It’s (almost) summer!
Each year at this time, we offer a list of books that are intended to help leaders -- seasoned and emerging -- strengthen their leadership skills and reflect on their experiences. Given the tumultuous pandemic years we find ourselves in, we’ve given some thought to what might feel most relevant. And current context notwithstanding, it’s always a good time to consider questions of management, organizational structure, culture, and building collaborative teams (i.e. topics visionary leaders probably haven’t had time or space to think about since Covid).
We’ve also included options for educators, learners, and teachers who want books that stimulate innovative thinking and approaches to designing curriculum and enhancing student learning experiences, and books that focus on cultivating resilience to manage and overcome recent challenges such as teacher “burnout” and stress.
Why is reading so mission-critical for leaders?
John Coleman, in his article for Harvard Business Review entitled “For Those Who Want to Lead, Read” said “deep, broad reading habits are often a defining characteristic of our greatest leaders and can catalyze insight, innovation, empathy, and personal effectiveness.” Chief Learning Officer offers 5 ways reading makes you a better leader as further proof that dedicated time spent reading can enhance the quality of leadership. “It’s that reading that demands time for reflection, challenges our assumptions and opens our eyes to new perspectives and ways of being, both personally and professionally.”
We know finding time tends to be the biggest obstacle to reading.
So - for those who are time constrained (who isn’t?) we love a hack when life calls for it and Blinkist, a subscription-based app that offers 15 minute summaries of books and podcasts, is just what we need when life simply won’t give us the time needed to read long form texts.
Reading For Leaders and Boards
The Board Book: An Insider’s Guide for Directors and Trustees by William Bowen
Calling all trustees, board members, and organizational leaders! Governance advice is often too dusty, too narrow, too generic, and too formulaic (think: do this, not that) to yield nuanced, high value performance (see more on this in our whitepaper). Sometimes, the advice we see is downright harmful, as we describe in our blog post on the case for the executive committee. William Bowen’s book is mission critical if you want to understand your role as a director, as a leader, and as a partner (to one or the other). Bowen makes clear the same advice we emphasize - boards and leaders must collaborate effectively to advance and sustain a thriving organization. To do this well, leaders and board members need to invest in understanding why boards matter, how they create value, and how they build a healthy relationship with professional leadership. We can recommend no better book than this one. Whether you are deeply experienced, or new to the topic, you’ll be enriched and inspired by Bowen’s take on governance. Prepare to be surprised -- and get ready to evolve!
Playing to Win: How Strategy Really Works by Roger Martin and A.G. Lafley, and A New Way to Think: Your Guide to Superior Management Effectiveness by Roger L. Martin
We are big fans of Roger Martin -- he captures so much of what we believe is essential to successful strategy development and effective leadership (yes that includes management - more on that in the next book suggestion!).
Both books will inspire leaders and board members as they consider how to best advance their organizations -- and his practical, straightforward writing, peppered with illustrative case studies, is both accessible and no-nonsense! If you prefer a short read to whet your appetite, you can always start with one of our favorite articles from Roger: The Big Lie of Strategic Planning.
We believe Martin’s provocation that leaders must know and decide “where to play, how to win” is critical to success. We have designed exercises and strategic thinking provocations based on Martin’s work and use this framework with schools and organizations to help them really zero in on what they do, for whom, and how to drive towards excellence. Knowing where to play and how to win is a lot harder than it sounds, but it’s well worth the time and effort.
Leadership on the Line: Staying Alive through the Dangers of Leading by Ronald Heifetz and Marty Linsky
It is easy to consider the last few years as ones where leaders “lived dangerously”. Covid, social and political crises, culture wars, the great resignation, and challenges to individual health and wellbeing are the iceberg that emerged from the sea.
But leading has always been dangerous (and exciting) work, and no one understands this better, at the emotional and human level, than Heifetz. Leadership is fraught with risk - personally and professionally. We often romanticize the exciting elements of leadership but as my father used to say “forewarned is forearmed”. To thrive, you need to also have eyes wide open to the risks. So we invite you to become acquainted with (or return to) this exceptional classic on how leaders become ever more resilient and effective as they navigate complexity. Who doesn’t need this book right now?
The New One Minute Manager by Ken Blanchard and Spencer Johnson
We love this book. Don’t let the small size and simple “one-minute” approach fool you. This advice is right up there with Dale Carnegie’s classic, How to Win Friends and Influence People (yes, you should read this too!).
Leadership is heady stuff, but it’s nothing without management skills. And management is all about people — understanding them, supporting them, coaching them, and offering clarity, predictability, and follow through — in small, steady, consistent ways. This book is full of actionable and meaningful tips for managing well: behaviors, strategies and concrete techniques.
As a leader, you need to inspire people to build vision and purpose — and as a manager you need to help them translate that into what they do every day. This book breaks it down and you’ll return to it again and again. And if you want more: read up on the real secret to effective delegation in The One Minute Manager Meets the Monkey.
Emotional Intelligence: Why it Can Matter More than IQ, by Daniel Goleman
Emotional Intelligence is now part of the lexicon for leaders, learners, and all people interested in thriving in relationships. That’s the good news! The bad news is there is a lot of misinformation and misunderstandings floating around about what emotional intelligence is, how it’s developed, and how it translates into behaviors that support great leadership, learning, parenting and relationships.
This summer, it’s time to return to the expert - Daniel Goleman. I read this book about 12 years ago and it’s no exaggeration to say that it changed me: My understanding of what “smart” is, my understanding of how I “show up” in relationships, and my understanding of how I must first understand myself if I am to understand and then relate positively with others.
Goleman is the original thinker — and for those who want a short read to, as we say “whet the appetite”, read Leadership that Gets Results. Then push forward and read the book — it fills in all the colors from the black and white outline you glean from the article. This book is for EVERYONE!
Deep Purpose: The Heart and Soul of High-Performance Companies by Ranjay Gulati
Here’s a wonderful new book that looks deeply into what makes an organization “purpose driven”. Ranjay Gulati, HBS professor (and an independent school trustee!) shares his rigorous field research into purpose and how it drives performance. Early in the book, he addresses a beautiful question: What is purpose…really? The book takes us on a journey from there — exploring the complex and sometimes friction-filled intersections between organizational, professional, and personal purpose. Gulati does not shy away from the recognition that finding the sweet spot across these domains of purpose is profoundly challenging work for leaders. He highlights success stories and pitfalls in the nuanced and complex work of connecting purpose to performance. This is a must read for leaders interested in learning more about catalyzing talented people around a shared mission!
How Remarkable Women Lead: The Breakthrough Model for Work and Life by Joanna Barsh, Susie Cranston, and Geoffrey Lewis
This is one of my all time favorites for women — but don’t let the title fool you. This book has value and usefulness for all leaders, regardless of gender. Joanna Barsh wrote this book in 2009, and it’s never been more relevant.
The purpose theme translates to the practical under Barsh’s guidance, We are awash today in articles about the great resignation, the crisis for leadership talent, the exhaustion, and the reinvention people are experiencing as we emerge from the last couple of years. So whether you want to revitalize, reinvent, or reimagine your leadership, Barsh and her co-authors are ready to offer insight and practical advice on where to begin. This book will help you unleash your “best self” and the “best selves” of others.
Inclusion Revolution: The Essential Guide to Dismantling Racial Inequity in the Workplace by Daisy Auger-Domínguez
This is a refreshing, authentic, practical and wise exploration of how to actually build inclusive and equitable organizations. Daisy Auger-Domínguez is a seasoned practitioner, culture builder, and thought leader with a passion for unleashing the talent of everyone inside the organization. Her empathetic and actionable approach yields fresh insights into the hard, complex and often deeply personal work to be a leader for inclusion — but avoids being prescriptive or dogmatic. We have long advocated for more practical approaches to inclusion and equity work that truly center on people first. Auger-Domingues sets us off on a promising path.
An Everyone Culture: Becoming a Deliberately Developmental Organization, by Robert Kegan and Lisa Lahey
An essential element of building inclusive workplaces is ensuring that everyone is learning and growing — all the time. How do you create cultures where people learn every day — not just through special programs, trainings, and coaching? How do you create environments where people are engaged and supported through dialogue, feedback, creative work, and involvement? As leaders and managers, these questions can drive our efforts to create a “learning organization” and transform our understanding of what talent development looks like and how it happens. School leaders focused on changing adult culture will find fresh insights and inspiration here.
Reading for Leaders as Parents, Educators, Learners, and Teachers!
Permission to Feel: Unlocking the Power of Emotions to Help Our Kids, Ourselves, and Our Society Thrive by Marc Brackett
Well known in education circles for his work at the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence and the RULER approach for SEL practiced in K-12 schools, Brackett brings his expertise to a broader audience in Permission to Feel. With accessible and poignant prose, Bracket offers insights and practical strategies for understanding and engaging with our own emotions -- and those of the people around us -- as an essential aspect of personal development, learning, and relationships.
Onward: Cultivating Emotional Resilience in Educators by Elena AguilaR
Many of you are likely familiar with Elena Aguilar’s wonderful contributions to the power of coaching for teachers. This book offers deeper insight into the criticality of resilience for educators, and the enormous emotional, physical, and intellectual demands they can face in their work. Written in 2018, it turns out this is another a timely read — and we are grateful to Aguilar for her sage advice, her reflection exercises, and her wise perspective on the power of resilient educators to transform the learning experience for students.
Leaders of Their Own Learning: Transforming Schools Through Student-Engaged Assessment by Ron Berger
Last but not least, we highlight yet another classic that deserves far more attention and appreciation. For all educators interested in “student engagement” “student agency”, “student-centered learning”, and “authentic assessment” it’s time to put your money where your mouth is and buy this book. Ron Berger, of EL Education, has much to teach us about powerful and deep learning for students. If you are inspired — and ready to design new learning experiences, check out another great resource for tools and examples from EL education: Models for Excellence.