Some Recommended Leadership Books

    

Authentic Leading: Where the Blue Sky Hits the Road—Pielstick. Authentic leading requires the integration of shared vision, communication, relationships, community, guidance, character, and spiritual synchronicity. "Mahatma Gandhi exemplified the challenge upon which this book is based, a challenge to do more--far more--than we are expected to do. This book is written with the hope that we will all, individually and collectively, hear this call, and commit to a higher moral purpose for the common good of all people for all time. Such a commitment is needed at all levels of individual and organizational life. It is as critical in business as it is in religious, governmental and non-profit organizations. It demands a passion to do more, to be an agent of change for all of humanity, not just for one organization. There is room for each of us to commit, to really make a difference, to leave our legacy." [From back cover] 2003, ISBN 1-929149-13-1.
 

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The Congruent Life: Following the Inward Path to Fulfilling Work and Inspired Leadership—Thompson (congruence of intellectual, emotional, psychological, and spiritual dimensions toward fulfilling and meaningful work and inspired leadership)

Fusion Leadership—Daft & Lengel (subtle forces—mindfulness, vision, heart, communication, courage and integrity—that can transform organizations)

The Leadership Challenge—Kouzes & Posner (challenging, inspiring, enabling, modeling and encouraging followers—a classic now in 3rd edition)

Leadership—Burns (THE classic... changed how we think of leading; source of “transformational leadership”)

The Tao Te Ching—Lao-Tzu (Stephen Mitchell, trans … very insightful ancient wisdom)

The Tao of Leadership—Heider (based on the Tao Te Ching ... also very insightful)

Servant Leadership—Greenleaf (leader as servant first—a classic)

Good to Great—Collins (“Level 5 Leadership”—extreme humility and fierce resolve—based on an extensive study)

Leaders—Bennis & Nanus (managing attention, meaning, trust and deployment—a classic)

On Leadership—Gardner (esp. moral vision—another classic)

Leadership and the New Science—Wheatley (science as a metaphor for leadership, especially if you find science at all interesting)

Focus on Leadership: Servant-Leadership for the 21st Century—Spears & Lawrence, editors (essays on servant-leadership by many of the leading thinkers on leadership)

Leading Minds—Gardner (the role of stories in leading)

Leading Change—Kotter (strategy perspective)

Leading Change—O'Toole (values-based leadership)

Leadership Without Easy Answers—Heifetz (“adaptive” leadership)

Leadership Jazz—De Pree (jazz metaphor—freedom and technique, improvisation and rules, inspiration and restraint)

Leadership Is An Art—De Pree (the need for covenantal relationships within organizations where people are bound to one another and enabled to meet corporate needs through meeting the needs of one another)

Synchronicity—Jaworski (breaking free of limits—considers connectivity beyond mere reason)

A Higher Standard of Leadership—Nair (based on Gandhi, probably the best example of leadership ever)

Credibility—Kouzes & Posner (building trust)

Encouraging the Heart—Kouzes & Posner (motivating followers with recognition)

The Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership—Kouzes & Posner (long-term development of people and institutions to adapt, prosper and grow)

Leading Without Power—De Pree (creating community to inspire the best in people)

Leading with Soul—Boleman & Deal (leading from the heart—a parable full of quotes from many traditions)

The Leadership Factor—Kotter (creating an agenda for change and a strong implementation network)

The Charismatic Leader—Conger (developing creativity, inspiration, unconventionality, vision and risk-taking to bring about radical change)

Why Leaders Can’t Lead—Bennis (overcoming social forces, bureaucracy, and routine to create change)

On Becoming a Leader—Bennis (vision, passion, integrity and other qualities of effective leaders)

Lincoln on Leadership—Phillips (a range of axioms from one of the great leaders of all time)

Principle-Centered Leadership—Covey (a long-term, inside-out approach to developing people and organizations around core principles)

Transforming Leadership—Adams (a collection of thought-provoking essays)

Leadership: A New Synthesis—Hunt (fairly rigorous synthesis of leadership processes into a multi-level model throughout the organization)

Leadership for the Twenty-First Century—Rost (collaborative leadership)

The Deep Blue Sea—Darth (a mix of story and leadership thought with a focus on relational leadership)

Contemplative Leadership for Entrepreneurial Organizations: Paradigms, Metaphors, and Wicked Problems—Eggert (“contemplative” leadership with a history of paradigms’ influence on management thought)

Perspectives on Leadership: From the Science of Management to Its Spiritual Heart—Fairholm (leadership with an emphasis on ethics, community, service, and spirituality)

Exploring Leadership for College Students Who Want to Make a Difference—Komives, Lucas & McMahon (focus on participatory processes with emphasis on student activities)

Skyhooks for Leadership—Shtogren, editor (a series of essays by leading thinkers on vision, trust, open communication, meaningful work and motivation, empowerment and self-determination, teamwork and involvement, and transformational style)

Some recent titles:

Leadership in a Challenging World, A Sacred Journey by Barbara Shipka

John P. Kotter on What Leaders Really Do (Harvard Business Review Book) by John P. Kotter (Editor)

The Extraordinary Leader: Turning Good Managers into Great Leaders by John H. Zenger, et al

The Art of Spiritual Leadership in Business by William Miller; Audio CD

Servant Leader by Ken Blanchard

Good Business: Leadership, Flow and the Making of Meaning by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

Transforming Leadership: The Pursuit of Happiness by James MacGregor Burns

Leadership the Eleanor Roosevelt Way: Timeless Strategies from the First Lady of Courage by Robin Gerber, James MacGregor Burns

Ethics and Spirituality at Work: Hopes and Pitfalls of the Search for Meaning in Organizations by Thierry C. Pauchant (Editor)

Leading Quietly by Joseph L. Badaracco Jr.