Over the past 5-7 years, I’ve deliberately worked my way through a wide range of leadership and career books — not just to read more, but to challenge how I think, lead, and show up for others. The books below have shaped me in different ways: some pushed me to rethink my mindset and inner narrative, others helped me navigate career transitions and reinvention, many strengthened my composure and presence under pressure, several changed how I build teams and culture, and others encouraged me to take bolder action and smarter risks. I’m sharing them — grouped into these themes — because they reflect the real leadership journey most of us are on: learning to grow from the inside out, reinventing when needed, staying steady when it matters, creating environments where people thrive, and having the courage to make meaningful moves. My hope is that, wherever you are in your own leadership path, one or more of these books will meet you exactly where you need it.
Personal Leadership Growth & Mindset Shift
These books are about how you think, what you believe about yourself, and how that shapes the way you lead and live. They focus on rewiring assumptions, challenging inner narratives, and building confidence through self-awareness.
Growth starts inside your head — how you think, what you believe is possible, and how you talk to yourself.
Books I’ve read:
- Be More Wrong — Colin Hunter
- Bigger, Better, Bolder — Jennifer Cohen
- Choose Your Story, Change Your Life — Kindra Hall
- The Gap and the Gain — Dan Sullivan & Benjamin Hardy
- Originals — Adam Grant
- Twelve and a Half — Gary Vaynerchuk
- Your Brain Is Always Listening — Daniel Amen
Career Transitions, Reinvention & Future-Proofing
These focus on navigating change, shifting roles, career pivots, creating options, and staying relevant in evolving workplaces. They lean heavily into adaptability and intentional reinvention.
Your career is not linear — reinvention is a skill, and learning to pivot intentionally is critical.
Books here include:
- Boost Your Career — Sander & Michele Flaum
- Career Leap — Michelle Gibbings
- Career Remix — Damon Brown
- Overcome Your Interview Anxieties — Leena Alex
- Pivot — Jenny Blake
- Stretch — Karie Willyerd & Barbara Mistick
- Switchers — Dawn Graham
Executive Presence, Emotional Intelligence & Composure Under Pressure
These books look at how you show up — presence, steadiness, energy, and your impact on others when stakes are high. They emphasize composure, self-awareness, and authenticity.
Your leadership presence isn’t just what you do — it’s how people feel around you, especially in tough moments.
Books here include:
- Composure — Purmal, Epting & Smith
- Contagious You — Anese Cavanaugh
- Essentialism — Greg McKeown
- Getting Along — Amy Gallo
- How Women Rise — Helgesen & Goldsmith
People Leadership, Culture & Building Strong Teams
These books dig into trust, empowerment, aligned teams, decentralized leadership, and communication. They are highly practical for anyone leading organizations or cross-functional groups.
High-performing teams grow from trust, clarity, empowerment, and honest conversations.
Books here include:
- The Eight Paradoxes of Great Leadership — Tim Elmore
- If You Want Something Done — Nikki Haley
- Leaders Eat Last — Simon Sinek
- Leadership Offense — Paul Falcone
- Radical Candor — Kim Scott
- Team of Teams — Stanley McChrystal
- Turn the Ship Around — L. David Marquet
- Who Not How — Dan Sullivan & Benjamin Hardy
Bold Action, Risk, and Breakthrough Performance
These focus on courage, personal stretch, calculated risk-taking, and moving from hesitation to decisive execution. They connect mindset to momentum.
Progress rarely comes from comfort — it comes from bold, intentional moves and learning from mistakes.
Books here include:
- Bet on You — Angie Morgan & Courtney Lynch
- Break-through — David Nurse
- The Hard Thing About Hard Things — Ben Horowitz
- More — Patty Azzarello
- The Power of Flexing — Susan Ashford
- Rise — Patty Azzarello
- Zero to One — Peter Thiel
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