Research and evidence demonstrate the many benefits of reading, especially for those who lead others. According to Harvard Business Review:
“Evidence suggests reading can improve intelligence and lead to innovation and insight. Some studies have shown, for example, that reading makes you smarter through “a larger vocabulary and more world knowledge in addition to the abstract reasoning skills.” Reading — whether Wikipedia, Michael Lewis, or Aristotle — is one of the quickest ways to acquire and assimilate new information. Many business people claim that reading across fields is good for creativity. And leaders who can sample insights in other fields, such as sociology, the physical sciences, economics, or psychology, and apply them to their organizations are more likely to innovate and prosper. Reading can also make you more effective in leading others. Reading increases verbal intelligence (PDF), making a leader a more adept and articulate communicator.”
If you are a leader looking for your next good read, here are 10 books that I recommend. They are full of tested and proven strategies on how to be your best self and effectively lead those who depend on you for direction.
- Start With Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action by Simon Sinek
- Strengths Based Leadership: Great Leaders, Teams, and Why People Follow by Tom Rath and Barry Conchie
- The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership: Follow Them and People Will Follow You by John C. Maxwell
- Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In by Roger Fisher, William Ury, and Bruce Patton
- First, Break all the Rules: What the World’s Greatest Managers Do Differently by Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman
- Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us by Daniel H Pink
- Awaken The Giant Within: How to Take Immediate Control of Your Mental, Physical, and Financial Destiny by Tony Robbins
- Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol S. Dweck
- Give and Take: Why Helping Others Drives Our Success by Adam M. Grant Ph.D.
- Creativity, Inc.: Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration by Ed Catmull