You’ll be forgiven if you’re a little behind on your “new year, new you” goals for 2021. After all, we’re still coming off one of the most unexpectedly volatile and uncertain years in recent memory. we all deserve to spend some time on the self-improvement front.
But if you’re ready to dig in, we’ve got you covered with this list of books that will help you improve in valuable ways.
You are reading: Self help leadership books
8 books to improve yourself and your leadership skills
Do you want to become a lifelong learner? we have a book of proven practices from a renowned mental coach. struggling to bring out the best in its people? Frances Frei, a professor at Harvard Business School, reveals the secrets to unlocking the potential of others.
maybe you’re tired of running into silos, walls and divisions that stand in the way of progress. The best-selling author of Never Eat Alone has a new idea for you: “co-raising.” overwhelmed by your inbox? there’s a new treatise by cal newport on the real cost of email and how we can communicate and collaborate better in the future. And if you’re looking for a comprehensive compendium of remote work and management tips, we’ve got that too.
let’s delve into the books:
Unlimited: Improve your brain, learn anything faster and unlock your exceptional life
by jim kwik
book description (via amazon): “jim kwik, the world’s number 1 mental trainer, has written the owner’s manual for mind expansion and brain fitness. unlimited provides a people the ability to achieve more: more productivity, more transformation, more personal success and business achievements, by changing their mindset, motivation and methods.these ‘3 m’s’ live in the pages of limitless along with practical techniques that unlock the superpowers of your brain and change your habits.”
why you should read it: yes, the author is really called kwik. and yes, he wants to help your brain work faster and better. Your brain is a supercomputer, Kwik explains, and your thoughts are its programming. So Kwik’s book begins by identifying the assumptions, habits, and procrastination that can hold you back and shift your mindset from negative thinking to positive possibilities. teaches you how to identify what you want in every aspect of your life. His approach is inspired by neuroscientific research on accelerating learning, something we should all be trying to understand in an age of continuous and exponential change.
[ Want more book tips? Also Read: 10 Leadership Books To Expand Your Skills In 2021 And How To Build Strong Teams: 8 Must-Read Books. ]
Unleashed: The Unapologetic Leader’s Guide to Empowering Everyone Around You
by frances frei and anne morriss
Book description (via Amazon): “Leadership isn’t easy. It takes guts, courage, and vision, among other things, which can be hard to come by on the toughest days When leaders and aspiring leaders seek advice, they are often told to try harder, dig deeper, look in the mirror and own their innate strengths and fix any real or perceived shortcomings that are limiting their career.
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frances frei and anne morriss offer a different vision of the world. argue that this popular leadership advice overlooks the most important thing you do as a leader: build others up.”
Why you should read it: It’s not just about you. While top-down, cult-of-personality leadership may have dominated in the previous century, it is becoming abundantly clear in the second decade of this one that unilateral and hierarchical approaches tend to underperform. frei, a professor of technology and operations management at harvard business school whose 2018 ted talk on building (and rebuilding) trust has been viewed nearly 5 million times, explains that true leadership requires you to be there to the needs, abilities and potential of other people – and respond quickly and strategically to them. Written with co-author Anne Morriss, founder of The Leadership Consortium (TLC), this book shares stories of how effective leaders create an environment in which others can excel.
Think again: the power of knowing what you don’t know
by adam grant
Book Description (via Amazon): “Organizational psychologist Adam Grant is an expert at opening other people’s minds—and our own. As Wharton’s highest-rated professor and the best-selling author of originals and give and take, he makes it one of his guiding principles to argue as if he is right but listen as if he is wrong. with bold ideas and rigorous evidence, he investigates how we can embrace the joy of being wrong, bring nuance to charged conversations, and build the tools, workplaces, and communities of lifelong learners…if knowledge is power, knowing what we do not know is wisdom.”
why you should read it: conviction is comfortable. doubt causes anguish. no wonder keeping an open mind or changing course is so difficult for humans. however, as the best-selling author explains, the critical art of rethinking—learning to question your opinions and open other people’s minds—is often what leads to success. grant explains the value of learning to unlearn and describes how to do it.
Lead without authority: how the new power of co-elevation can break down silos, transform teams and reinvent collaboration
by keith ferrazzi and noel weyrich
book description (via keithferrazzi.com): “ferrazzi redefines collaboration with a radical new operating system in the workplace where leadership no longer demands an office, an official title or even a physical workplace. in times of challenge, we have a choice: we can retreat further into our isolated silos, or we can commit to ‘going higher together’. Through its prescriptive approach, Ferrazzi offers real-world solutions to create exponential change in the world. once mastered, the lessons of leadership without authority and co-elevation go far beyond the scope of business and the workplace.”
why you should read it: keith ferrazzi is all about relational and collaborative success, he previously wrote two of the most recommended business bibles for relationship building (eating alone and who covers your backs). In his third book, Ferrazzi argues that we no longer have time to waste navigating complex chains of command or bureaucratic bottlenecks; we must excel, and elevate our performance, together. he proposes a new workplace operating system in which offices, an official title or even a physical workplace are replaced by deep, inclusive and frank collaboration. Bonus: Ferrazzi’s website offers a host of freebies, including a video introduction to the concept of co-elevation, articles on hot topics like the key to managing teams you can’t see, and a virtual interview with Fast Company on how their remote team can outperform a virtual one.
hbr guide to remote work
by harvard business review
book description (via hbr.org): “do your best work, no matter where you do it. video calls from your sofa. project reports in a coffee shop. presentations at your kitchen table. working remotely gives you more flexibility in how and where you do your work. but being part of a large team can be challenging. How can you make remote work work for you? The HBR Guide to Remote Work provides tips and practical advice to help you stay productive, avoid distractions and collaborate with your team, despite the distance that separates you.”
Why You Should Read It: Fresh off the digital press, this 240-page e-book brings together the latest and greatest tips for thriving in the world of remote work. offers practical advice on creating a real wfh routine, choosing the best tech tools, preventing burnout, managing and communicating remotely, and, everyone’s favorite, running better virtual meetings (or knowing when to cancel them altogether).
A World Without Email: Reimagining Work in an Age of Communication Overload
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by cal newport
book description (via amazon): “We’ve become so used to an inbox-driven workday that it’s hard to imagine alternatives. but they exist. Drawing on years of investigative reporting, author and computer science professor Cal Newport argues that our current approach to working doesn’t work, and then lays out a set of principles and concrete instructions for fixing it. In a world without email, he advocates for a workplace where clear processes, not random messages, define how tasks are identified, assigned, and reviewed. each person works on fewer things (but does them better), and aggressive investment in support reduces the ever-increasing burden of administrative tasks. Above all, important communication is streamlined, and inboxes and chat channels are no longer critical to getting work done.”
why you should read it: newport offers a brief history of email and how it has affected productivity over time. He uncovers the hidden costs of what he calls the “overactive hive mind” at work and offers a number of approaches to break free from the tyranny of the inbox to lead more productive work lives and workforces. as newport states, it’s not about whether a world without email is coming, but whether it will be ahead or behind.
girl decoded: one scientist’s quest to reclaim our humanity by bringing emotional intelligence to technology
by rana el kaliouby with carol coleman
book description: “rana el kaliouby is an oddity both in the world of technology and in her native Middle East: a Muslim woman in charge in a field that is still overwhelmingly white and male . growing up in egypt and kuwait, kaliouby was raised by a strict father who valued tradition but also had high expectations for her daughters, and a mother who was one of the first computer programmers in the middle east. Even before kaliouby made her way as a scientist, she broke the rules of what it meant to be a dutiful daughter and, later, a dutiful wife to pursue her own audacious dream… in a captivating memoir, An Egyptian Visionary and Scientist -American provides an intimate look at his personal transformation as he follows his calling: humanizing our technology and how we connect with one another.”
Why you should read this: Put this book on your nightstand, but don’t expect it to stay there for long. this book does double duty as inspiration and instigation. You can enjoy this book as the memoir of a woman who rose to the top of a male-dominated field, earning her Ph.D. she and she eventually she moved to the united states as a divorced mother of two, where she co-founded affiva, the pioneering startup company in the nascent field of ai emotions. she can also delve into el kaliouby’s argument: that she should “humanize technology before it dehumanizes us” and think more deeply about the application of advanced intelligent systems in her own organization and life.
eat, sleep, innovate: how to make creativity a daily habit within your organization
by scott d. anthony, paul cobban, natalie painchaud and andy parker
book description (via hbr.org): “from the author of the little black book of innovation, a new guide to using the power of habit to build a culture of innovation. Leaders have experimented with open innovation programs, corporate accelerators, venture capital arms, skunkworks, and innovation competitions, traveling to silicon valley, shenzhen, and tel aviv to learn from today’s most popular and successful tech companies, but the Most would admit they have failed to create truly innovative cultures. There is a better way. And it all starts with the power of habit.
in eat, sleep, innovate, innovation expert scott anthony and his impressive team of co-authors use groundbreaking behavioral science research to provide a first-of-its-kind playbook for empowering people and teams to be more curious and creative. every day.”
Why You Should Read It: Anthony and his team at innosight consulting detail a collection of behavioral enablers, artifacts, and nudges (beans, they call them) that successful leaders harness to instill innovation throughout the organization. Along with the instructive nature of these “ordinary organizations doing extraordinary things” stories, the authors offer tools to help IT leaders discover their own tricks and habits for building and sustaining an innovative culture.
[ obtain exercises and approaches that strengthen disparate teams. read the digital transformation ebook: transformation takes practice. ]
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