Leadership mentality

Table of Contents

Books for Leadership mentality

  1. Flow
  2. Deep Work
  3. Drive
  4. Leaders Eat Last
  5. The Manager’s Path
  6. The Progress Principle
  7. Getting Things Done
  8. Getting To Yes
  9. Radical Candor
  10. Search Inside Yourself
  11. Now Discover Your Strengths
  12. The Personal MBA
  13. How To Be A Leader by Plutarch

One of the best leadership books I’ve read in a very long time and not surprisingly, it was written a very long time ago. There’s a reason Plutarch has been a favorite of thinkers and doers since the days of Ancient Rome. He’s insightful. He’s funny. He’s a great story teller. He wasn’t just a writer either, but like the best historians and philosophers, a practitioner of what he talked about. Highly recommend. Also my friend Ryan Hawk has a new book that pairs well with this: Welcome to Management.

Some leadership book suggestions

  1. “Capitol Men: The Epic Story of Reconstruction Through the Lives of the First Black Congressmen,” by Philip Dray

    It’s become clear to me over the past several months that there are significant parts of our country’s history that I haven’t learned about … despite having a strong interest in history. During our day of reflection on Juneteenth, I started thinking about how difficult it must have been for the first Black congressperson. Who had that distinction, and what massive barriers must they have faced?

    I assumed it was probably someone in the 1950s or 1960s, but I came across “Capitol Men” and realized that I was off by over 80 years.

    In the 1870s, there were actually 16 African Americans who were elected to Congress, all from the South. Aside from depicting the “Reconstruction Era,” as the post-Civil War period is called, the book is full of inspirational stories about the newly elected congressme​n who tried to forge a new path. Several had been slaves just a few years earlier, while others had been free and well-educated … but all overcame enormous obstacles of racism and bigotry to distinguish themselves as legislators.

    But as inspiring as much of the book is, it also tells the story of a tragic lost opportunity. Over time, Southern states passed laws making it more difficult for Black people to vote, while the KKK rose to prominence. As a result, 72 years would pass without a Black congressperson from the South, while the barriers of legal segregation rose.

    “Capitol Men” is a very well-written book about a period and a group of brave leaders that I wasn’t familiar with … but also a book that leaves a painful feeling of “what if?” If the North and U.S. Congress had done more to protect voting and civil rights back then, how much different would our country be today?

  2. “Give and Take: Why Helping Others Drives Our Success,” by Adam Grant

    In this best-selling book, Wharton School professor Adam Grant makes the case that, in the business world, there are three main types of people: takers, matchers and givers.

    Takers tend to appreciate transactions in which they can get more out of the situation than the other party involved. Matchers typically focus on what feels fair and reciprocal. And givers tend to give to the people around them without expecting anything in return.

    The powerful – and somewhat counterintuitive – idea that Grant proposes is that, at the end of the day, it’s givers who end up achieving the greatest success in business and life.

    There are caveats. For example, Grant makes a distinction between generosity and affability. And givers need to be careful to take care of themselves to avoid burnout.

    But the idea that giving is what ultimately gets rewarded really resonates with me. I see it as more than just a way to achieve individual success. I believe it reflects an entire world view that we can all strive toward — both as individuals and as organizations.

  3. “The Great Influenza: The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History,” by John M. Barry

    I was browsing through a bookstore in April when this book caught my eye. And in light of our current situation, it’s been fascinating to read about the pandemic of 1918 and 1919.

    The parallels with what we’re living through right now are chilling. Cities shut down and then opened up again, only to experience another wave of illnesses. Many people wore masks. Doctors and nurses made heroic efforts to help people recover but sometimes became sick themselves. Some politicians responded well. Others denied what was going on, which created even worse conditions.

    There were actually three waves a century ago. The first was in the spring of 1918. The second, which caused the majority of the deaths, came in the fall of 1918. Another wave came in the spring of 1919. Ultimately, the influenza virus killed millions of people worldwide, more than 600,000 in the U.S. alone.

    Some positive things did come out of the pandemic a century ago. We learned more about how to prevent infectious diseases. And it spurred a lot of international cooperation on health.

    For me, one big lesson is that we have to be vigilant. Another is the importance of leadership. I’m proud of the way Liberty has responded — that we’ve followed medical advice and put people first.

For management

  1. Napoleon Hill’s chapter on Leadership in Laws of Success, and
  2. Hard Thing About Hard Things (Horowitz)

Business Management

  1. The First Time Manager, by Loren Belker;

  2. The Effective Executive, by Peter F Drucker;

  3. High Output Management, by Andy Grove;

  4. Who Say Elephants Can’t Dance, by Lou Gerstner;

  5. The Amazon Way, by John Rossman;

  6. Talent is Overrated, by Geoff Colvin;

  7. Shackleton’s Way, by Margot Morrell;

  8. The Manager’s Bookshelf: A Mosaic of Contemporary Views, by Jon Pierce;

  9. Blue Ocean Strategy, by W Chan Kim;

  10. Peripheral Vision, by George Day & Paul Shoemaker;

  11. Competing Against Luck by Clayton M. Christensen , Taddy Hall , Karen Dillon , David S. Duncan

    4.15

    The foremost authority on innovation and growth presents a path-breaking book every company needs to transform innovation from a game of chance to one in which they develop products and services customers not only want to buy, but are willing to pay premium prices for.

The End of Leadership by Barbara Kellerman

Returning to the more business-minded fare, this 2012 book by Kellerman, a fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Center of Public Leadership, reveals how leadership has changed in the 21st century.

Today’s “leadership industry” is massive due to the widespread belief that leaders are the key to growth and success. However, Kellerman argues, this belief has long since passed its expiration date. Advances in technology, social media, and other cultural forces have shifted the balance of power from leaders downward. To help organizations and would-be leaders evolve with the times, Kellerman considers alternatives to existing leadership beliefs and models, as well as the advantages of fostering a sense of “followership” throughout an organization.

“This book is an essential read for anyone rethinking what it means to lead, and to follow, in the 21st century,” Amaechi says. “It challenges conventional wisdom by arguing that leadership as we know it is in decline — not because leaders have lost relevance but because followers have gained power. The leadership industry has failed to evolve, offering little meaningful guidance in a world where authority is more contested and influence more distributed than ever.”

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