“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 large scale programs, projects, and initiatives and distributed teams around the world.
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.
The Top 10 Leadership Books
- Emotional Capitalists: The New Leaders, by Martyn Newman
- Flawless Execution
- Leadership Gold , by John C. Maxwell
- Leadership on the Line, by Ronald A. Heifetz
- Principle-Centered Leadership , by Stephen R. Covey
- The 5 Levels of Leadership, by John Maxwell
- The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, by John C. Maxwell
- The Essential Wooden, by John Wooden
- The Leadership Challenge, by James M. Kouzes and Barry Z. Posner
- The Leadership Test, by Timothy Clark
The Best Leadership Books By Category
Here are the best leadership books by category to help you master your leadership skills:
Getting Started
- Leadership 101, by John C. Maxwell
- Leadership on the Line, by Ronald A. Heifetz
- Principle-Centered Leadership , by Stephen R. Covey
- The 5 Levels of Leadership, by John Maxwell
- The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, by Stephen R. Covey
- The 8th Habit: From Effectiveness to Greatness, by Stephen R. Covey
- The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, by John C. Maxwell
- The Leadership Challenge, by James M. Kouzes and Barry Z. Posner
- The Truth About Managing People…And Nothing But the Truth, by Stephen P. Robbins
Attitude
- 177 Mental Toughness Secrets of the World Class, by Steve Siebold
- Attitude 101, by John C. Maxwell
- Be the Hero, by Noah Blumenthal
Authenticity, Authentic Leadership
- True North: Discover Your Authentic Leadership , by Bill George
Change
- John P. Kotter on What Leaders Really Do, by John P. Kotter
- Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard, by Chip Heath
- The First 90 Days: Critical Success Strategies for New Leaders at All Levels, by Michael Watkins
Character
- The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader, by John C. Maxwell
- The Right to Lead: Learning Leadership Through Character and Courage, by John C. Maxwell
Communication
- 20 Minutes to a Top Performer, by Alan Vengel
- Crucial Confrontations, by Kerry Patterson
- Crucial Conversations, by Kerry Patterson
- Executive Presence: The Art of Commanding Respect Like a CEO, by Harrison Monarth
- The New Articulate Executive: Look, Act and Sound Like a Leader, by Granville Toogood
Daily
- Leadership Promises for Every Day, by John C. Maxwell
- Make Today Count, by John C. Maxwell
- The 21 Most Powerful Minutes in a Leader’s Day, by John C. Maxwell
Development, Leadership Development
- Developing the Leaders Around You, by John C. Maxwell
- Developing the Leader Within You, by John C. Maxwell
- Effective Succession Planning, by William J. Rothwell
- Harvard Business Review on Developing Leaders, by Harvard Business School Press
- On Becoming a Leader, by Warren Bennis
- The 360 Degree Leader, by John C. Maxwell
Effectiveness
- 180 Climbing the Two Ladders to Inner Strength & Outer Freedom, by Rob White
- Getting Results the Agile Way, by J.D. Meier
- Linchpin: Are You Indispensable?, by Seth Godin
- Open Leadership: How Social Technology Can Transform the Way You Lead, by Charlene Li
- Secrets of Effective Leadership, by Fred A. Manske
- The Effective Executive, by Peter F. Drucker
- What Would Machiavelli Do? The Ends Justify the Meanness
Emotional Intelligence, Compassion, Heart, Empathy
- A Leader’s Heart: 365-Day Devotional Journal, by John C. Maxwell
- Emotional Capitalists: The New Leaders, by Martyn Newman
- Emotional Intelligence, by Daniel Goleman
- Primal Leadership: Learning to Lead with Emotional Intelligence, by Daniel Goleman
Ethics
- Ethics 101, by John C. Maxwell
Excellence
- Good to Great, by Jim Collins
- Greater Than Yourself, by Steve Farber
- In Search of Excellence, by Thomas J. Peters and Robert H. Waterman
Execution
- Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done, by Larry Bossidy
- Flawless Execution
- Know-How, by Ram Charan
- Rework, by David Heinemeier Hansson
- The Knowing-Doing Gap, by Robert I. Sutton
Executive Presence
- Emotional Capitalists: The New Leaders, by Martyn Newman
- Executive Presence: The Art of Commanding Respect Like a CEO, by Harrison Monarth
- The First 90 Days: Critical Success Strategies for New Leaders at All Levels, by Michael Watkins
Failure, Setbacks
- Failing Forward, by John C. Maxwell
Influence, Rapport
- Becoming a Person of Influence, by John C. Maxwell
- Enchantment: The Art of Changing Hearts, Minds, and Actions, by Guy Kawasaki
- Everyone Communicates, Few Connect, by John C. Maxwell
- Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion , by Robert B. Cialdini
- Influence Without Authority
- Influencer: The Power to Change Anything, by Kerry Patterson
- Insider’s Guide To The Art Of Persuasion, by Dr. Rick Kirschner
- Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us, by Seth Godin
Interpersonal Skills
- Be a People Person, by John C. Maxwell
- Get Them On Your Side, by Samuel B. Bacharach
- Never Eat Alone, by Keith Ferrazzi
- Winning with People, by John C. Maxwell
Leadership, Lessons in Leadership
- Leadership (Harper Perennial Political Classics), by James MacGregor Burns
- Leadership, by Rudolph W. Giuliani
- Leadership (Tom Peters Essentials), by Tom Peters
- Leadership 101, by John C. Maxwell
- Leadership and the One Minute Manager, by Ken Blanchard
- Leadership Gold, by John C. Maxwell
- Leadership Is an Art, by Max De Pree
- Leadership Lessons From THE BOOK, by Bill Bliss
- Leadership on the Line, by Ronald A. Heifetz
- Leading at a Higher Level, by Ken Blanchard
- Management Rev Ed, by Peter F. Drucker
- Maxwell Leadership Bible, by John C. Maxwell
- On Leadership, by John William Gardner
- The Essential Wooden, by John Wooden
- The Four Obsessions of an Extraordinary Executive: A Leadership Fable, by Patrick Lencioni
- The Leader in You, by Dale Carnegie
- The One Minute Manager, by Ken Blanchard
- The Truth about Leadership, by James M. Kouzes and Barry Z. Posner
- The Truth About Managing People…And Nothing But the Truth, by Stephen P. Robbins
Learning, Growth
- The Fifth Discipline, by Peter M. Senge
- What Got You Here Won’t Get You There, by Marshall Goldsmith
Principles, Practices, Strategies, Tactics
- It’s Not About the Coffee: Leadership Principles from a Life at Starbucks
- Lead or Get Off the Pot!, by Pat Croce
- Principle-Centered Leadership, by Stephen R. Covey
Purpose, Passion, Motivation
- Delivering Happiness, by Tony Hsieh
- Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us, by Daniel H. Pink
- Start with Why, by Simon Sinek
- Sun Tzu Was a Sissy
- The 3 Keys to Empowerment
- The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, by Stephen R. Covey
- The 8th Habit: From Effectiveness to Greatness, by Stephen R. Covey
- The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, by John C. Maxwell
- The 48 Laws of Power, by Robert Greene
- The Art Of War, by Sun Tzu
- The Leadership Challenge, by James M. Kouzes and Barry Z. Posner
- The Powell Principles: 24 Lessons from Colin Powell, by Oren Harari
Reflection, Inner-Engineering
- 180 climbing the two ladders to inner strength & outer freedom, by Rob White
- Deep Change: Discovering the Leader Within, by Robert E. Quinn
- Zengage, by David Zinger
Servant Leadership
- Built to Serve, by Dan Sanders
- Servant Leader, by Ken Blanchard
- Servant Leadership: A Journey into the Nature of Legitimate Power and Greatness, by Robert Greenleaf
- The Servant: A Simple Story About the True Essence of Leadership, by James Hunter
Situational Leadership
- Leadership and the One Minute Manager: Increasing Effectiveness Through Situational Leadership, by Ken Blanchard
- Self Leadership and the One Minute Manager: Increasing Effectiveness Through Situational Self Leadership, by Ken Blanchard
Strengths
- Go Put Your Strengths to Work, by Marcus Buckingham
- StandOut: The Groundbreaking New Strengths Assessment from the Leader of the Strengths Revolution, by Marcus Buckingham
- Strengths-Based Leadership, by Tom Rath
- Transformational Leadership, by Gary Vurnum
Strategy
- Strategy, by B.H. Liddell Hart
- The Art and Discipline of Strategic Leadership, by Mike Freedman
- The Lords of Strategy, by Walter Kiechel
Teamwork
- Teamwork 101, by John Maxwell
- The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable , by Patrick Lencioni
Trust
- The SPEED of Trust: The One Thing That Changes Everything, by Stephen R. Covey
Vision, Mission, Values
- A Simple Statement: A Guide to Nonprofit Arts Management and Leadership
- Flawless Execution
- Leadership on the Line, by Ronald A. Heifetz
- Principle-Centered Leadership, by Stephen R. Covey
- The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, by Stephen R. Covey
- The 8th Habit: From Effectiveness to Greatness, by Stephen R. Covey
- True North: Discover Your Authentic Leadership , by Bill George
- Vision: Your Pathway to Victory, Gordon D’Angelo
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