Leadership Books That Have Influenced Me Greatly [Part 2]

Books have a profound effect upon people. There's something almost magical when the right book intersects with a person at just the right moment. A special book can become sacred.

In this post, I continue my "top ten" list of influential books. If you would like to see the first five, simply click here. Now...let's complete this list:

Handbook of Leadership Development
Edited by Cynthia D. McCauley, Russ S. Moxley, & Ellen Van Velsor

Published by the Center for Creative Leadership, this book could be categorized as a leadership development encyclopedia. The book gathers the work of over a dozen talented professionals to consider effective and worthwhile strategies in developing leadership traits in others.

Perhaps the greatest lesson that I learned from this book was the model of assessment, challenge, and support.

Assessment helps to clarify the needed changes and points an individual toward a leadership ideal.

Challenge gives the opportunity for experimentation and practice, as well as, exposure to different perspectives.

Support provides the confidence to learn and grow with confirmation and clarification of lessons learned.

This book helped me turn the corner from focusing on my own leadership development to better understanding how to develop leadership in others.

The Top Ten Mistakes Leaders Make
By Hans Finzel

Some people learn best by being told how to do or not to do something. Others learn best from making mistakes and reflecting on what they should change. But I consider myself fortunate when I can learn from the mistakes of others and not have to make them myself.

Finzel helped me recognize harmful characteristics within leaders - traits that I didn't want to imitate. He addresses such issues as leaders with a top-down attitude, putting paperwork before peoplework, delegating the dirty way, communication chaos, and many others.

On Becoming A Leader
By Warren Bennis

Peter Drucker said, "This is Bennis's most important book." I agree. This book is in the library of many great leaders. Bennis shows that each person has the capacity to become a leader. He doesn't offer step by step instructions, but rather, points to the transformation as a slow process.

The process is what has continued to challenge me in my own leadership. Bennis shows that a leader has a continual need for education (is a learner!), needs to unlearn as well as learn and reflect on the learning. He talks about taking risks, making mistakes and building one's competence (is he one of the first to recognize the value of focusing on one's strengths?!).

The line that gripped me from the book and was the ultimate takeaway was this: "Becoming a leader is synonymous with becoming yourself."

The One Thing You Need To Know
By Marcus Buckingham

You may notice that this is the only book in my list that doesn't have the word "leadership" in the title. But leadership is written all over the inside of this book. Buckingham introduced me to the idea of discovering and focusing on my strengths in previous works. In this book, he helped me to understand how to lead with greater clarity.

In fact, clarity is the "one thing." The ability to focus on what's most important is the leader's most valuable asset. Buckingham says,

"Today you must excel at filtering the world. You must be able to cut through the clutter and zero in on the emotions or facts or events that really matter. You must learn to distinguish between what is merely important and what is imperative. You must learn to place less value on al that you can remember and more on those few things that you must never forget."

Principle-Centered Leadership
By Stephen Covey

This book is meant to be savored. Originally written as essays and articles, Covey combines his writings into this book that focuses on the importance of both personal and professional relationships.

"Effective people lead their lives and manage their relationships around principles; ineffective people attempt to manage their time around priorities and their tasks around goals. Think effectiveness with people; efficiency with things."

This book is designed to help a leader grow from the inside out. It speaks to the heart of leadership and not merely the implementation of the tools of the trade. Covey states that "real leadership power comes from an honorable character." The principle-centered approach sets the foundation and perspective from which every leadership decision must be made. While it is listed last on my list, it is one of the best.

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Have one of these books that I've listed caught your attention as well?

Often, the best leadership books that I've read have come from the recommendation of others. What are you reading that has helped you to become a better leader?

To view the first five books in my top ten list, click here.