Top Leadership books recommended by experts

At MentorCruise, we are all about making the most out of the experience of others. As part of that, we've connected and asked dozens of experts and professionals about their favourite Leadership books – and here are the answers.

Table of Contents

Fundamentals of Leadership

Understanding the concepts of Leadership starts with understanding the fundamentals. On your way to mastery, it's crucial for you to understand how certain concepts were derived, and why things work like they do. Starting with these resources is the best way to do so.

The coaching habit (summary) : say less, ask more & change the way you lead forever

The Coaching Habit by Michael Bungay Stanier is a management book that teaches how to ask effective questions and provide impactful feedback to help team members solve their own problems and reach their goals.

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise

The 360 Degree Leader: Developing Your Influence from Anywhere in the Organization

In The 360 Degree Leader, you will learn how to: overcome the challenges facing the vast majority of professionals; understand the pressures and pain points that come from being caught in the middle; and gain the confidence and competence to step into their roles as significant influencers.

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise

Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action

“Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action” by Simon Sinek offers a fresh perspective on leadership and organizational success. By understanding the power of starting with “why,” leaders can inspire action, build trust, and foster meaningful connections with their teams and customers.

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

In The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, author Stephen R. Covey presents a holistic, integrated, principle-centered approach for solving personal and professional problems. With penetrating insights and pointed anecdotes, Covey reveals a step-by-step pathway for living with fairness, integrity, service, and human dignity--principles that give us the security to adapt to change and the wisd…

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise

Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us

Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us is a non-fiction book written by Daniel Pink. The book was published in 2009 by Riverhead Hardcover. It argues that human motivation is largely intrinsic and that the aspects of this motivation can be divided into autonomy, mastery, and purpose.

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise

Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead

The book challenges us to change the conversation from what women can't do to what we can do, and serves as a rallying cry for us to work together to create a more equal world. Sheryl speaks to why she wrote the book, how she hopes it will encourage women, and her vision of a world where all our voices are heard.

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise

Additional Leadership Reading

These books are not required for you to learn Leadership, but they are highly recommended for you to deepen your knowledge.

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: 30th Anniversary Edition (The Covey Habits Series)

This beloved classic presents a principle-centered approach for solving both personal and professional problems. With penetrating insights and practical anecdotes, Stephen R. Covey reveals a step-by-step pathway for living with fairness, integrity, honesty, and human dignity—principles that give us the security to adapt to change and the wisdom and power to take advantage of the opportunities …

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise

The Art of Possibility

The Art of Possibility by Rosamund Stone Zander and Benjamin Zander is a transformative book that teaches us to shift our perspective in life from scarcity to abundance, resulting in an increased sense of possibility with practical tools and inspiring stories.

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise

Wooden on Leadership: How to Create a Winning Organization

John Wooden’s goal in 41 years of coaching never changed; namely, to get maximum effort and peak performance from each of his players in the manner that best served the team. Wooden on Leadership explains step-by-step how he pursued and accomplished this goal. Focusing on Wooden’s 12 Lessons in Leadership and his acclaimed Pyramid of Success, it outlines the mental, emotional, and physical qua…

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise

Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap...and Others Don't

For years, this question preyed on the mind of Jim Collins. Are there companies that defy gravity and convert long-term mediocrity or worse into long-term superiority? And if so, what are the universal distinguishing characteristics that cause a company to go from good to great?

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise

Think and Grow Rich

Think and Grow Rich is the number-one inspirational and motivational classic for individuals who are interested in furthering their lives and reaching their goals by learning from important figures in history. The text read in this audiobook is the original 1937 edition written by Napoleon Hill and inspired by Andrew Carnegie, and while it has often been reproduced, no updated version has ever…

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise

Primal Leadership

"Primal Leadership" by Daniel Goleman, Richard Boyatzis, and Annie McKee explores how effective leaders use emotional intelligence to motivate others and build strong relationships. It offers insights and strategies for developing these skills and creating a positive work environment.

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise

This list is curated by MentorCruise and can include Amazon affiliate links. Have any other suggestions? Add here.

Augment your Leadership books

There is no better source of accountability and motivation than having a personal mentor. What used to be impossible to find is now just two clicks away! All mentors are vetted & hands-on!

Only 2 Spots Left

https://sanzeev.com.np/ Senior Frontend Engineer with over 12 years of experience and currently working at eBay. My core skills are Node.js, JavaScript, Typescript, HTML, CSS, GraphQL and Ionic/Cordova, and I have worked with frameworks such as Backbone, Angular, React and Marko js. I specialize in web app, hybrid mobile app development …

$240 / month
  Chat
2 x Calls
Tasks

Only 1 Spot Left

After 18+ years in video games (Relic Entertainment, DeNA, Gasket Games), e-commerce, and fintech, I’ve noticed that software engineers don’t get enough mentorship and guidance. We often go it alone or have managers who are excellent at building software but struggle with leading people. Over time, I saw that mentoring …

$170 / month
  Chat
Tasks

Only 2 Spots Left

I am a pragmatic software engineer with 20+ years of experience, passionate about simplicity, operational and engineering excellence, DevOps, distributed systems and computer science. I am also a teacher and mentor at heart, which allows me to connect with software engineers, managers and tech product leaders of all levels of …

$200 / month
  Chat
1 x Call
Tasks

Only 5 Spots Left

Hi there! My name is Sebastiano, and I'm an experienced engineering leader with a passion for helping others grow in their careers. I'm currently a Director of Engineering at Upwork, and over the years, I've led multiple teams at companies like Pinterest, Paypal, Snap, and Spotify in domains ranging from …

$110 / month
  Chat
1 x Call
Tasks

Only 2 Spots Left

I'm a Senior Product Manager at Lyft, with 5 YOE of experience managing ML/AI products, data, search features, and web applications. I've worked in the consulting, startup, and large tech space, and am a career transitioner with no technical background in coding or data. I am living proof of someone …

$170 / month
  Chat
2 x Calls

Only 4 Spots Left

As a mentor with a background in both research and industry, I have a wealth of experience of 10+ years to draw upon when guiding individuals through the field of machine learning. My focus is on helping experienced software engineers transition into ML/DS, as well as assisting machine learning engineers …

$230 / month
  Chat
Regular Calls
Tasks

Browse all Leadership mentors

Still not convinced?
Don’t just take our word for it

We’ve already delivered 1-on-1 mentorship to thousands of students, professionals, managers and executives. Even better, they’ve left an average rating of 4.9 out of 5 for our mentors.

Find a Leadership mentor
  • "Naz is an amazing person and a wonderful mentor. She is supportive and knowledgeable with extensive practical experience. Having been a manager at Netflix, she also knows a ton about working with teams at scale. Highly recommended."

  • "Brandon has been supporting me with a software engineering job hunt and has provided amazing value with his industry knowledge, tips unique to my situation and support as I prepared for my interviews and applications."

  • "Sandrina helped me improve as an engineer. Looking back, I took a huge step, beyond my expectations."