Great Books on Leadership

Leadership Books

“Leadership is influence.” — John Maxwell

This is a list of my favorite and noteworthy best leadership books.

When I think of leadership, I think of influence, change, connection, conviction, inspired action, empowerment, decisive action, forward-thinking, and vision. 

The leadership books below help provide leadership skills, including mindsets, methodologies, and methods.  I test many of the leadership books below while leading programs, projects, and initiatives at Microsoft.

I put the bulk of the list in categories so you can explore relevant leadership books and you can easily compare against your existing leadership books library.

10 Great Books on Leadership

  1. Emotional Capitalists: The New Leaders, by Martyn Newman
  2. Flawless Execution
  3. Leadership Gold , by John C. Maxwell
  4. Leadership on the Line, by Ronald A. Heifetz
  5. Principle-Centered Leadership , by Stephen R. Covey
  6. The 5 Levels of Leadership, by John Maxwell
  7. The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, by John C. Maxwell
  8. The Essential Wooden, by John Wooden
  9. The Leadership Challenge, by James M. Kouzes and Barry Z. Posner
  10. The Leadership Test, by Timothy Clark

 

Getting Started

Attitude

Authenticity, Authentic Leadership

Change

Character

Communication

Daily

Development, Leadership Development

Effectiveness

Emotional Intelligence, Compassion, Heart, Empathy

Ethics

Excellence

Execution

Executive Presence

Failure, Setbacks

Influence, Rapport

Interpersonal Skills

Leadership, Lessons in Leadership

Learning, Growth

Principles, Practices, Strategies, Tactics

Purpose, Passion, Motivation

Reflection, Inner-Engineering

Servant Leadership

Situational Leadership

Strengths

Strategy

Teamwork

Trust

Vision, Mission, Values

 

A-Z Best Leadership Books