Yet as a CEO, myself, and someone who studies leadership for a living, I try to read as much as I can to learn what is working and not working for other leaders. And every so often, I stumble on a leadership book that\u2019s fantastic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Over the summer, I read a handful of books on leadership that surprised me in the best ways. A few even had me glowing. Some of them are not \u201cbusiness books\u201d or \u201cleadership books\u201d per se\u200a\u2014\u200abut the lessons and insights they contain are highly applicable for managers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you\u2019re a manager and looking for something new to dive into, here are 6 books I enjoyed recently:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The CEO Next Door<\/strong><\/a><\/h4>\n\n\n\nI can\u2019t stop recommending this book to people. Based on data from thousands of CEOs, it shares the 4 behaviors that make for a successful CEO. While it\u2019s centered primarily for CEOs of large enterprise companies and non-founding CEOs, I personally found all the concepts resonant. My favorite one? The idea of holding your stakeholders to be \u201cconstructively dissatisfied\u201d (see below).<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/blog.knowyourteam.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/5de38-1qwold2rdcdyast87fiohva.jpeg\")
From \u201cThe CEO Next Door\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\nThe Courage To Be Disliked<\/strong><\/a><\/h4>\n\n\n\nWhile this isn\u2019t your typical \u201cleadership\u201d read, I strongly suggest leaders pick it up. It gave me a enlightening framework around self-perception: You tell stories that cause you to resent team members, you want<\/em> to be angry at a situation, and a deep desire to be liked motivates almost all your decisions. The minute we have the courage to be disliked\u200a\u2014\u200aand instead to serve our community and live in accordance with our own personal conviction\u200a\u2014\u200athe freer we are, as managers and as people. Interestingly enough, this is also a recent national bestseller in Japan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/blog.knowyourteam.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/9be57-1d4lb9-lak-yjgk5sp85bdg.jpeg\")
From \u201cThe Courage to Be Disliked\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\nThe Effective Executive<\/strong><\/a><\/h4>\n\n\n\nI\u2019d read a lot of Peter Drucker before, but had not gotten around to this one yet. I wish I\u2019d read it sooner. It\u2019s a classic for a reason. How you spend your time determines your effectiveness as a leader, says Drucker, and he is so spot on. After reading this book, I did an inventory of my time and overhauled how I spend it. It was painful, yet necessary. The reality is, you\u2019re spending it on things you shouldn\u2019t, and there\u2019s only one way to fix it: Face it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/blog.knowyourteam.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/5ecc2-1uihegdmfnl798nw_rw931g.jpeg\")
From \u201cThe Effective Executive\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\nThe Art of Gathering<\/strong><\/a><\/h4>\n\n\n\nAnother \u201cnot business book,\u201d but I have applied many ideas from it already. Leaders ultimately gather people together\u200a\u2014\u200aso thinking intentionally about how to gather people in the best way is paramount. It has helped me reconsider the way I run workshops at Canopy, how I facilitate a meeting with clients, and how I interact with team members. I now focus more on the purpose<\/em> in gathering people, and the beginning and end of a gathering.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/blog.knowyourteam.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/0389e-1ch18q0vq4jec5lkyjefdoq.jpeg\")
From \u201cThe Art of Gathering\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\nThe War of Art<\/strong><\/a><\/h4>\n\n\n\nOriginally intended for writers or artists, I found this book to be equally helpful for the \u201ccraft\u201d of management. Pressfield discusses how ego is a barrier to progress and creativity. Similarly, I realized how much ego is a part of what causes us to be bad managers. To softly kill the negative effects of ego, I loved his suggestion that you frame of yourself as a company instead of as an individual: Think of yourself as \u201cClaire, Inc.\u201d when you receive critical feedback. That way you\u2019re more likely to be open to feedback, take things less personally, and willing to improve. Be a vessel for your work, instead of tying your own ego to it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/blog.knowyourteam.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/26c47-1bb61i7rhzaxdqqurdq7ukw.jpeg\")
From \u201cThe War of Art\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\nPowerful<\/strong><\/a><\/h4>\n\n\n\nLike many, I\u2019m a big fan of Patty McCord, former Chief Talent Officer at Netflix, and author of the infamous \u201cCulture Deck<\/a>.\u201d Her new book, Powerful<\/em>, was a breath of fresh air to me. I completely agree with her emphasis on performance\u200a\u2014\u200awe\u2019ve gotten away from the fact that a team is supposed to perform, and that\u2019s what a leader is supposed to make happen. She takes a lot of commonly embraced HR truisms and spits on them. I love it. For example, she rails on not calling your company \u201cfamily.\u201d Here\u2019s my favorite quote of hers (didn\u2019t have a screenshot of it!):<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\u201cGreat teams are not created with incentives, procedures, and perks. They are created by hiring talented people who are adults and want nothing more than to tackle a challenge, and then communicating to them, clearly and continuously, about what the challenge is.\u201d \u2013Patty\u00a0McCord<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
Have you read any of these, yourself? What\u2019d ya think? If you get a chance, would be curious to hear your thoughts. And, as I look for my next books to read, I\u2019m eager to know what you\u2019d recommend. Please give me a shout on Twitter (@clairejlew<\/a>) or drop me a note at claire@canopy.is.<\/p>\n\n\n\nLook forward to hearing from you!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Courage To Be Disliked<\/strong><\/a><\/h4>\n\n\n\nWhile this isn\u2019t your typical \u201cleadership\u201d read, I strongly suggest leaders pick it up. It gave me a enlightening framework around self-perception: You tell stories that cause you to resent team members, you want<\/em> to be angry at a situation, and a deep desire to be liked motivates almost all your decisions. The minute we have the courage to be disliked\u200a\u2014\u200aand instead to serve our community and live in accordance with our own personal conviction\u200a\u2014\u200athe freer we are, as managers and as people. Interestingly enough, this is also a recent national bestseller in Japan.<\/p>\n\n\n\nFrom \u201cThe Courage to Be Disliked\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\nThe Effective Executive<\/strong><\/a><\/h4>\n\n\n\nI\u2019d read a lot of Peter Drucker before, but had not gotten around to this one yet. I wish I\u2019d read it sooner. It\u2019s a classic for a reason. How you spend your time determines your effectiveness as a leader, says Drucker, and he is so spot on. After reading this book, I did an inventory of my time and overhauled how I spend it. It was painful, yet necessary. The reality is, you\u2019re spending it on things you shouldn\u2019t, and there\u2019s only one way to fix it: Face it.<\/p>\n\n\n\nFrom \u201cThe Effective Executive\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\nThe Art of Gathering<\/strong><\/a><\/h4>\n\n\n\nAnother \u201cnot business book,\u201d but I have applied many ideas from it already. Leaders ultimately gather people together\u200a\u2014\u200aso thinking intentionally about how to gather people in the best way is paramount. It has helped me reconsider the way I run workshops at Canopy, how I facilitate a meeting with clients, and how I interact with team members. I now focus more on the purpose<\/em> in gathering people, and the beginning and end of a gathering.<\/p>\n\n\n\nFrom \u201cThe Art of Gathering\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\nThe War of Art<\/strong><\/a><\/h4>\n\n\n\nOriginally intended for writers or artists, I found this book to be equally helpful for the \u201ccraft\u201d of management. Pressfield discusses how ego is a barrier to progress and creativity. Similarly, I realized how much ego is a part of what causes us to be bad managers. To softly kill the negative effects of ego, I loved his suggestion that you frame of yourself as a company instead of as an individual: Think of yourself as \u201cClaire, Inc.\u201d when you receive critical feedback. That way you\u2019re more likely to be open to feedback, take things less personally, and willing to improve. Be a vessel for your work, instead of tying your own ego to it.<\/p>\n\n\n\nFrom \u201cThe War of Art\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\nPowerful<\/strong><\/a><\/h4>\n\n\n\nLike many, I\u2019m a big fan of Patty McCord, former Chief Talent Officer at Netflix, and author of the infamous \u201cCulture Deck<\/a>.\u201d Her new book, Powerful<\/em>, was a breath of fresh air to me. I completely agree with her emphasis on performance\u200a\u2014\u200awe\u2019ve gotten away from the fact that a team is supposed to perform, and that\u2019s what a leader is supposed to make happen. She takes a lot of commonly embraced HR truisms and spits on them. I love it. For example, she rails on not calling your company \u201cfamily.\u201d Here\u2019s my favorite quote of hers (didn\u2019t have a screenshot of it!):<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\u201cGreat teams are not created with incentives, procedures, and perks. They are created by hiring talented people who are adults and want nothing more than to tackle a challenge, and then communicating to them, clearly and continuously, about what the challenge is.\u201d \u2013Patty\u00a0McCord<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
Have you read any of these, yourself? What\u2019d ya think? If you get a chance, would be curious to hear your thoughts. And, as I look for my next books to read, I\u2019m eager to know what you\u2019d recommend. Please give me a shout on Twitter (@clairejlew<\/a>) or drop me a note at claire@canopy.is.<\/p>\n\n\n\nLook forward to hearing from you!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Effective Executive<\/strong><\/a><\/h4>\n\n\n\nI\u2019d read a lot of Peter Drucker before, but had not gotten around to this one yet. I wish I\u2019d read it sooner. It\u2019s a classic for a reason. How you spend your time determines your effectiveness as a leader, says Drucker, and he is so spot on. After reading this book, I did an inventory of my time and overhauled how I spend it. It was painful, yet necessary. The reality is, you\u2019re spending it on things you shouldn\u2019t, and there\u2019s only one way to fix it: Face it.<\/p>\n\n\n\nFrom \u201cThe Effective Executive\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\nThe Art of Gathering<\/strong><\/a><\/h4>\n\n\n\nAnother \u201cnot business book,\u201d but I have applied many ideas from it already. Leaders ultimately gather people together\u200a\u2014\u200aso thinking intentionally about how to gather people in the best way is paramount. It has helped me reconsider the way I run workshops at Canopy, how I facilitate a meeting with clients, and how I interact with team members. I now focus more on the purpose<\/em> in gathering people, and the beginning and end of a gathering.<\/p>\n\n\n\nFrom \u201cThe Art of Gathering\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\nThe War of Art<\/strong><\/a><\/h4>\n\n\n\nOriginally intended for writers or artists, I found this book to be equally helpful for the \u201ccraft\u201d of management. Pressfield discusses how ego is a barrier to progress and creativity. Similarly, I realized how much ego is a part of what causes us to be bad managers. To softly kill the negative effects of ego, I loved his suggestion that you frame of yourself as a company instead of as an individual: Think of yourself as \u201cClaire, Inc.\u201d when you receive critical feedback. That way you\u2019re more likely to be open to feedback, take things less personally, and willing to improve. Be a vessel for your work, instead of tying your own ego to it.<\/p>\n\n\n\nFrom \u201cThe War of Art\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\nPowerful<\/strong><\/a><\/h4>\n\n\n\nLike many, I\u2019m a big fan of Patty McCord, former Chief Talent Officer at Netflix, and author of the infamous \u201cCulture Deck<\/a>.\u201d Her new book, Powerful<\/em>, was a breath of fresh air to me. I completely agree with her emphasis on performance\u200a\u2014\u200awe\u2019ve gotten away from the fact that a team is supposed to perform, and that\u2019s what a leader is supposed to make happen. She takes a lot of commonly embraced HR truisms and spits on them. I love it. For example, she rails on not calling your company \u201cfamily.\u201d Here\u2019s my favorite quote of hers (didn\u2019t have a screenshot of it!):<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\u201cGreat teams are not created with incentives, procedures, and perks. They are created by hiring talented people who are adults and want nothing more than to tackle a challenge, and then communicating to them, clearly and continuously, about what the challenge is.\u201d \u2013Patty\u00a0McCord<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
Have you read any of these, yourself? What\u2019d ya think? If you get a chance, would be curious to hear your thoughts. And, as I look for my next books to read, I\u2019m eager to know what you\u2019d recommend. Please give me a shout on Twitter (@clairejlew<\/a>) or drop me a note at claire@canopy.is.<\/p>\n\n\n\nLook forward to hearing from you!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Art of Gathering<\/strong><\/a><\/h4>\n\n\n\nAnother \u201cnot business book,\u201d but I have applied many ideas from it already. Leaders ultimately gather people together\u200a\u2014\u200aso thinking intentionally about how to gather people in the best way is paramount. It has helped me reconsider the way I run workshops at Canopy, how I facilitate a meeting with clients, and how I interact with team members. I now focus more on the purpose<\/em> in gathering people, and the beginning and end of a gathering.<\/p>\n\n\n\nFrom \u201cThe Art of Gathering\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\nThe War of Art<\/strong><\/a><\/h4>\n\n\n\nOriginally intended for writers or artists, I found this book to be equally helpful for the \u201ccraft\u201d of management. Pressfield discusses how ego is a barrier to progress and creativity. Similarly, I realized how much ego is a part of what causes us to be bad managers. To softly kill the negative effects of ego, I loved his suggestion that you frame of yourself as a company instead of as an individual: Think of yourself as \u201cClaire, Inc.\u201d when you receive critical feedback. That way you\u2019re more likely to be open to feedback, take things less personally, and willing to improve. Be a vessel for your work, instead of tying your own ego to it.<\/p>\n\n\n\nFrom \u201cThe War of Art\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\nPowerful<\/strong><\/a><\/h4>\n\n\n\nLike many, I\u2019m a big fan of Patty McCord, former Chief Talent Officer at Netflix, and author of the infamous \u201cCulture Deck<\/a>.\u201d Her new book, Powerful<\/em>, was a breath of fresh air to me. I completely agree with her emphasis on performance\u200a\u2014\u200awe\u2019ve gotten away from the fact that a team is supposed to perform, and that\u2019s what a leader is supposed to make happen. She takes a lot of commonly embraced HR truisms and spits on them. I love it. For example, she rails on not calling your company \u201cfamily.\u201d Here\u2019s my favorite quote of hers (didn\u2019t have a screenshot of it!):<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\u201cGreat teams are not created with incentives, procedures, and perks. They are created by hiring talented people who are adults and want nothing more than to tackle a challenge, and then communicating to them, clearly and continuously, about what the challenge is.\u201d \u2013Patty\u00a0McCord<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
Have you read any of these, yourself? What\u2019d ya think? If you get a chance, would be curious to hear your thoughts. And, as I look for my next books to read, I\u2019m eager to know what you\u2019d recommend. Please give me a shout on Twitter (@clairejlew<\/a>) or drop me a note at claire@canopy.is.<\/p>\n\n\n\nLook forward to hearing from you!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The War of Art<\/strong><\/a><\/h4>\n\n\n\nOriginally intended for writers or artists, I found this book to be equally helpful for the \u201ccraft\u201d of management. Pressfield discusses how ego is a barrier to progress and creativity. Similarly, I realized how much ego is a part of what causes us to be bad managers. To softly kill the negative effects of ego, I loved his suggestion that you frame of yourself as a company instead of as an individual: Think of yourself as \u201cClaire, Inc.\u201d when you receive critical feedback. That way you\u2019re more likely to be open to feedback, take things less personally, and willing to improve. Be a vessel for your work, instead of tying your own ego to it.<\/p>\n\n\n\nFrom \u201cThe War of Art\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\nPowerful<\/strong><\/a><\/h4>\n\n\n\nLike many, I\u2019m a big fan of Patty McCord, former Chief Talent Officer at Netflix, and author of the infamous \u201cCulture Deck<\/a>.\u201d Her new book, Powerful<\/em>, was a breath of fresh air to me. I completely agree with her emphasis on performance\u200a\u2014\u200awe\u2019ve gotten away from the fact that a team is supposed to perform, and that\u2019s what a leader is supposed to make happen. She takes a lot of commonly embraced HR truisms and spits on them. I love it. For example, she rails on not calling your company \u201cfamily.\u201d Here\u2019s my favorite quote of hers (didn\u2019t have a screenshot of it!):<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\u201cGreat teams are not created with incentives, procedures, and perks. They are created by hiring talented people who are adults and want nothing more than to tackle a challenge, and then communicating to them, clearly and continuously, about what the challenge is.\u201d \u2013Patty\u00a0McCord<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
Have you read any of these, yourself? What\u2019d ya think? If you get a chance, would be curious to hear your thoughts. And, as I look for my next books to read, I\u2019m eager to know what you\u2019d recommend. Please give me a shout on Twitter (@clairejlew<\/a>) or drop me a note at claire@canopy.is.<\/p>\n\n\n\nLook forward to hearing from you!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Powerful<\/strong><\/a><\/h4>\n\n\n\nLike many, I\u2019m a big fan of Patty McCord, former Chief Talent Officer at Netflix, and author of the infamous \u201cCulture Deck<\/a>.\u201d Her new book, Powerful<\/em>, was a breath of fresh air to me. I completely agree with her emphasis on performance\u200a\u2014\u200awe\u2019ve gotten away from the fact that a team is supposed to perform, and that\u2019s what a leader is supposed to make happen. She takes a lot of commonly embraced HR truisms and spits on them. I love it. For example, she rails on not calling your company \u201cfamily.\u201d Here\u2019s my favorite quote of hers (didn\u2019t have a screenshot of it!):<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\u201cGreat teams are not created with incentives, procedures, and perks. They are created by hiring talented people who are adults and want nothing more than to tackle a challenge, and then communicating to them, clearly and continuously, about what the challenge is.\u201d \u2013Patty\u00a0McCord<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
Have you read any of these, yourself? What\u2019d ya think? If you get a chance, would be curious to hear your thoughts. And, as I look for my next books to read, I\u2019m eager to know what you\u2019d recommend. Please give me a shout on Twitter (@clairejlew<\/a>) or drop me a note at claire@canopy.is.<\/p>\n\n\n\nLook forward to hearing from you!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\u201cGreat teams are not created with incentives, procedures, and perks. They are created by hiring talented people who are adults and want nothing more than to tackle a challenge, and then communicating to them, clearly and continuously, about what the challenge is.\u201d \u2013Patty\u00a0McCord<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
Have you read any of these, yourself? What\u2019d ya think? If you get a chance, would be curious to hear your thoughts. And, as I look for my next books to read, I\u2019m eager to know what you\u2019d recommend. Please give me a shout on Twitter (@clairejlew<\/a>) or drop me a note at claire@canopy.is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Look forward to hearing from you!<\/p>\n\n\n\n