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.

Influencer: The New Science of Leading Change, Second Edition

An INFLUENCER replaces bad behaviors with powerful new skills. An INFLUENCER makes things happen. This is what it takes to be an INFLUENCER. Whether you're a CEO, a parent, or merely a person who wants to make a difference, you probably wish you had more influence with the people in your life.

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.

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The Leadership Challenge: How to Make Extraordinary Things Happen in Organizations

This book highlights the differences between good and great, and shows you how to bridge the chasm between getting things done and making things happen. Business is evolving at an increasingly rapid rate, and leaders must keep pace with the changes or risk stagnation.

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise

True North

True North (2007) is a guide to discovering your inner compass and staying true to yourself, all while developing the skills you need to be an authentic leader. By uncovering your values and motivations, you'll gain the tools you need to build a professional life that remains true to who you are.

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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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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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Additional Leadership Reading

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

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

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

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…

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Leading Lightly: Lower Your Stress, Think with Clarity, and Lead with Ease

Leading lightly is about looking at what you do through a radical new lens. It’s a way to powerfully transform your performance, make better decisions, gain greater self-awareness, and develop the capacity to manage your work and life with enduring ease and clarity. An alternative to the everyday stress, pace, challenges, and burdens that weigh you down, Leading Lightly shows you how to shift …

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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…

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise

Unbreakable: Building and Leading Resilient Teams

They highlight four team resources that are essential to any resilient team, including: team confidence, teamwork roadmaps, capacity to improvise, and psychological safety. These four resources are brought to life through compelling stories of teams that performed well in the face of adversity—and a few that didn't.

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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