Recommended reading for professional and personal growth
Virginia has a great understanding of individual and team dynamics. She quickly gets to the root of a challenge to help individuals begin the path to better results and relationships.
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Looking for a good read? The books below speak to challenges I see people facing as they develop professionally and personally as leaders. Some of the books I have read and personally recommend. Others have been recommended to me by colleagues and are on my reading list. Enjoy!
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Managing Transitions: Making the Most of Change
by William Bridges
This is one of the best books I have read about what people go through as they transition and change. Bridges writes it for business managers trying to manage change for their teams or organizations, but the same principles apply for anyone going through any change—personal or professional.
Flawless Consulting: A Guide to Getting Your Expertise Used
by Peter Block
This is one of my favorite books on consulting. Block discusses different types of consulting, the consulting process, and how to establish a collaborative relationship with clients. I recommend this to anyone new to consulting, veterans in the field, and people in line positions who are working with any type of customer—in other words, to almost anyone in a customer-facing line of work.
Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In
by Roger Fisher, William Ury, and Bruce Patton (Editor)
This book, first published in 1981, is from the Harvard Negotiation Project. It lays out a framework for negotiating that requires us to think and prepare—but also focuses on building relationships with others. I find it useful both personally and professionally, for a broad range of conflicts.
Difficult Conversations: How to Discuss What Matters Most
by Douglas Stone, Bruce Patton, Sheila Heen, and Roger Fisher
This book also comes from the Harvard Negotiation Project. It provides a really useful framework for getting past discomfort—and having those difficult yet important conversations anyway.
The Leadership Dojo: Build Your Foundation as an Exemplary Leader
by Richard Strozzi-Heckler
The Leadership Dojo places a lot of emphasis on integrity—and on listening to what our body is telling us—as the most effective guides for making choices. Grounded in martial arts and meditation traditions, this book focuses on how to develop true leadership presence “from the inside out.” Its focus is on the whole self, not just cognitive abilities. The book also provides guidance on how to stay grounded and centered when triggered by challenging situations, people, and events. I have been taking classes from the Strozzi Institute (founded by the author) since 2006 and am certified in their methods. They do fabulous work.
In Search of the Warrior Spirit: Teaching Awareness Disciplines to the Green Berets
by Richard Strozzi-Heckler
A fascinating account written by Dr. Strozzi-Heckler about his and his colleagues’ effort to train Green Berets in Eastern awareness disciplines, including martial arts, meditation and mind-body-spirit integration. He updates this book regularly so we see how these soldiers evolve as leaders and people over time.
Work and Family – Allies or Enemies? What Happens When Business Professionals Confront Life Choices
by Stewart D. Friedman and Jeffrey H. Greenhaus
I agree with the premise of this book—life is about having meaningful goals and supporting your whole life, not about choosing work over life and vice versa. It is about choosing your focus, your goals, and making your expectations clear with others. The book takes a very holistic perspective, which I believe is critical in our world today.
Becoming a Manager: How New Managers Master the Challenges of Leadership
by Linda A. Hill
Hill follows 19 people as they transform from “individual contributors” to “managers.” Because the book is written in story form, it’s easier to see yourself in it and get a sense for how real people have made the difficult transition to management.
First Break All the Rules: What the World’s Greatest Managers Do Differently
by Marcus Buckingham and Curt Caufman
I refer to this book all the time as I coach and train people on managing people. One of the most intriguing concepts: stop spending the bulk of your time working with your lowest performers. They are not where you get the greatest leverage in your organization.
The Leadership Dojo
by Richard Strozzi-Heckler
The Trance of Scarcity: Stop Holding your Breath and Start Living Your Life
by Victoria Castle
When we are rooted in the fear that there is never enough, we act in ways that close off possibilities, and trap ourselves in limiting ‘old stories.’ Change requires new stories to emerge, new ways of looking at the world, and new behaviors. But how can people shift so we can be open, confident, take risks and move forward? This book gives practical exercises to ‘awaken from this trance.’
Primal Leadership: Realizing the Power of Emotional Intelligence
by Daniel Goleman, Annie McKee, and Richard E. Boyatzis
For anyone who has read Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ (by Daniel Goleman), this book takes the topic one step further to explore different leadership styles.
Leadership and Self-Deception: Getting out of the Box
by The Arbinger Institute
Told in parable format, this book looks at the ways we often mask our motivations and complicate how we relate to each other, both personally and professionally—and how to connect in ways that build relationships and truly respect people. It’s an unfortunate title (no one likes to think they deceive themselves), but the underlying and truthful message is that we all have our blind spots.
Type Talk at Work: How the 16 Personality Types Determine Your Success on the Job
by Otto Kroeger, Janet M. Thuesen, and Hile Rutledge
If you have taken the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), consider this a primer on how to use the assessment to enhance your work and personal relationships with others across type. It can provide insight into dynamics that just ‘get to you,’ and understanding of how you might be getting to others as well! And with insight, you have greater options for developing relationships, diffusing tensions, and leveraging each other’s strengths.
Managing Transitions
by William Bridges
Holding the Center: Sanctuary in a Time of Confusion
by Richard Strozzi-Heckler
Richard Strozzi Heckler takes the practices of aikido and applies them to leadership—the true mind/body/spirit integration. He has worked extensively with military, government and private sector leaders on embodying leadership. Holding the Center is a collection of essays on somatics, with a depth that is beyond a description of (superficial) body language. Its essays illustrate the difference between instinct and choice, and describe how our bodies are a reflection of our pasts, hold our memories and shape our realities. If you’ve ever seen someone who is depressed, you’ll see how his shape holds that depression; can you imagine that person shifting his mood without shifting his body? Can you envision what that means for us as we change our trajectories in our lives and as leaders?
The First 90 Days: Critical Success Strategies for New Leaders at All Levels
by Michael Watkins
This is a useful book for those transitioning to a new role within the same organization, or for those who are acclimating to a new organization. Given the challenges for ‘onboarding,’ it is critical to take a step back to reflect and plan how to launch in your role and what your goals are in the first 90 days. The book has useful exercises and checklists—none of which are revolutionary but all are things we can forget in the rush and chaos of a new role/organization. It also provides a useful model for diagnosing an organization’s situation, so you can match your strategy to their needs.
The New Leader’s 100-Day Action Plan: How to Take Charge, Build Your Team, and Get Immediate Results
by George Bradt, Jayme Check, and Jorge Pedraza
This book is a great complement to The First 90 Days reviewed above. It includes what to do before you start the job, and provides in-depth checklists for each step.
When people are struggling with a transition, or with their jobs, sometimes they question their careers and life choices. Identifying what you may like to do professionally is not something I specialize in (I tend to work with people who do know, yet might not be ready to admit it or know how to move forward to achieve it). However, figuring out my calling is certainly something I struggled with, so I empathize. Here are some books that I recommend…
Targeting the Job You Want
by Kate Wendleton
A guide that provides a structure set of questions about you—when you were most engaged, what was the environment, the culture, your task, your accomplishments. Getting your own story down on paper helps you identify your next job/career, as well as to prepare you to tap your network and interview.
What Should I Do with My Life? The True Story of People Who Answered the Ultimate Question
by Po Bronson
This book takes a look at other people and their paths to help you uncover your passions. Not your typical “self-help” book, it does not give a path to figuring out your North Star—but walks through those who are finding theirs.
Finding Your Own North Star: Claiming the Life You Were Meant to Live
by Martha Beck
A guide that requires deep reflection and provides exercises for you to explore your mission in life.
I Will Not Die an Unlived Life: Reclaiming Purpose and Passion
by Dawna Markova
Recommended by a friend of mine, and based on a poem of the same title.
