I share some of the best leadership books I’ve read or heard about every month. More often than not, I’ve listened to multiple great audiobooks throughout the month.
Thanks to Audible’s Plus program, I had a library of audiobooks at my disposal with my membership. I took full advantage of that.
Today, I’m bringing you the best of the bunch I listened to. I hope you’re ready to expand your library, as these books will change your leadership and life if you let them.
Photo by Nick Fewings on Unsplash
5 Leadership Books To Read In September 2023
1. The Art Of Leadership: Small Things, Done Well by Michael Lopp
Michael Lopp has been around the block of large organizations. Lopp has been involved with Netscape (remember that internet browser?!?), Apple, and Slack. He’s led large and small teams. And now he’s sharing his knowledge with us.
Each chapter is short and punchy. It’s almost as if Lopp is blogging his thoughts into a book. This makes the book easy to read or listen to.
Pick up The Art Of Leadership if you want to learn how to create effective teams that get things done.
2. How To Be Heard: Secrets For Powerful Speaking And Listening by Julian Treasure:
We all know that communication isn’t strictly about speaking or listening. It’s a combination of both. Julian Treasure shares why both are important and how doing both well will help you be heard.
Treasure shares multiple secrets of communication. Some of these tips include the importance of listening, the seven deadly sins of speaking and listening, and multiple exercises to get heard.
If you want to be heard, you need How To Be Heard.
3. Grinding It Out: The Making Of McDonald’s by Ray Kroc:
Do you know who Ray Kroc is? If the name Ray Kroc doesn’t ring a bell, the name of the restaurant he made famous will. Kroc is the man behind McDonald’s. He helped take it from a small mom-and-pop restaurant to a global phenomenon.
Listening to Kroc’s story was fascinating and sad. He did great business, but he also struggled with his family life. Listen to his story and take away the good things. Learn what you can do to grow a business and avoid the relationship struggles he faced.
You can buy the book on Amazon.
4. Why They Do It: Inside the Mind of the White-Collar Criminal by Eugene Soltes:
We’ve all heard about insider trading, manipulating financial data, and other white-collar criminal cases. These stories are fascinating and make us mentally think we’d never do that.
Eugene Soltes tells a different story. In Why They Do It, Soltes shares how many white-collar criminals didn’t start off with the mindset of becoming a criminal. There are times when they slowly fell down the rabbit hole.
I found Why They Do It a great reminder to look at our business practices and make sure we’re not doing anything shady.
If you want to read or listen to this book, pick it up here.
5. You Can Change Other People: The Four Steps to Help Your Colleagues, Employees Even Family Up Their Game by Peter Bregman and Howie Jacobson:
Working on changing our own lives is complicated enough. Who thinks they can change someone else’s life? Peter Bregman and Howie Jacobson believe you can. And I feel that way after listening to their book You Can Change Other People.
Bregman and Jacobson’s methods aren’t complicated once you hear them. After finishing the book, you’ll scratch your head wondering why you didn’t try some of these steps.
Use You Can Change Other People to help you understand and guide others toward a better being. Once you apply what you’ve learned, you’ll see that others can be changed for the better.
