Bookshelf
On Becoming a Leader
by Warren Bennis
A reflection on the qualities and knowledge required by leaders in the 21st century: The ability to empathise with others and reflect on your own practice, the need to understand the context in which you are operating and self-awareness.
This is a wonderful read if you don’t want to be told what you need to do as a leader but want to think of what might help you develop as a person in a position of leadership.
“Experiences aren’t truly yours until you think about them, analyze them, examine them, question them, reflect on them and finally understand them.”
Effective Teamwork – Practical Lessons from Organizational Research
by Michael A. West
This book is full of practical advice that can be integrated into daily management practice. What makes it in my opinion one of the best books on leading teams, is its grounding in research into behaviour in organisations.
“When focusing on feelings, the facts emerge, whereas when the focus is on facts, the feelings often remain hidden and unexpressed”
Drive
by Daniel Pink
An in-depth look at motivation, challenging the carrot-stick approach. The book is very easy to read – yet full of findings from studies into motivation. It also has some practical ideas on how to help team members with their motivation at work, by dissecting what constitutes intrinsic motivation and providing some examples of innovative businesses.
“Mastery is an asymptote, a straight line that a curve approaches but never quite reaches.”
The Speed of Trust
by Stephen M.R. Covey
Understanding why you trust some people and why people have trust in you or sometimes, lose trust in you is not always easy. This book dissects trust – the kind of behaviours and attitudes that can lead others to trust us. In a world where business is becoming more personal and where long-term relationships are key to building business, this book is an advocate of the need to focus on building trust within and across organisations.
Making Sense of Change Management
by Esther Cameron and Mike Green
An easy-to-read and browse through collection of the main models associated with personal and organisational change. Coupled with examples of how they have been applied, they provide a good reminder that there is not a one-size-fits all approach to leading through change.
The Happiness Hypothesis
by Jonathan Haidt
A wonderful and structured concoction of sociology, religion,psychology, biology and personal reflection. By presenting findings of his own and others’ studies, Haidt presents some answers to questions about human behaviour in relationships: why some times we appear completely selfless, why certain human bonds are made… His ideas are easy to understand and, more importantly, well supported by research.
The Decisive Moment
by Jonah Lehrer
Good mix of physiology and psychology and lots and lots of stories. Will keep you entertained while encouraging you to think about how you use (or not) your instinct, emotions and rational thought.
