Become a Better Leader
Lead with purpose, build trust and help the people around you do their best work.
- 5 books in order
Why these books, in this order
The path begins with the why behind leadership, then covers ownership, candid feedback, team dynamics and building lasting excellence. It suits new managers and anyone who leads informally.
The path
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1
Start With Why
by Simon Sinek
What you'll learn: How great leaders inspire action by starting with purpose.
Exercise: Write your personal or team 'why' in one sentence.
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2
Extreme Ownership
by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin
What you'll learn: Why leaders take responsibility for everything in their world.
Exercise: After your next setback, list what you could have done differently as the leader.
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3
Radical Candor
by Kim Scott
What you'll learn: How to care personally while challenging directly.
Exercise: Give one piece of specific, kind and honest feedback this week.
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4
The Five Dysfunctions of a Team
by Patrick Lencioni
What you'll learn: How trust, conflict, commitment, accountability and results connect.
Exercise: Rate your team on each dysfunction and pick one to work on.
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5
Good to Great
by Jim Collins
What you'll learn: What research suggested about companies that made lasting leaps in performance.
Exercise: Ask: what can your team be the best at, and what drives your results?
Progress milestones
- Articulated your leadership purpose.
- Requested and acted on feedback.
- Ran a team discussion about trust and shared goals.
Exercises for the whole path
- Write a one-paragraph statement of why you lead and what you want your team to feel.
- Ask one person for honest feedback on how you can improve.
- Hold one conversation each week focused only on the other person's growth.
When you finish
Continue with Multipliers and The Culture Code to deepen how you grow people and teams.
Create a free account to tick off books as you go and track your progress through this path.