating relationships with their customers through social media and by committing to social causes. Selling is never their limit. They will take control of the market, you’ll see!

For those whose passion lies in marketing, social media and branding, this book is for you! It will open your eyes at last. Because, are you doing it well?

Find it here

Sunday: “The First 90 Days: Critical Success Strategies for New Leaders at All Levels” by Michael D. Watkins

In the mood for some classics this Sunday? Check out the bible of leadership! This book (that was out almost 20 years ago, updated recently, and has become a timeless and unique guide) gives you the keys to grow into the leader you want to be, into an essential part of any project, into that personality that needs its company as much as it needs them.

Make this your route map towards success and rely on it on your transition moments, because those are when you must make the most significant decisions. Those will truly make the difference.

Find it here

Our recommendation: the best fictional book about leadership

Well, maybe we should not say that this is the *best* book on leadership, but it is our most special recommendation. Not every book on leadership should be an essay or something purely educational; if you were a bookaholic before and you fancy a fictional book to learn something from and extract important lessons yourself, a book that could potentially be included in that books-to-read-at-the-office list, here you have our last (but not least) rec!

“All The King’s Men” by Robert Penn Warren

Feeling like diving into the deepest shadows on leadership? Here you have the finest political novel ever written in the XXth century. The role that leadership plays is almost crucial to the storyline, how authority affects the society, how it drains time and demands privileges. This is the story of how Willie Stark became the Louisiana governor and how success proved the point that man is a fallen creature, all of it told from his press agent Jack Burden.

It is delicious! We are positive you won’t be able to put it down while learning a whole bunch from it. Read in between lines to extract those lessons you’ll be able to apply on a daily basis to become the best version of your business-self.

Find it here

“He who never risks, usually loses the best”

Cinderella