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Curated reading list for leaders

A selective, field-tested set of books and articles I use in executive coaching and leadership development.

This is not an exhaustive list. It reflects what I have found to be consistently useful in practice. Many leadership reading lists tend to be too long, repetitive, or shaped by passing trends. With this collection I take a different approach.
 

The list brings together the frameworks and perspectives I work with in practice — across communication, change, and organizational design.
 

Each section is intentionally structured:
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  • Must Read: foundational perspectives

  • Deeper Dive: methods and application

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I’ve kept this deliberately selective

LEADERSHIP

MUST READ

  • Covey — The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (personal leadership)

  • Goleman — Emotional Intelligence (self-awareness)

  • Sinek — Leaders Eat Last (trust & culture)

DEEPER DIVE

  • Edmondson — The Fearless Organization (psychological safety)

  • Greenleaf — Servant Leadership (mindset)

  • Wiseman — Multipliers (team impact)

  • HBR — 10 Must Reads on Leadership (essentials)

Brown, B. (2018). Dare to Lead. Random House.

Covey, S. R. (2004). The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change (25th anniversary ed.). Simon & Schuster.

Edmondson, A. C. (2018). The Fearless Organization: Creating Psychological Safety in the Workplace for Learning, Innovation, and Growth. Wiley.

Goleman, D. (1995). Emotional Intelligence. Bantam Books.

Greenleaf, R. K., & Spears, L. C. (2002). Servant Leadership: a Journey into the Nature of Legitimate Power and Greatness. Paulist Press.

Harvard Business Review. (2020). HBR’s 10 Must Reads on Leadership (Vols. 1–2). Harvard Business Review Press. [Article]

Sinek, S. (2019). Leaders Eat Last: Why Some Teams Pull Together and Others Don’t. Penguin Business.

Wiseman, L. (2010). Multipliers. HarperBusiness.

TEAM DYNAMICS

MUST READ

  • Lencioni — The Five Dysfunctions of a Team (team cohesion)

  • Edmondson — Teaming (psychological safety)

  • Coyle — The Culture Code (group culture)

DEEPER DIVE

  • Edmondson — The Fearless Organization (psychological safety)

  • Greenleaf — Servant Leadership (mindset)

  • Wiseman — Multipliers (team impact)

  • HBR — 10 Must Reads on Leadership (essentials)

Coyle, D. (2019). The Culture Code: The Secrets of Highly Successful Groups. Bantam.

Edmondson, A. C. (2012). Teaming. Jossey-Bass.

Gelfand, M. J. (2018). Rule Makers, Rule Breakers: How Tight and Loose Cultures Wire Our World. Scribner.

Hackman, J. R. (2006). Leading Teams: Setting the Stage for Great Performances. Harvard Business School Press.

Hackman, J. R., Burruss, J. A., Nunes, D. A., & Wageman, R. (2008). Senior Leadership Teams: What it Takes to Make Them Great. Harvard Business Review. [Article]

Harvard Business Review. (2013). HBR’s 10 Must Reads on Teams. Harvard Business Review Press. [Article]

Lencioni, P. (2002). The Five Dysfunctions of a Team. Jossey-Bass.

Mastrogiacomo, S., Osterwalder, A., Smith, A., Papadakos, T., White, C., Edmondson, A. C., Assous, S., & Blexbolex. (2021). High-Impact Tools for Teams. Wiley. (Tools and Methods)

Wageman, R. (2008). Senior Leadership Teams: What it Takes to Make Them Great. Harvard Business School Press.

ORGANIZATION & STRUCTURE

MUST READ

  • Laloux — Reinventing Organizations (org evolution)

  • Hamel & Zanini — Humanocracy (anti-bureaucracy)

  • Robertson — Holacracy (self-management)

DEEPER DIVE

  • Pflaeging — Organize for Complexity (complexity)

  • Meadows, — Thinking in Systems: A Primer. (Systems Thinking)

  • Skelton & Pais — Team Topologies (org. design)

  • McKinsey — State of Organizations [Article] (trends)

Aykens, P., Lowmaster, K., McRae, E. R., & Shepp, J. (2026). 9 Trends Shaping Work in 2026 and Beyond. Harvard Business Review. [Article]

Hamel, G., & Zanini, M. (2020). Humanocracy: Creating Organizations as Amazing as the People Inside Them. Harvard Business Review Press.

Laloux, F. (2014). Reinventing organizations: a Guide to Creating Organizations Inspired by the Next Stage Of Human Consciousness. Nelson Parker.

McKinsey & Company. (2026). The State of Organizations 2026. McKinsey & Company. [Article]

Meadows, D. H. (2008). Thinking in Systems: A Primer. Chelsea Green Publishing.

Pflaeging, N., & Steinmann, P. (2014). Organize for Complexity. BetaCodex Publishing.

Robertson, B. J. (2015). Holacracy: The New Management System for a Rapidly Changing World. Henry Holt.

Skelton, M., & Pais, M. (2019). Team Topologies. IT Revolution.

COMMUNICATION & COACHING

MUST READ

  • Duarte — Resonate (storytelling)

  • Reiss — Who Am I? (motivation)

  • Rosenberg — Nonviolent Communication (empathy)

DEEPER DIVE

  • de Shazer — Keys to Solution in Brief Therapy (foundation)

  • de Shazer & Dolan — More Than Miracles (application)

  • HBR — 10 Must Reads on Communication (Exec Essentials)

  • Stone, Patton, & Heen. — Difficult Conversations (dialogue)

  • Szabó & Meier — Coaching Plain & Simple (practice)

Berg, I. K., & Szabó, P. (2005). Brief Coaching for Lasting Solutions. Norton.

de Shazer, S. (1985). Keys to Solution in Brief Therapy. Norton.

de Shazer, S., & Dolan, Y. (2007). More than Miracles: The State of the Art of Solution-Focused Brief Therapy. Routledge.

Duarte, N. (2010). Resonate: Present Visual Stories That Transform Audiences. Wiley.

HBR. (2021). HBR’s 10 Must Reads on Communication. Harvard Business Review Press. [Article]

Patterson, K., Grenny, J., McMillan, R., & Switzler, A. (2012). Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes Are High. McGraw-Hill.

Reiss, S. (2000). Who Am I? The 16 Basic Desires That Motivate Our Actions and Define Our Personalities. Tarcher/Putnam.

Rosenberg, M. B. (2003). Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life. PuddleDancer Press.

Stone, D., Patton, B., & Heen, S. (2010). Difficult Conversations: How to Discuss What Matters Most. Penguin.

Szabó, P., & Meier, D. (2009). Coaching Plain & Simple. W. W. Norton.

Watzlawick, P. (1984). Invented Reality. Norton.

Whittington, J. (2012). Systemic Coaching and Constellations: An Introduction to the Principles, Practices and Application. Kogan Page.

NEGOTIATIONS & SALES

MUST READ

  • Fisher, Ury & Patton — Getting to Yes (Principled Negotiations)

  • Voss — Never Split the Difference (Tactical Negotiations)

DEEPER DIVE

  • Ury — Getting Past No (difficult situations)

  • HBR — Must Reads on Negotiation [exec essentials]

Fisher, R., Ury, W., & Patton, B. (2011). Getting to Yes. Penguin.

Harvard Business Review. (2019). HBR’s 10 Must Reads on Negotiation. Harvard Business Review Press. [Article]

Malhotra, D. (2016). Negotiating the Impossible: How to Break Deadlocks and Resolve Ugly Conflicts. Berrett-Koehler.

Ury, W. (1993). Getting Past No. Bantam.

Voss, C. (2016). Never Split the Difference. HarperBusiness.

CREATIVITY & DESIGN THINKING

MUST READ

  • Brown — Change by Design (Design Thinking)

  • Johansson — The Medici Effect (innovation through diversity)

  • Kelley & Kelley — Creative Confidence (creativity mindset)

DEEPER DIVE

  • Liedtka & Ogilvie — Designing for Growth (application)

  • Osterwalder et al. — Value Proposition Design (business design)

  • Knapp — Sprint (Rapid Prototyping)

  • IDEO — The Field Guide to Human-Centered Design (toolkit)

Brown, T. (2009). Change by Design. HarperBusiness.

Christensen, C. M. (2016) The Innovator’s Dilemma (Rev. ed.). Harvard Business Review Press.

Harvard Business Review. (n.d.). HBR’s 10 Must Reads on Design Thinking. Harvard Business Review Press. [Article]

IDEO.org. (2015). The Field Guide to Human-Centered Design. IDEO.org.

Johansson, F. (2006). The Medici Effect. Harvard Business School Press.

Kelley, T., & Kelley, D. (2013). Creative Confidence. Crown Business.

Knapp, J. (2016). Sprint. Simon & Schuster.

Lewrick, M., Link, P., & Leifer, L. J. (2020). The Design Thinking Toolbox. Wiley.

Osterwalder, A., Pigneur, Y., Bernarda, G., & Smith, A. (2014). Value Proposition Design: How to Create Products and Services Customers Want. Wiley. (Tools and Method)

Verganti, R. (2009). Design-Driven Innovation: Changing the Rules of Competition by Radically Innovating What Things Mean. Harvard Business Press.

CHANGE MANAGEMENT

MUST READ

  • Kotter — Leading Change (framework)

  • Bridges — Managing Transitions (human transition)

  • Kegan & Lahey — Immunity to Change (deep change)

  • Heath & Heath — Switch (behavior change)

DEEPER DIVE

  • Kotter & Cohen — The Heart of Change (case studies)

  • Grant — Think Again (mindset)

  • Hiatt — ADKAR (model)

  • Duck — The Change Monster (organizational reality)

Bridges, W., & Bridges, S. (2016). Managing Transitions (4th ed.). Da Capo Press.

Duck, J. D. (2001). The Change Monster. Crown Business.

Grant, A. (2021). Think Again. Viking.

Hiatt, J. (2006). ADKAR. Prosci Research.

Kegan, R., & Lahey, L. L. (2009). Immunity to Change. Harvard Business Press.

Kotter, J. P. (1996). Leading Change. Harvard Business School Press.

Kotter, J. P., & Cohen, D. S. (2012). The Heart Of Change. Harvard Business Review Press.

Heath, C., & Heath, D. (2010). Switch. Broadway Books.

FURTHER READINGS

MUST READ

  • Grant, A. —Think Again (rethinking)

  • Kahneman — Thinking, Fast and Slow (decision-making)

  • Meyer — The Culture Map (cross-cultural)

  • Pink — Drive (motivation)

DEEPER DIVE

  • Pink — The Power of Regret (learning from experience)

Gladwell, M. (2005). Blink. Little, Brown.

Grant, A. (2021). Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don’t Know. Viking.

Meyer, E. (2014). The Culture Map. PublicAffairs.

Kahneman, D. (2013). Thinking, Fast and Slow. Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

Pink, D. H. (2018). Drive. Canongate.

Pink, D. H. (2022). The Power of Regret. Riverhead.

This reading list reflects the core frameworks I use in leadership development, executive coaching, and organizational change work.

 

Curious how this translates into practice?

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