Looking to develop as a leader, explore careers, or get adjusted in a new role? I’ve probably got a book I will advise you to read. Scroll through to see if any pique your interest.
Career Exploration
City Planning – The Death and Life of Great American Cities by Jane Jacobs
Aerospace – The Wright Brothers by David McCullough
Entrepreneurship – Shackleton’s Way by Margot Morrell; Shoe Dog by Phil Knight; The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers by Ben Horowitz
Healthcare – Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End by Atul Gawande
Military – Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand
Higher Education – College Unbound: The Future of Higher Education and What It Means for Students by Jeffrey Selingo; Teacher as Servant: A Parable by Robert Greenleaf; The Courage to Teach: Exploring the Inner Landscape of a Teacher’s Life by Parker Palmer
K12 Education – Why Don’t Students Like School?: A Cognitive Scientist Answers Questions About How the Mind Works and What It Means for the Classroom by Daniel Willingham; Educated by Tara Westover
Politics – Leadership: in Turbulent Times by Doris Kearns Goodwin
Finance – Young Money: Inside the Hidden World of Wall Street’s Post-Crash Recruits by Kevin Roose
Social entrepreneurship – The Responsible Company by Yvon Chouinard and Vincent Stanley; Upstream by Dan Heath
International business and politics – Dead Aid by Dambisa Moyo; Flashpoints: The Emerging Crisis in Europe by George Friedman
Nonprofits – Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson; Good to Great in the Social Sectors by Jim Collins
Law – Becoming by Michelle Obama; Scalia Speaks by Antonin Scalia; My Own Words: Ruth Bader Ginsburg with Mary Harnett and Wendy Williams
Cybersecurity – Permanent Record by Edward Snowden; Algorithms to Live By: The Computer Science of Human Decisions by Brian Christian and Tom Griffiths
Sports – Open by Andre Agassi
Counseling/Psychology – How Emotions Are Made: The Secret Life of the Brain by Lisa Barrett Feldman
Visualization/Creative Fields – Building a Company: Roy O. Disney and the Creation of an Entertainment Empire by Bob Thomas
Leadership and Team Development
Managing in the Gray by Joseph Badaracco
The Motive by Patrick Lencioni
Leadership and Self Deception by The Arbinger Institute
The Advantage: Why Organizational Health Trumps Everything Else in Business by Patrick Lencioni
Step Back: Bringing the Art of Reflection into Your Busy Life by Joseph Badaracco
What You Do Is Who You Are: How to Create Your Business Culture by Ben Horowitz
Tools of Titans: The Tactics, Routines, and Habits of Billionaires, Icons, and World-Class Performers by Tim Ferriss
That’s Not How We Do It Here! by John Kotter
Ethical Decision Making
Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup by John Carreyrou
How Good People Make Tough Choices by Rushworth Kidder
Developing Team Trust
Dare to Lead by Brene Brown
Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking by Susan Cain
Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni
Performance Management
Nine Lies About Work: A Freethinking Leader’s Guide to the Real World by Marcus Buckingham
The First 90 Days by Michael Watkins