My key to success is READING! Are you a reader? “Leaders are readers” truly highlights the importance of continuous learning and personal development, key traits for anyone in leadership. Reading expands perspectives, fosters empathy, and equips leaders with the knowledge and tools they need to inspire, innovate, and navigate challenges.
Here are a few benefits for all of us who make reading a priority:
- Broadens Perspectives: Reading diverse topics—from leadership and psychology to history and fiction—helps leaders think creatively and approach problems from different angles.
- Enhances Empathy: Books, especially stories about different experiences and cultures, can help leaders develop empathy and improve their ability to connect with people from all walks of life.
- Sharpens Communication: Reading helps improve vocabulary, communication, and storytelling skills—key qualities in effective leadership.
- Provides Fresh Insights: Leadership is about continuous growth, and books are a fantastic source of new strategies, insights, and lessons that can be applied to leading teams.
- Develops Critical Thinking: The more you read, the better you become at analysing information, understanding trends, and making informed decisions.
Some of my Favourite Reads! Yours?
- “The Five Dysfunctions of a Team” by Patrick Lencioni This classic book uses a business fable to illustrate the five common issues teams face: absence of trust, fear of conflict, lack of commitment, avoidance of accountability, and inattention to results.
- “Team of Teams: New Rules of Engagement for a Complex World” by General Stanley McChrystal McChrystal shares how the U.S. military transformed its structure to function in the rapidly evolving context of modern warfare, showing how any organization can adapt to complex environments.
- “The Culture Code: The Secrets of Highly Successful Groups” by Daniel Coyle This book examines some of the world’s most successful organizations and reveals the key traits of high-performing teams, focusing on creating safety, vulnerability, and purpose.
- “Smarter Faster Better: The Secrets of Being Productive in Life and Business” by Charles Duhigg Duhigg explores how effective teams balance creativity and productivity, using research and case studies to explain how successful teams think and operate.
- “Radical Candor: Be a Kick-Ass Boss Without Losing Your Humanity” by Kim Scott This book focuses on the importance of open, honest communication within teams, and how to lead with empathy while driving results.
- “The Fearless Organization: Creating Psychological Safety in the Workplace for Learning, Innovation, and Growth” by Amy C. Edmondson Edmondson emphasizes the importance of psychological safety in teams, enabling team members to take risks, speak up, and collaborate more effectively.
- “Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us” by Daniel H. Pink While not exclusively about teams, this book offers insights into how motivation works and how to build teams where people feel intrinsically driven to contribute.
These books offer insights on trust, communication, psychological safety, and leadership—all essential for building high-performing teams.
Here are some additional books on teams and leadership that you might find valuable:
- “Trillion Dollar Coach: The Leadership Playbook of Silicon Valley’s Bill Campbell” by Eric Schmidt, Jonathan Rosenberg, and Alan Eagle This book shares the wisdom and team-building insights of Bill Campbell, who coached top executives in Silicon Valley. It focuses on building great teams by fostering trust, empathy, and clear communication.
- “Turn the Ship Around!: A True Story of Turning Followers into Leaders” by L. David Marquet A former Navy captain shares how he transformed a struggling submarine crew into one of the best-performing teams in the Navy by empowering each team member to take ownership and lead.
- “The Infinite Game” by Simon Sinek This book introduces the idea of “infinite games,” where the goal is to keep playing, rather than win. It emphasises the need for leaders and teams to adapt, stay resilient, and focus on long-term success over short-term gains.
- “No Rules Rules: Netflix and the Culture of Reinvention” by Reed Hastings and Erin Meyer Co-authored by Netflix’s CEO, this book dives into Netflix’s unconventional team-building philosophy, prioritising creativity, candor, and freedom over traditional management practices.
- “Multipliers: How the Best Leaders Make Everyone Smarter” by Liz Wiseman This book contrasts two types of leaders: Diminishers, who unintentionally suppress their teams, and Multipliers, who amplify their teams’ abilities and intelligence. It provides practical ways to build teams that thrive.
- “The Advantage: Why Organizational Health Trumps Everything Else in Business” by Patrick Lencioni This book goes beyond Lencioni’s team-focused works and takes a broader look at how organisational health and culture play a key role in team success.
- “High Output Management” by Andrew S. Grove Grove, a former CEO of Intel, explains how managers can build effective teams and systems to enhance productivity, providing practical tips for team organisation and leadership.
These books offer a wide range of approaches, from fostering empowerment and ownership within teams to creating innovative and adaptive cultures that thrive in modern workplaces.
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Here are some other highly valuable books on teams and leadership that can offer fresh insights:
- “The Wisdom of Teams: Creating the High-Performance Organization” by Jon R. Katzenbach and Douglas K. Smith Though older, this book is an underrated classic. It explores the dynamics of teams through case studies and emphasizes the importance of collaboration and accountability in team success.
- “Scrum: The Art of Doing Twice the Work in Half the Time” by Jeff Sutherland This book is highly relevant for teams working in agile environments, but it’s less mainstream than other leadership books. It explains how the Scrum methodology can help teams collaborate more effectively and achieve remarkable results.
- “Teaming: How Organizations Learn, Innovate, and Compete in the Knowledge Economy” by Amy C. Edmondson While Amy Edmondson is known for her work on psychological safety, this lesser-known book dives deeper into how teams can continuously learn and innovate in a rapidly changing world.
- “The Collaborative Habit: Life Lessons for Working Together” by Twyla Tharp Written by choreographer Twyla Tharp, this book takes a creative approach to collaboration, drawing lessons from the arts and applying them to team dynamics.
- “An Everyone Culture: Becoming a Deliberately Developmental Organization” by Robert Kegan and Lisa Laskow Lahey This book is about organizations that prioritize personal and professional growth for all employees. It explores how building teams where development is a shared goal can lead to long-term success.
- “The Chaos Imperative: How Chance and Disruption Increase Innovation, Effectiveness, and Success” by Ori Brafman and Judah Pollack This book introduces the idea that some level of chaos and unpredictability within teams can foster creativity and innovation, providing an unconventional take on team building.
- “Tribal Leadership: Leveraging Natural Groups to Build a Thriving Organization” by Dave Logan, John King, and Halee Fischer-Wright This book looks at how teams evolve within organizations through different stages of “tribes” and offers practical strategies for moving teams to higher levels of collaboration and performance.
- “Humility Is the New Smart: Rethinking Human Excellence in the Smart Machine Age” by Edward D. Hess and Katherine Ludwig A lesser-known book that explores the critical role of humility in leadership and team building, particularly in an age dominated by AI and technology. It focuses on creating teams where learning and adaptability are core values.
- “The Best Team Wins: Build Your Business Through Predictive Hiring” by Adam Robinson This book focuses on team building from a hiring and recruitment perspective, offering strategies to ensure you’re bringing the right people on board and building a team with complementary strengths.
- “The Alliance: Managing Talent in the Networked Age” by Reid Hoffman, Ben Casnocha, and Chris Yeh Written by the co-founder of LinkedIn, this book discusses how the relationship between employers and employees has changed and offers insights on how to build teams where trust and mutual benefit are central.
Also check out Legacy by James Kerr, Emotional Agility by Susan David and any books by Ryan Holiday and Stephen Covey.
These books provide diverse and unconventional approaches to team dynamics, making them valuable resources for leaders seeking fresh perspectives.
Australian Authors!
Here are some Australian authors and their books that focus on teams, leadership, and personal development:
- Sonia McDonald – “Leadership Attitude” and “First Comes Courage” Sonia McDonald is a well-known leadership coach in Australia. Her books focus on building courage and compassion in leadership, with an emphasis on authentic and values-driven leadership for teams.
- Patrick Hollingworth – “The Light and Fast Organisation: A New Way of Dealing with Uncertainty” This book uses mountaineering metaphors to explore how organizations can become more agile and adaptable. Hollingworth shares strategies for creating flexible, resilient teams in today’s fast-changing business environment.
- Margie Warrell – “Stop Playing Safe” and “Brave: 50 Everyday Acts of Courage to Thrive in Work, Love and Life” Margie Warrell is an Australian author and leadership coach who focuses on courage, resilience, and leading with purpose. Her books inspire individuals and teams to take bold steps and embrace challenges in work and life.
- Michael Henderson – “Above the Line: How to Create a Company Culture that Engages Employees, Delights Customers and Delivers Results” Henderson is a culture expert from Australia. His book focuses on building a strong team culture that fosters engagement, collaboration, and success, making it a great read for anyone focused on team dynamics.
- Nigel Collin – “Game of Inches: Why Small Change Wins Big Results” Collin’s book focuses on how small, incremental changes can lead to significant results, particularly in leadership and team environments. It’s an inspiring take on how continuous improvement within teams can create major success.
- Michelle Gibbings – “Step Up: How to Build Your Influence at Work” Gibbings is a leadership expert from Australia, and her book helps individuals and teams step up their game by building influence, improving communication, and fostering collaboration.
- Peter Docker – “Leading from the Jumpseat: How to Create Extraordinary Opportunities by Handing Over Control” Docker, who co-authored “Find Your Why” with Simon Sinek, lives in Australia. His book “Leading from the Jumpseat” focuses on empowering teams by stepping back as a leader and enabling others to take ownership and lead.
These authors bring unique Australian perspectives to leadership and team building, with a focus on courage, adaptability, and creating strong team cultures.