21 Inspirational Books on Leadership (2024 Edition)

Two years ago, I shared a list of 21 must-read books for leaders seeking inspiration on guiding their teams or organizations toward New Ways of Working. As summer vacation approaches and after reading over 30 additional books in the past two years, it’s time to refresh that list. This year’s list includes six new books, with four of them making up a new Top 4.These books have been a great source of inspiration for me, and I hope they will inspire you too.

In my previous list, I highlighted three personal favorites that didn’t strictly adhere to the criteria, primarily to include “Running with Purpose: How Brooks Outpaced Goliath Competitors to Lead the Pack,” which was new at the time and hadn’t yet accumulated sufficient ratings. This year, there’s no favoritism, and I’ve raised the bar: only books with an average rating of 4+ on Goodreads make the cut, compared to the 3.98 threshold from two years ago. As a result and with six new books on the list, the following books are no longer on the list:

It hurts to take these excellent reads off the list, and they remain valuable resources that have greatly contributed to my understanding of leadership.

This year’s list comprises 21 books that:

  • I have read and would rebuy if I lost my copy.
  • Have 100+ ratings with a minimum average score of 4 out of 5 on Goodreads, leveraging the wisdom of the crowds.
  • Feature only one book per author to ensure a diverse range of perspectives.

The books are ranked by their Goodreads rating as of June 25, 2024. I’ve provided my thoughts on new books and all books in the top 13 books, while descriptions for the remaining 7 can be found on Goodreads by clicking the title. All new books on the list are highlighted in bold.

Finally, I want to stress that I have no commercial interest in this list or whether you click on the Goodreads links.

Dive in and find inspiration for your summer reading.

 

2024 (2022) RATING RATINGS TITLE AUTHOR(-S)
1 (New) 4.36 185,171 Factfulness: Ten Reasons We’re Wrong About the World – and Why Things Are Better Than You Think Hans Rosling, Ola Rosling and Anna Rosling Rönnlund
Factfulness is not a leadership book per say, but I have included it because it made a real impact on me and it is the highest rated book I have read during the last two years. Hans Rosling, along with Ola Rosling and Anna Rosling Rönnlund, challenges common misconceptions about the state of the world. The book highlights ten instincts that distort our perception, such as the Gap Instinct and the Negativity Instinct. Rosling uses data and engaging visuals to show that many global trends, like life expectancy and child mortality, are improving. This optimistic and fact-based perspective encourages readers to see the world more clearly and recognize the progress being made.
2 (New) 4.33 7,222 Build: An Unorthodox Guide to Making Things Worth Making Tony Fadell
With an engaging blend of personal anecdotes and practical advice Tony Fadell, known for his work on the iPod and iPhone, offers insights for anyone interested in creating impactful products. The book emphasizes the importance of embracing failure, using early adulthood to experiment and learn from mistakes, which can lead to significant breakthroughs. Fadell highlights the need to focus on the ‘why’ behind your product to inspire and align your team and stakeholders. He also advocates for building diverse teams to foster innovation and well-rounded perspectives.
3 (New) 4.30 20,624 The Comfort Crisis: Embrace Discomfort To Reclaim Your Wild, Happy, Healthy Self Michael Easter
Although not a really a leadership book either, “The Comfort Crisis” is one of the best books I’ve read in the past two years. It offers great lessons on resilience and personal growth that are highly applicable to leadership. Easter argues that modern comfort is detrimental to our health and happiness. Through personal experiences, such as a 33-day Alaskan hunting expedition, he illustrates how stepping out of comfort zones enhances resilience. How facing difficulties leads to innovation and personal development and how being present improves focus and decision-making.
4 (New) 4.29 3,063 Empowered: Ordinary People, Extraordinary Products Marty Cagan
“Empowered: Ordinary People, Extraordinary Products,” provide guidance for creating impactful product teams. The book emphasize autonomy and the right tools to foster innovation and effective problem-solving. According to Cagan, leadership plays a crucial role in enabling teams to take ownership and drive extraordinary results. The book has received some critique from the Agile/Scrum community for not fully aligning with Agile principles and overlooking certain aspects of the Scrum framework, such as the Scrum Master’s role. Despite these critiques, “Empowered” remains a good read for leaders and innovators seeking to enhance their product development processes.
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4,26 30,081 The Culture Code: The Secrets of Highly Successful Groups Daniel Coyle
In “The Culture Code,” Daniel Coyle explores how to develop a strong group culture centered around safety, vulnerability, and purpose. He explains that creating a sense of safety is crucial for fostering open communication and trust within teams. Coyle also highlights the importance of vulnerability, suggesting that leaders should model openness and honesty to build deeper connections. Sharing uncertainties and challenges encourages a supportive and resilient team environment. Lastly, he emphasizes the need for a clear, shared purpose to align and motivate the group, ensuring everyone is working towards common goals. My biggest takeaway was the power of belonging cues – behaviors and actions that signal to team members that they are valued and included – in cultivating a safe and cohesive team culture.
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4,24 19,977 Turn The Ship Around!: How to Create Leadership at Every Level L. David Marquet
“Leadership is about giving control rather than taking control and creating leaders rather than forging followers.” By introducing Intent-based Leadership at every level, David Marquet takes one of the worst-performing submarines in the U.S. Navy and turns it into an example to follow. I have never had a strong interest in stories about the military, but having the story play out on a nuclear-powered submarine with no margin does add to the excitement.
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4,22 83,937 Creativity, Inc.: Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration Ed Catmull & Amy Wallace
I often gift this book to students in my Professional Agile Leadership classes. It is one of my personal all-time favorite leadership books! In Creativity, Inc, Ed Catmull, co-founder and president Ed Catmull of Pixar, tells stories about blockbuster animation movies like Toy Story (the trilogy), Monsters, Inc., and Finding Nemo. Still, more importantly, Catmull presents a blueprint for running a modern organization on practical experience-based principles.
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4.21 6,011 Reinventing Organizations: A Guide to Creating Organizations Inspired by the Next Stage of Human Consciousness Frederic Laloux
When Reinventing Organizations came out in 2014, it was a breath of fresh air for me and many others. It led me down the path to Spiral Dynamics and Integral theory, which I didn’t know at the time. Frederic Laloux’s accounts of how you can run organizations of all sizes without traditional hierarchies gave glims of a different future – a different way of working. Since it was published, Reinventing Organizations has been an inspiration for many authors. If you haven’t read Reinventing Organizations yet, I highly recommend reading it.
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4.20 957 Spiral Dynamics: Mastering Values, Leadership, and Change Don Edward Beck & Christopher C. Cowan
Spiral Dynamics (SD) is a model of the evolutionary development of individuals, organizations, and societies. Don Edward Beck and Christopher Cowan developed Spiral Dynamics based on the emergent cyclical theory of Clare W. Graves. Spiral Dynamics is the theory behind Reinventing Organization and Teal. This book is an excellent resource for understanding how value systems and worldviews emerge from interacting “life conditions” and the mind’s capacities.
10
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4,19 25,577 Let My People Go Surfing: The Education of a Reluctant Businessman Yvon Chouinard
Let My People Go Surfing is another leadership memoir. Chouinard is not your traditional business person, which he highlights in the book with the following quote: “I’ve been a businessman for almost fifty years. It’s as difficult for me to say those words as it is for someone to admit to being an alcoholic or a lawyer.” Nevertheless, Chouinard has managed to grow Patagonia into one of the most respected brands in the outdoor clothing industry. The book is more an anecdotal account of Chouinard’s life and the creation of Patagonia than a leadership “handbook”, but it is still well worth a read.
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4,19 349 Mastering Leadership: An Integrated Framework for Breakthrough Performance and Extraordinary Business Results Bob Anderson & William A. Adams
Mastering Leadership was a challenging read due to the amount of knowledge crammed into the 374 pages. In this book, Anderson carefully explains the research behind the Leadership Circle Profile (LCP) and why creative leadership is more effective than reactive leadership. I read the book as I prepared for my LCP Practitioner certification back in 2015. I plan to re-read it soon as I suspect it to be one of those books where you gain new insights every time you read it.
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4,18 15,459 Eleven Rings: The Soul of Success Phil Jackson & Hugh Delehanty
Growing up as a Chicago Bulls fan, I was curious to learn about Phil Jackson’s leadership style and why he has earned the nickname the Zen Master. In Eleven Rings, Jackson shares his beliefs in the power of mindfulness, team chemistry, freedom, authenticity, and selfless teamwork in the world of hypercompetitive professional sports. Jackson also shares how he worked with superstars like Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant and players labeled uncoachable by others to form championship-winning teams in Chicago and Los Angeles Lakers.
13
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4,17 655 The New Economics for Industry, Government, Education W. Edwards Deming
First published in 1991, “The New Economics for Industry, Government, Education” by W. Edwards Deming is a timeless classic that continues to influence modern leadership practices. The book emphasizes the importance of adopting a systemic approach to leadership, focusing on continuous improvement, understanding variation, and fostering a culture of learning and collaboration. Deming also challenges traditional management practices and promotes the use of statistical methods to drive decision-making and quality control.
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4,15 12,313 Team of Teams: New Rules of Engagement for a Complex World Stanley McChrystal
I was a bit hesitant to read another military leadership book. Are the ideas and leadership styles of the military really applicable to traditional organizations? In the case of Team of Teams, I was pleasantly surprised. The story’s backdrop was the U.S. Military’s war on Al Qaeda in 2004. According to McChrystal, Al Qaeda had seen the future: a decentralized network that could move quickly and strike ruthlessly, and they were winning despite America’s vastly superior resources and technology. In this book, McChrystal shows how the military transformed into a network that combined robust centralized communication with decentralized managerial authority and how similar shifts are possible in all organizations.
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4,12 1,365 Brave New Work: Are You Ready to Reinvent Your Organization? Aaron Dignan
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4,11 119,887 The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable Patrick Lencioni
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4,10 153,741 Mindset: The New Psychology of Success Carol S. Dweck
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4,09 11,337 Your Brain at Work: Strategies for Overcoming Distraction, Regaining Focus, and Working Smarter All Day Long David Rock
19
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4,08 2,064 Organizational Culture and Leadership Edgar H. Schein
20
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4,03 1,034 Everybody Matters: The Extraordinary Power of Caring for Your People Like Family Bob Chapman & Raj Sisodia
21
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4,02 624 Corporate Rebels: Make work more fun Joost Minnaar & Pim de Morree
Corporate Rebels just made the list and I am very happy it did. Joost Minnaar and Pim de Morree are truly rebels in the best sense of the word. They quit their jobs to travel the world to find inspiration on how to challenge traditional workplace norms and advocate for creating more engaging and enjoyable work environments. Through real-world examples and practical advice, they highlight innovative practices from companies that prioritize employee happiness and autonomy and still produces extraordinary results. This book serves as a manifesto for transforming work cultures to make them more fulfilling and motivating.

What books are missing?

I am always looking for new inspiration and haven’t yet decided what books to bring on this year’s summer vacation to Spain. I would therefore love to hear your perspective on my list. What books would have made your top 21 and why? Please use the comments below and inspire me and others.

Thanks in advance, and happy reading!

/Martin

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