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.

Unreasonable Hospitality: The Remarkable Power of Giving People More Than They Expect

Will Guidara was twenty-six when he took the helm of Eleven Madison Park, a struggling two-star brasserie that had never quite lived up to its majestic room. Eleven years later, EMP was named the best restaurant in the world.
How did Guidara pull off this unprecedented transformation? Radical reinvention, a true partnership between the kitchen and the dining room—and memorable, over-the-top…

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Leaders Eat Last

Leaders Eat Last' by Simon Sinek is a thought-provoking book on how great leaders create a circle of safety in the workplace, inspiring trust, cooperation, and peak performance. He explains how a leader putting the needs of the team first can create a culture of success.

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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.

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How to Win Friends & Influence People

You can go after the job you want...and get it! You can take the job you have...and improve it! You can take any situation you're in...and make it work for you!
Simon & Schuster Audio is proud to present one of the best-selling books of all time, Dale Carnegie's perennial classic How to Win Friends and Influence People, presented here in its entirety.
For over 60 years the rock-solid, ti…

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On becoming a leader

Providing essential and timeless insights for generations of readers, On Becoming a Leader delves into the qualities that define leadership, the people who exemplify it, and the strategies that anyone can apply to achieve it.

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Leadership BS: Fixing Workplaces and Careers One Truth at a Time

In Leadership BS, Jeffrey Pfeffer shines a bright light on the leadership industry, showing why it's failing and how it might be remade. He sets the record straight on the oft-made prescriptions for leaders to be honest, authentic, and modest, tell the truth, build trust, and take care of others.

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Additional Leadership Reading

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

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.

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How to win friends and influence people. How to stop worrying and start living

This carefully crafted "How To Stop Worrying And Start Living & How To Make Friends And Influence People (Unabridged)" is formatted for your eReader with a functional and detailed table of contents. How to Stop Worrying and Start Living – The book's goal is to lead the reader to a more enjoyable and fulfilling life, helping them to become more aware of, not only themselves, but others around t…

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The Lean Startup

In his book, Eric Ries applies science to entrepreneurship. He tells businesses, and especially startups, how to start small and simple, then grow through learning, testing, measuring, and rapidly innovating.

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Dare to Lead: Brave Work. Tough Conversations. Whole Hearts.

“Dare to Lead: Brave Work. Tough Conversations. Whole Hearts” by Brené Brown is about leadership – but leadership with a human face. She doesn't talk about productivity techniques for outstanding results; she talks about the psychology of relationships in a business environment.

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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

Linchpin: Are You Indispensable?

His book Linchpin came out in 2008 and was the fastest-selling book of his career. Linchpin challenges you to stand up, do work that matters and race to the top instead of the bottom. More than that, though, the book outlines a massive change in our economy, a fundamental shift in what it means to have a job.

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.

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