Readings To Improve Your Leadership Skills
Articles
Many of these articles provide additional explanation for some of the points I make in the post from 11/18/20 “(Some) Elements In The Mindsets of Leaders Who Flourish. “
“A Message to Garcia” by Elbert Hubbard is a reading from over one hundred years ago about the importance of managing around the destination rather than the journey.
“You Don’t Find Your Purpose You Build It” from Harvard Business Review is another angle on the idea of personal stories. I like how it acknowledges that purpose -- a core component of each of our personal narratives -- is built rather than found. That means, as a manager, you can help your people build their purpose and augment their life stories.
“Expectations and Rats” is a transcript of part of an episode of This American Life. I recommend listening to the entirety of the episode, which is linked in the transcript, but the transcript summarizes the key point of having a growth mindset.
“Google’s Hiring Secrets” is an article by Laszlo Block, Google’s lead HR person, in Wired. I like this article because it comes at the question of a growth mindset from a different perspective. Additionally, strong hiring and evaluation are critical for leadership, and this article covers some principles for doing it well.
“Why Organizations Don’t Learn” is from Harvard Business Review and might be helpful in your quest to keep yourself learning and changing.
“Fair Process” is a study from the Harvard Business Review that makes a compelling case for why transparent and inclusive decision-making is more important than the actual content of the decision for most groups. Although I don’t have this as one of the mindset elements in the preceding section, I think the insights in this article are well worth incorporating into your leadership practices.
“How To Run a Meeting” is quite old by our usual standards. It was written in 1976 in Harvard Business Review, and yet I have not seen a better guide for running a good meeting. Some of the language and concepts are dated, and it reveals the patriarchal paradigm prevalent in business then and still too dominant even now, but the actual lessons for running a meeting are useful.
Books
All of these books are by white men. Some of that is my own lack of knowledge. I would love to add to this list with more perspectives. Please make suggestions via the comments section below!
Good To Great by Jim Collins is not that useful for most managers -- you’re likely not dealing with many of the long-term strategic questions Collins uses for his analysis. However, the book is an enjoyable read and worth the effort. If you are time-constricted, then I would concentrate on Chapter 2 “Level 5 Leadership” and Chapter 6 “A Culture of Discipline.”
High Output Management by Andrew Grove. Output is not the best paradigm to use for managing people, I would argue, but it’s still a factor you will have to contend with.
Leadership And Self-Deception by The Arbinger Institute. Get outside of your own mental boxes and create an even more solid foundation for constant change.
The Seven Habits Of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey is still in airport bookstores. I find it a little too prescriptive, but there are plenty of useful nuggets. My advice would be to read “Habit 3: Principles of Personal Management” and “Habit 7: Sharpen the Saw.”
Superforecasting: The Art and Science Of Prediction by Philip Tetlock and Dan Gardner identifies a range of habits that will improve your mental flexibility and the ability to change your mind.
Talk Sense: Communicating To Lead And Learn by Barry Jentz. Improving your listening and communications skills is so valuable.