With July 4th approaching, we are in vacation season and for some people that means time to catch up on their book list. Before you jump in, I’ve listed four books below to expand your leadership perspective. They aren’t your regular leadership reads but each will help you expand your leadership perspective and help you to think about how you are leading.
THE RIGHT KIND OF WRONG – AMY EDMONDSON
My first recommendation is the closest of the four to a traditional leadership read. Edmondson always writes clearly and succinctly, and she does a great job of describing the critical role of failure in most every success. But rather than be a repetitive tome on the benefits of failing, she describes types of positive and negative failing. You want to encourage some, but definitely not all.
THE ACCIDENTAL PRESIDENT: HARRY S. TRUMAN AND THE FOUR MONTHS THAT CHANGED THE WORLD – A. J. BAIME
Harry S. Truman never wanted to become president and yet he was thrust into this role with the death of FDR just before the end of WWII. His first four months in office shaped the new world. The fall of Berlin, the use of the atomic bomb, the start of the cold war with Russia and the founding of the United Nations. On top of that he had to follow in the shoes of a beloved president. Talk about a massive leadership challenge. The author does a masterful job of telling the story and what Truman did to lead the nation and forge his own reputation as a masterful leader.
HOW TO KNOW A PERSON: THE ART OF SEEING OTHERS DEEPLY AND BEING DEEPLY SEEN – DAVID BROOKS
Leadership is about bringing people along with you. Some leaders do this effortlessly while others resort to leading with compliance, in effect coercing people to join them. David Brooks reveals how some people seem to make you feel at ease when you’ve just met them. And not only that, but want to continue talking to them. The author illustrates how to let someone feel valued, heard and understood. After reading it you will see the people around you in a different light. What sort of people do you want to hang around and how can you become one of them.
US: GETTING PAST YOU & ME TO BUILD A MORE LOVING RELATIONSHIP – TERENCE REAL
I’ve listed the most powerful of my four leadership reads last. Don’t be fooled by the title. There is nothing mushy about this book. I found this book on my explorations into the world of therapy and the author is a master at illuminating the side of the reader we’d prefer to ignore. Leadership is about building relationships and it is so easy to get in our own way and undermine them. One of my key takeaways is we can be rationally correct and relationally wrong. This book will change how you think and enter into any relationship, not just with your partner.
Happy reading!