Leaders are learners. They strive to improve themselves every day. Whether it’s attending a seminar or indulging in self paced learning programs, leaders who lead well believe that learning is a way of life. They understand that to grow others they must grow themselves first. Hence they are constantly strengthening the 3 pillars of leadership namely personal leadership, people leadership & business leadership.
Most of the celebrated readers like APJ Abdul Kalaam, Swami Vivekananda, Steve Jobs, Elon Musk, and many others in our history have spoken about the impact of reading books on their overall growth. In this blog we share with you the 3 MUST Read Books On Leadership.
- 21 Irrefutable Laws Of Leadership
I consider this book as a go-to book to most of the leadership challenges that leaders face. The principles in this book are time-tested. The book is written by John C Maxwell a well known authority in the space of Leadership.
Each of the 21 laws is described with examples of leaders and their stories. This makes you connect with the law instantly and you would love to make these law as a way of life.
We believe that this book will help you develop the “Personal leadership” pillar of leadership.
The law that connected with us the most is “Law #1 – The Law Of Lid”. It states that our leadership ability acts as the lid that determines our level of effectiveness. It is like the limit that we set in for ourselves. If we have set “8” as a limit of our leadership ability then our effectiveness will remain at “7”. Our ability to lead determines the kind of people we hire in our teams, the kind of decisions we make, the kind of culture we create. All of this eventually leads to the impact that we create in our organizations.
2. Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action
Simon Sinek in his book “Start with Why” talks about why some organizations and individuals are able to inspire others while many others struggle.
The core message of the book is “People don’t buy ‘what’ you do, they buy ‘why’ you do it.” “Why” is the purpose behind the action and leaders who inspires others are the ones who communicate the “Why” first. They constantly communicate “Why” which inspires them to join the mission of the leader or the organization.
The concept that resonates with the leaders is the concept of “The Golden Circle”.
- WHAT: Every company in the world knows what they do. i.e. They can describe their product or service.
- HOW: Some companies know how they do what they do. They know how they’re different i.e. A unique selling point.
- WHY: Very few companies know why they do what they do (and it’s not to make money, this is a result). Why do you get out of bed in the morning, what is the company’s purpose, and why should anyone care?
This book will inspire you to relook at your personal and people leadership strategies and most importantly your communication style while interacting with others.
3. Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap … and Others Don’t
“Greatness is not a function of circumstance. Greatness, it turns out, is largely a matter of conscious choice.“ ~ Jim Collins
This book by Jim Collins gives you principles based on research about why good is the enemy of great. Why most organizations never reach their full potential. The whole book is based on the framework shared below.
One concept that is important to understand is the 5 levels of leadership:
- Level 1 – Highly Capable Individual
- Level 2 – Contributing Team Member.
- Level 3 – Competent Manager
- Level 4 – Effective Leader
- Level 5 – Executive
We believe that this book will help you develop the “Business leadership” pillar of leadership.
What are the other books on leadership that have inspired you? Do let us know in the comments section