2020 Reading List: Books & Articles
Book Recommendations
For a PDF version of the list, please click below:
Author: Amy Edmondson
Synopsis: What good is a talented team if no one is able to speak their mind? This book explores the culture of psychological safety and provides a blueprint for creating an environment where people feel safe to speak up, where mistakes are owned, and where ideas are given room to grow.
Author: Megan Reitz and John Higgins
Synopsis: This book provides a guide on how to confidently navigate day-to-day conversations that involve power differences. In addition, it also helps you understand your own power and how it may be affecting those around you.
Author: Safi Bahcall
Synopsis: By using wide-ranging real-world examples, author Safi Bahcall explores the dynamics of group behavior when dealing with new, radical ideas. This read provides lessons for creative, entrepreneurs, and visionaries on how to create and nurture ideas that may seem crazy but have the potential to change the world.
Author: Alexandra Levit
Synopsis: As the world changes and automation becomes more advanced, it will be important for us to understand how to work alongside machines. This book focuses on how to utilize the human traits of creativity, judgement, problem solving, and interpersonal sensitivity to create an organizational structure that is both agile and innovative.
Author: Sanyin Siang
Synopsis: This book is a collection of motivational stories, coaching experiences, and case studies from a variety of fields including business, military, sports, etc. It challenges you to question the status quo and to think divergently.
Impactful Articles
Does Your Leadership Style Scare Your Employees? [Harvard Business Review] Author: Nihar Chhaya
Synopsis: How your employees feel about your leadership style can impact their performance – this article helps you understand whether you are unknowingly intimidating your subordinates.
Managers, You’re More Intimidating Than You Think [Harvard Business Review] Author: Megan Reitz and John Higgins
Synopsis: We may be more intimidating than we think we are. This article explores the gap between how scary we think we are and how scary others perceive us to be – in addition to how to dial down this scariness.
Author Highlight: Stew Friedman
About Stew Friedman
Stew Friedman is an advisor, a speaker, and an award-winning teacher. He also hosts the weekly radio show Work and Life on SirusXM 132 Business Radio.
Synopsis: This book provides a guide on how to be great in all domains of your life – business, home, community, and self. Instead of taking different approaches to every area, this book gives you a game plan on how to find mutual strategies that assist your development in all areas.
Synopsis: Building off Total Leadership, this book focuses on the balancing act that is working while parenting. This book provides a guide for creating a greater sense of purpose and control in both your work life and your home life, benefiting both yourself and your children.
Author Highlight: Dorie Clark
About Dorie Clark
Dorie Clark is a strategy consultant and keynote speaker, and has worked with high-profile clients such as Google, Microsoft, Fidelity, Yale University, and the World Bank.
Synopsis: This book is a guide to helping you get where you want to go, by assessing your strengths, developing a personal brand, and helping others recognize exactly what you can contribute. Included in the book are stories and examples from visionaries such as Mark Zuckerberg, Al Gore, and others.
Synopsis: Working hard may not be enough to get you noticed as an expert in your field. This book provides a guide on how to get others to listen and take notice of you and your work by putting yourself out there.
Synopsis: Working for yourself is the dream for many, but it can be difficult to get started. This book outlines strategies to achieve professional independence, including advice on how to build your brand, monetize your expertise, and expand your impact online.
