10 Leadership Books We’re Reading Now

The holidays are fast approaching, and with them comes time to sit back and relax with a book of your choice (paired with a hot cider or cocoa, of course!). Fill your time catching up on these 10 latest leadership books from 2017, listed in no particular order, that are sure to guide you on your journey of being a Leader Worth Following.

1. Find Your Why: A Practical Guide for Discovering Purpose for You and Your Team
By Simon Sinek

A follow-up to Simon’s New York Times best-seller Start With Why, this book will help you discover your why, both personally and for your organization. Discover answers to common concerns involved with finding your why, like what to do if your why sounds like a competitor’s or how to react when your work doesn’t match your why.

2. How to Be Happy at Work: The Power of Purpose, Hope, and Friendships
By Annie McKee

Annie explains three essential elements people must have in order to be happy in their jobs: a sense of purpose, a powerful and personal vision, and good relationships. Crack open her book to learn what exactly it takes to put stress aside and be happy at work.

3. How to Lead When You’re Not in Charge: Leveraging Influence When You Lack Authority
By Clay Scroggins

Leaders aren’t determined by the titles they hold. In this book, Clay busts the myth that says people have to be in charge in order to lead. Read it to learn how to make a difference no matter what title you hold.

4. The Millennial Myth: Transforming Misunderstanding Into Workplace Breakthroughs
By Crystal Kadakia

Generational stereotypes should hold no place in the workplace. In The Millennial Myth, Crystal dispels five common misconceptions about millennials—that they’re lazy, entitled, disloyal, need their hands held, and have authority issues—and describes workplace practices that companies must adopt in order to survive in the future.

5. Building a StoryBrand: Clarify Your Message So Customers Will Listen
By Donald Miller

Take your marketing game to a new level with Don’s latest book, through which leaders can learn how to create effective messaging, how to simplify a brand so customers will understand it and how to get interested customers to convert to purchasers.

6. Permission to Screw Up: How I Learned to Lead by Doing (Almost) Everything Wrong
By Kristen Hadeed

Mistakes happen... especially in leadership. In her very first book, Kristen discusses the mistakes she made as founder of Student Maid and the valuable leadership lessons they taught her.

7. Finish: Give Yourself the Gift of Done
By Jon Acuff

If you’ve ever started a project (or several) that you never finished, this book is for you. In it, Jon seeks to answer one common question people often ask themselves: Why can’t I finish? Discover how to put perfectionism aside to become a consistent finisher.

8. Forged in Crisis: The Power of Courageous Leadership in Turbulent Times
By Nancy Koehn

What does history teach us about courageous leadership? In her book, Nancy looks back to some of history’s greatest leaders to examine how they led fearlessly—and what 21st-century leaders can learn from them.

9. Teammate: My Journey in Baseball and a World Series for the Ages
By David Ross and Don Yaeger

Learn leadership lessons from backup catcher David Ross, who co-authored this book with New York Times best-selling author Don Yaeger. As you’ll discover in the book, David not only helped the Chicago Cubs win the 2016 World Series, but made it a mission in his career to be a leader for his teammates.

10. The Code of Trust: An American Counterintelligence Expert’s Five Rules to Lead and Succeed
By Robin Dreeke, Cameron Stauth and Joe Navarro

After 20 years in the FBI, Robin explains a Code of Trust system he devised while working in the highest levels of national security. Learn how his five principles of trust—suspending your ego, being nonjudgmental, honoring reason, validating others and being generous—have transformed company cultures.