Best Books About Leadership
Essential reads for aspiring and experienced leaders on management, influence, and vision.
Top Leadership Books
Dare to Lead: Brave Work. Tough Conversations. Whole Hearts.
by Brené Brown
Leadership is not about titles, status, and wielding power. A leader is anyone who takes responsibility for recognizing the potential in people and ideas, and has the courage to develop that potential. When we dare to lead, we don’t pretend to have the right answers; we stay curious and ask the right questions. We don’t see power as finite and hoard it; we know that power becomes infinite when we share it with others. We don’t avoid difficult conversations and situations; we lean into vulnerability when it’s necessary to do good work. But daring leadership in a culture defined by scarcity, fear, and uncertainty requires skill-building around traits that are deeply and uniquely human. The irony is that we’re choosing not to invest in developing the hearts and minds of leaders at the exact same time as we’re scrambling to figure out what we have to offer that machines and AI can’t do better and faster. What can we do better? Empathy, connection, and courage, to start.
Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action
by Simon Sinek
..."Why are some people and organizations more innovative, more influential, and more profitable than others? Why do some command greater loyalty from customers and employees alike? Even among the successful, why are so few able to repeat their success over and over? People like Martin Luther King Jr., Steve Jobs, and the Wright Brothers might have little in common, but they all started with why. It was their natural ability to start with why that enabled them to inspire those around them and to achieve remarkable things. In studying the leaders who've had the greatest influence in the world, Simon Sinek discovered that they all think, act, and communicate in the exact same way -- and it's the complete opposite of what everyone else does. Sinek calls this powerful idea The Golden Circle, and it provides a framework upon which organizations can be built, movements can be lead, and people can be inspired. And it all starts with WHY. Any organization can explain what it does; some can explain how they do it; but very few can clearly articulate why. WHY is not money or profit--those are always results. WHY does your organization exist? WHY does it do the things it does? WHY do customers really buy from one company or another? WHY are people loyal to some leaders, but not others? Starting with WHY works in big business and small business, in the nonprofit world and in politics. Those who start with WHY never manipulate, they inspire. And the people who follow them don't do so because they have to; they follow because they want to. Drawing on a wide range of real-life stories, Sinek weaves together a clear vision of what it truly takes to lead and inspire..."--Jacket.
Raise Your Game High-Performance Secrets from the Best of the Best
by Alan Stein Jr., Jon Sternfeld
<b>Performance coach Alan Stein Jr. shares the secret principles used by world-class performers that will help you improve your productivity and achieve higher levels of success.</b><b><br></b><b> </b>High achievers are at the top of their game because of the discipline they have during the unseen hours. They have made a commitment to establish, tweak, and repeat positive habits in everything they do. RAISE YOUR GAME examines the top leaders in sports and business and proves that success is a result of the little things we do <i>all the time</i>.<br> The basic principles provided in RAISE YOUR GAME are simple, but not easy. We live in an instantly downloadable world that encourages us to skip steps. We are taught to chase what's hot, flashy and sexy and ignore what's basic. But the basics work. They always have and they always will.<br> RAISE YOUR GAME will inspire and empower you to commit to the fundamentals, create a winning mindset, and progress into new levels of success.
10x Is Easier Than 2x How World-Class Entrepreneurs Achieve More by Doing Less
by Dan Sullivan, Benjamin Hardy
Dan Sullivan, the world's leading coach for highly successful entrepreneurs, wants you to know that achieving 10X growth is exponentially easier than striving for 2X growth. Most find this idea confusing at first because simply imagining 10X growth causes them to think they need to do 10X more work to achieve it. However, being a 10X entrepreneur is nothing like what most people think.<br> <br> 10X is not the outcome; it's a counterintuitive process you can apply every time you want exponential growth in your life and business. To make 10X possible, you must focus on expanding what Dan defines as your four most important freedoms-time, money, relationship, and purpose. As your time becomes 10X more valuable, you increasingly multiply the money you earn both in terms of amount and profitable satisfaction. As money becomes a tool you can increasingly access with greater ease, you will engage with a growing number of other freedom-motivated individuals. As both your professional and personal life fills up with 10X more unique and collaborative relationships, you will realize that your most powerful purposes in all areas become 10X more lasting and positive for everyone involved. You will be impressed by what your life has become, and the meaning and impact you're having.<br> <br> 10X is fundamentally about quality vs quantity, and the quality of your freedoms determines the results you achieve.
The Great CEO Within The Tactical Guide to Company Building
by Matt Mochary
<p>Matt Mochary coaches the CEOs of many of the fastest-scaling technology companies in Silicon Valley. With The Great CEO Within, he shares his highly effective leadership and business-operating tools with any CEO or manager in the world. Learn how to efficiently scale your business from startup to corporation by implementing a system of accountability, effective problem-solving, and transparent feedback.</p><p>Becoming a great CEO requires training. For a founding CEO, there is precious little time to complete that training, especially at the helm of a rapidly growing company. Now you have the guidance you need in one book.</p>
Steve Jobs
by Walter Isaacson
<b>Walter Isaacson’s “enthralling” (<i>The New Yorker</i>) worldwide bestselling biography of Apple cofounder Steve Jobs.</b><BR><BR>Based on more than forty interviews with Steve Jobs conducted over two years—as well as interviews with more than 100 family members, friends, adversaries, competitors, and colleagues—Walter Isaacson has written a riveting story of the roller-coaster life and searingly intense personality of a creative entrepreneur whose passion for perfection and ferocious drive revolutionized six industries: personal computers, animated movies, music, phones, tablet computing, and digital publishing.<BR> <BR>At a time when America is seeking ways to sustain its innovative edge, Jobs stands as the ultimate icon of inventiveness and applied imagination. He knew that the best way to create value in 21st century was to connect creativity with technology. He built a company where leaps of the imagination were combined with remarkable feats of engineering.<BR> <BR>Although Jobs cooperated with the author, he asked for no control over what was written. He put nothing off-limits. He encouraged the people he knew to speak honestly. And Jobs speaks candidly, sometimes brutally so, about the people he worked with and competed against. His friends, foes, and colleagues provide an unvarnished view of the passions, perfectionism, obsessions, artistry, devilry, and compulsion for control that shaped his approach to business and the innovative products that resulted.<BR> <BR>Driven by demons, Jobs could drive those around him to fury and despair. But his personality and products were interrelated, just as Apple’s hardware and software tended to be, as if part of an integrated system. His tale is instructive and cautionary, filled with lessons about innovation, character, leadership, and values.<BR> <BR><i>Steve Jobs </i>is the inspiration for the movie of the same name starring Michael Fassbender, Kate Winslet, Seth Rogen, and Jeff Daniels, directed by Danny Boyle with a screenplay by Aaron Sorkin.
The Ride of a Lifetime Lessons Learned from 15 Years as CEO of the Walt Disney Company
by Robert Iger
<b>#1 <i>NEW YORK TIMES </i>BESTSELLER • <b>A memoir of leadership and success</b>: The CEO of Disney shares the ideas and values he embraced<b> while reinventing one of the world’s most beloved companies </b>and inspiring the people who bring the magic to life.</b> <br><br><b>AN NPR BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR</b><br><br>Robert Iger became CEO of The Walt Disney Company in 2005, during a difficult time. Competition was more intense than ever and technology was changing faster than at any time in the company’s history. His vision came down to three clear ideas: Recommit to the concept that quality matters, embrace technology instead of fighting it, and think bigger—think global—and turn Disney into a stronger brand in international markets. <br><br>Today, Disney is the largest, most admired media company in the world, counting Pixar, Marvel, Lucasfilm, and 21st Century Fox among its properties. Under Iger’s leadership, Disney’s value grew nearly five times what it was, making Iger one of the most innovating and successful CEOs of our era.<br><br>In <i>The Ride of a Lifetime</i>, Robert Iger answers the question: What are the qualities of a good leader? He shares the lessons he learned while running Disney and leading its 220,000-plus employees, and he explores the principles that are necessary for true leadership, including:<br><br>• <b>Optimism.</b> Even in the face of difficulty, an optimistic leader will find the path toward the best possible outcome and focus on that, rather than give in to pessimism and blaming.<br>• <b>Courage.</b> Leaders have to be willing to take risks and place big bets. Fear of failure destroys creativity. <br>• <b>Decisiveness.</b> All decisions, no matter how difficult, can be made on a timely basis. Indecisiveness is both wasteful and destructive to morale.<br> • <b>Fairness.</b> Treat people decently, with empathy, and be accessible to them. <br><br>This book is about the relentless curiosity that has driven Iger since the day he started as the lowliest studio grunt at ABC. It’s also about thoughtfulness and respect, and a decency-over-dollars approach that has become the bedrock of every project and partnership Iger pursues, from a deep friendship with Steve Jobs in his final years to an abiding love of the <i>Star Wars</i> mythology.<br> <br>“The ideas in this book strike me as universal,” Iger writes. “Not just to the aspiring CEOs of the world, but to anyone wanting to feel less fearful, more confidently <i>themselves,</i> as they navigate their professional and even personal lives.”
Drive The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us
by Daniel H. Pink
<b>The <i>New York Times</i> bestseller that gives readers a paradigm-shattering new way to think about motivation <b>from the author of <b><b><b><i>When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing</i></b></b></b></b></b><br><br> Most people believe that the best way to motivate is with rewards like money—the carrot-and-stick approach. That's a mistake, says Daniel H. Pink (author of <i>To Sell Is Human: The Surprising Truth About Motivating Others</i>). In this provocative and persuasive new book, he asserts that the secret to high performance and satisfaction-at work, at school, and at home—is the deeply human need to direct our own lives, to learn and create new things, and to do better by ourselves and our world.<br><br> Drawing on four decades of scientific research on human motivation, Pink exposes the mismatch between what science knows and what business does—and how that affects every aspect of life. He examines the three elements of true motivation—autonomy, mastery, and purpose-and offers smart and surprising techniques for putting these into action in a unique book that will change how we think and transform how we live.
Originals How Non-Conformists Move the World
by Adam Grant, Sheryl Sandberg
<b><b><b>The #1 <i>New York Times</i> bestseller that examines how people can champion new ideas in their careers and everyday life—and how leaders can fight groupthink, from the author of <i>Hidden Potential</i>, <i>Think Again,</i> and the co-author of <i>Option B</i></b><br><br>“Filled with fresh insights on a broad array of topics that are important to our personal and professional lives.”<b><i>—The New York Times DealBook</i><br></b><br>“<i>Originals</i> is one of the most important and captivating books I have ever read, full of surprising and powerful ideas.<i> </i>It will not only change the way you see the world; it might just change the way you live your life. And it could very well inspire you to change your world.” —Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook and author of <i>Lean In</i><br></b></b><br>With <i>Give and Take</i>, Adam Grant not only introduced a landmark new paradigm for success but also established himself as one of his generation’s most compelling and provocative thought leaders. In <i>Originals</i> he again addresses the challenge of improving the world, but now from the perspective of becoming original: choosing to champion novel ideas and values that go against the grain, battle conformity, and buck outdated traditions. How can we originate new ideas, policies, and practices without risking it all?<br> <br> Using surprising studies and stories spanning business, politics, sports, and entertainment, Grant explores how to recognize a good idea, speak up without getting silenced, build a coalition of allies, choose the right time to act, and manage fear and doubt; how parents and teachers can nurture originality in children; and how leaders can build cultures that welcome dissent. Learn from an entrepreneur who pitches his start-ups by highlighting the reasons not to invest, a woman at Apple who challenged Steve Jobs from three levels below, an analyst who overturned the rule of secrecy at the CIA, a billionaire financial wizard who fires employees for failing to criticize him, and a TV executive who didn’t even work in comedy but saved <i>Seinfeld </i>from the cutting-room floor. The payoff is a set of groundbreaking insights about rejecting conformity and improving the status quo.
Your Next Five Moves Master the Art of Business Strategy
by Patrick Bet-David, Greg Dinkin
<b>From the creator of Valuetainment, the #1 YouTube channel for entrepreneurs, and “one of the most exciting thinkers” (Ray Dalio, author of </b><i><b>Principles</b></i><b>) in business today, comes a practical and effective guide for thinking more clearly and achieving your most audacious professional goals.</b><br><br>Both successful entrepreneurs and chess grandmasters have the vision to look at the pieces in front of them and anticipate their next five moves. In this book, Patrick Bet-David “helps entrepreneurs understand exactly what they need to do next” (Brian Tracy, author of<i> Eat That Frog!</i>) by translating this skill into a valuable methodology. Whether you feel like you’ve hit a wall, lost your fire, or are looking for innovative strategies to take your business to the next level, <i>Your Next Five Moves</i> has the answers.<br> <br>You will gain:<br> <b>CLARITY</b> on what you want and who you want to be.<br> <b>STRATEGY</b> to help you reason in the war room and the board room.<br> <b>GROWTH TACTICS</b> for good times and bad.<br> <b>SKILLS</b> for building the right team based on strong values.<br> <b>INSIGHT</b> on power plays and the art of applying leverage.<br> <br>Combining these principles and revelations drawn from Patrick’s own rise to successful CEO, <i>Your Next Five Moves </i>is a must-read for any serious executive, strategist, or entrepreneur.
The Trusted Advisor
by David H. Maister, Charles H. Green, Robert M. Galford
The essential "must have" tool for professionals who advise or negotiate with others in today's new economy.<br><br>In today's fast-paced networked economy, professionals must work harder than ever to maintain and improve their business skills and knowledge. But technical mastery of your discipline is not enough, assert world-renowned professional advisors David H. Maister, Charles H. Green, and Robert M. Galford. The key to professional success, they argue, is the ability to earn the trust and confidence of clients. The creation of trust is what earns the right to influence clients; trust is also at the root of client satisfaction and loyalty. The workings of trust are even more critical in the new economy than in the old.<br> <br>Maister, Green, and Galford enrich our understanding of trust -- yet they have also written a deeply practical book. Using their model of "The Trust Equation," they dissect the rational and emotional components of trustworthiness. With precision and clarity, they detail five distinct steps you must take to create a trust-based relationship. Each step -- engage, listen, frame, envision, and commit -- is richly described in distinct chapters. The book is peppered with pragmatic "top ten" lists aimed at improving advisors' effectiveness that can be put to use instantly. It also includes a trust self-diagnostic in the appendix.<br> <br>This immensely readable book will be welcomed by the inexperienced advisor and the most seasoned expert alike. The authors use anecdotes, experiences, and examples -- successes and mistakes, their own and others' -- to great effect. Though they use the professional services advisor/client paradigm throughout the book, their prescriptions have resonance for other trust-reliant situations -- selling, customer relationship management, and internal staff functions like HR and information technology.<br> <br>The result is a <i>tour de force</i> -- brilliant, penetrating, unique. It is essential reading for anyone who must advise, negotiate, or manage complex relationships with others.
Cyber Crisis
by Eric Cole
Based on news reports, you might think there's a major cybersecurity threat every four to five months. In reality, there's a cybersecurity attack happening every minute of every day. Today, we live our lives—and conduct our business—online. Our data is in the cloud and in our pockets on our smartphones, shuttled over public Wi-Fi and company networks. To keep it safe, we rely on passwords and encryption and private servers, IT departments and best practices. But as you read this, there is a 70 percent chance that your data is compromised . . . you just don't know it yet. Cybersecurity attacks have increased exponentially, but because they're stealthy and often invisible, many underplay, ignore, or simply don't realize the danger. By the time they discover a breach, most individuals and businesses have been compromised for over three years. Instead of waiting until a problem surfaces, avoiding a data disaster means acting now to prevent one. In Cyber Crisis, Eric Cole gives readers a clear-eyed picture of the information war raging in cyberspace. Drawing on 30 years of experience—as a professional hacker for the CIA, as the Obama administration's cybersecurity commissioner, and as a consultant to clients around the globe from Bill Gates to Lockheed Martin and McAfee—Cole offers practical, actionable advice that even those with little technical background can implement, including steps to take on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis to protect their businesses and themselves. No matter who you are or where you work, cybersecurity should be a top priority. The information infrastructure we rely on in every sector of our lives—in healthcare and finance, for governments and private citizens—is both critical and vulnerable, and sooner or later, you or your company will be a target. This book is your guide to understanding the threat and putting together a proactive plan to minimize exposure and damage, and ensure the security of your business, your family, and your future
High Output Management
by Andrew S. Grove
<b>In this legendary business book and Silicon Valley staple, the former chairman and CEO of Intel shares his perspective on how to build and run a company. A practical handbook for navigating real-life business scenarios and a powerful management manifesto with the ability to revolutionize the way we work. </b><br><br>The essential skill of creating and maintaining new businesses—the art of the entrepreneur—can be summed up in a single word: managing. Born of Grove’s experiences at one of America’s leading technology companies (as CEO and employee number three at Intel), <i>High Output Management </i>is equally appropriate for sales managers, accountants, consultants, and teachers, as well as CEOs and startup founders. Grove covers techniques for creating highly productive teams, demonstrating methods of motivation that lead to peak performance. <br><br><b>"Generous enough with advice and observations to be required reading." —<i>The Wall Street Journal</i></b>
The Trusted Advisor: 20th Anniversary Edition
by David H. Maister, Robert Galford, Charles Green
<b>The 20th anniversary edition of the “brilliant and practical” (Tom Peters, author of <i>The Professional Service 50</i>) business classic—now updated to reflect the digital world—provides essential tools and wisdom for all consultants, negotiators, and advisors.</b><br><br>In today’s fast-paced networked economy, professionals must work harder than ever to maintain and improve their business skills and knowledge. But technical mastery of one’s discipline is not enough, assert professional advisors David H. Maister, Charles H. Green, and Robert M. Galford. The key to professional success, they argue, is the ability to earn the trust and confidence of clients.<br> <br>In this 20th anniversary edition, Maister, Green, and Galford enrich our understanding of today’s society and illustrate how to be effective communicators in a digital world. Using their model of “the trust equation” they dissect the rational and emotional components of trustworthiness. With precision and clarity, they detail five distinct steps you must take to create a trust-based relationship. Each step—engage, listen, frame, envision, and commit—is richly described in distinct chapters.<br> <br>This immensely accessible book offers “an invaluable road map to all those who seek to develop truly special relationships with their clients” (Carl Stern, CEO, Boston Consulting Group). The authors weave together anecdotes, experience, and examples of both their own and others’ successes and mistakes to great effect. <i>The Trusted Advisor</i> is essential reading for anyone who must advise, negotiate, or manage complex relationships with others.
Start with Why How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action
by Simon Sinek
<b>The inspirational bestseller that ignited a movement and asked us to find our WHY</b><br><br>Discover the book that is captivating millions on TikTok and that served as the basis for one of the most popular TED Talks of all time—with more than 56 million views and counting. Over a decade ago, Simon Sinek started a movement that inspired millions to demand purpose at work, to ask what was the WHY of their organization. Since then, millions have been touched by the power of his ideas, and these ideas remain as relevant and timely as ever.<br> <br>START WITH WHY asks (and answers) the questions: why are some people and organizations more innovative, more influential, and more profitable than others? Why do some command greater loyalty from customers and employees alike? Even among the successful, why are so few able to repeat their success over and over?<br> <br>People like Martin Luther King Jr., Steve Jobs, and the Wright Brothers had little in common, but they all started with WHY. They realized that people won't truly buy into a product, service, movement, or idea until they understand the WHY behind it. <br> <br>START WITH WHY shows that the leaders who have had the greatest influence in the world all think, act and communicate the same way—and it's the opposite of what everyone else does. Sinek calls this powerful idea The Golden Circle, and it provides a framework upon which organizations can be built, movements can be led, and people can be inspired. And it all starts with WHY.
The Innovator's Dilemma When New Technologies Cause Great Firms to Fail
by Clayton Christensen
An innovation classic. From Steve Jobs to Jeff Bezos, Clay Christensen’s work continues to underpin today’s most innovative leaders and organizations.<br><br>The bestselling classic on disruptive innovation, by renowned author Clayton M. Christensen.<br><br>His work is cited by the world’s best-known thought leaders, from Steve Jobs to Malcolm Gladwell. In this classic bestseller—one of the most influential business books of all time—innovation expert Clayton Christensen shows how even the most outstanding companies can do everything right—yet still lose market leadership. <br><br>Christensen explains why most companies miss out on new waves of innovation. No matter the industry, he says, a successful company with established products will get pushed aside unless managers know how and when to abandon traditional business practices.<br><br>Offering both successes and failures from leading companies as a guide, The Innovator’s Dilemma gives you a set of rules for capitalizing on the phenomenon of disruptive innovation. <br><br>Sharp, cogent, and provocative—and consistently noted as one of the most valuable business ideas of all time—The Innovator’s Dilemma is the book no manager, leader, or entrepreneur should be without.<br>
The Innovator's Dilemma When New Technologies Cause Great Firms to Fail
by Clayton M. Christensen
<b>Named one of 100 Leadership & Success Books to Read in a Lifetime by Amazon Editors</b><br><br><b>An innovation classic. From Steve Jobs to Jeff Bezos, Clay Christensen’s work continues to underpin today’s most innovative leaders and organizations.</b><br><br>The bestselling classic on disruptive innovation, by renowned author Clayton M. Christensen.<br><br>His work is cited by the world’s best-known thought leaders, from Steve Jobs to Malcolm Gladwell. In this classic bestseller—one of the most influential business books of all time—innovation expert Clayton Christensen shows how even the most outstanding companies can do everything right—yet still lose market leadership.<br><br>Christensen explains why most companies miss out on new waves of innovation. No matter the industry, he says, a successful company with established products <i>will</i> get pushed aside unless managers know how and when to abandon traditional business practices.<br><br>Offering both successes and failures from leading companies as a guide, <i>The Innovator’s Dilemma</i> gives you a set of rules for capitalizing on the phenomenon of disruptive innovation.<br><br>Sharp, cogent, and provocative—and consistently noted as one of the most valuable business ideas of all time—<i>The Innovator’s Dilemma</i> is the book no manager, leader, or entrepreneur should be without.<br>
The Charisma Myth
by Olivia Fox Cabane
What if charisma could be taught? For the first time, science and technology have taken charisma apart, figured it out and turned it into an applied science: In controlled laboratory experiments, researchers could raise or lower people's level of charisma as if they were turning a dial. What you'll find here is practical magic: unique knowledge, drawn from a variety of sciences, revealing what charisma really is and how it works. You'll get both the insights and the techniques you need to apply this knowledge. The world will become your lab, and every person you meet, a chance to experiment. The Charisma Myth is a mix of fun stories, sound science, and practical tools. Cabane takes a hard scientific approach to a heretofore mystical topic, covering what charisma actually is, how it is learned, what its side effects are, and how to handle them.
Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes are High, Third Edition
by Al Switzler, Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, Ron McMillan, Emily Gregory
<p><b>This New York Times bestseller and business classic has been fully updated for a world where skilled communication is more important than ever.</b></p><p>The book that revolutionized business communications has been updated for today’s workplace. <i>Crucial Conversations</i> provides powerful skills to ensure every conversation―especially difficult ones―leads to the results you want. Written in an engaging and witty style, it teaches readers how to be persuasive rather than abrasive, how to get back to productive dialogue when others blow up or clam up, and it offers powerful skills for mastering high-stakes conversations, regardless of the topic or person.</p><p>This new edition addresses issues that have arisen in recent years. You’ll learn how to:</p><ul><li>Respond when someone initiates a<i> </i>Crucial Conversation<i> </i>with you</li><li>Identify and address the lag time between identifying a problem and discussing it</li><li>Communicate more effectively across digital mediums</li></ul><p></p>When stakes are high, opinions vary, and emotions run strong, you have three choices: Avoid a crucial conversation and suffer the consequences; handle the conversation poorly and suffer the consequences; or apply the lessons and strategies of <i>Crucial Conversations</i> and improve relationships and results.<p></p><p>Whether they take place at work or at home, with your coworkers or your spouse, Crucial Conversations have a profound impact on your career, your happiness, and your future. With the skills you learn in this book, you'll never have to worry about the outcome of a Crucial Conversation again.</p>
Dare to Lead Brave Work. Tough Conversations. Whole Hearts.
by Brené Brown
<b>#1 <i>NEW YORK TIMES </i>BESTSELLER • Brené Brown has taught us what it means to dare greatly, rise strong, and brave the wilderness. Now, based on new research conducted with leaders, change makers, and culture shifters, she’s showing us how to put those ideas into practice so we can step up and lead.<br><br>Don’t miss the five-part Max docuseries <i>Brené Brown: Atlas of the Heart</i>!<br><br>ONE OF <i>BLOOMBERG</i>’S BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR</b><i><br></i><br>Leadership is not about titles, status, and wielding power. A leader is anyone who takes responsibility for recognizing the potential in people and ideas, and has the courage to develop that potential.<br><br>When we dare to lead, we don’t pretend to have the right answers; we stay curious and ask the right questions. We don’t see power as finite and hoard it; we know that power becomes infinite when we share it with others. We don’t avoid difficult conversations and situations; we lean into vulnerability when it’s necessary to do good work.<br><br>But daring leadership in a culture defined by scarcity, fear, and uncertainty requires skill-building around traits that are deeply and uniquely human. The irony is that we’re choosing not to invest in developing the hearts and minds of leaders at the exact same time as we’re scrambling to figure out what we have to offer that machines and AI can’t do better and faster. What can <i>we</i> do better? Empathy, connection, and courage, to start.<br><br>Four-time #1 <i>New York Times</i> bestselling author Brené Brown has spent the past two decades studying the emotions and experiences that give meaning to our lives, and the past seven years working with transformative leaders and teams spanning the globe. She found that leaders in organizations ranging from small entrepreneurial startups and family-owned businesses to nonprofits, civic organizations, and Fortune 50 companies all ask the same question:<br><br><b>How do you cultivate braver, more daring leaders, and how do you embed the value of courage in your culture?</b><br><br>In <i>Dare to Lead</i>, Brown uses research, stories, and examples to answer these questions in the no-BS style that millions of readers have come to expect and love.<br><br>Brown writes, “One of the most important findings of my career is that daring leadership is a collection of four skill sets that are 100 percent teachable, observable, and measurable. It’s learning and unlearning that requires brave work, tough conversations, and showing up with your whole heart. Easy? No. Because choosing courage over comfort is not always our default. Worth it? Always. We want to be brave with our lives and our work. It’s why we’re here.”<br><br>Whether you’ve read <i>Daring Greatly </i>and<i> Rising Strong</i> or you’re new to Brené Brown’s work, this book is for anyone who wants to step up and into brave leadership.
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