Image via Pexels
12 Books for Your Community Leadership Summer Reading List
Contributed by Patricia Hill patricia@educatortools.info
In business, leaders motivate employees to
work together toward a company's success. In the community, leaders take
responsibility for the well-being of their city and neighbors. Yet no matter
where they work, all leaders have certain things in common: true leaders are
confident, courageous, and driven, and they apply integrity to everything they
do. What's more, leaders improve the places they work, and they energize and
empower others to make the world a better place, too.
Some people are born leaders, but most of us
have to work to develop the leadership skills needed to make a difference. If
you are ready to enhance your own leadership skills, this summer reading list
will help you develop them in a way that turns your goals into action.
Books for Inspiring and
Mobilizing Others
The best leaders aren't chasing personal success, they're learning how to lift others up. That's
especially true of community leaders who have to persuade diverse groups of
people to work together toward a common goal. If you want to learn how to
connect with and mobilize others, start by reading these books.
- How to Win
Friends & Influence People by Dale Carnegie
A classic read about
how to make others feel appreciated, this book will enhance both your personal
and professional life to the point you might even become like Carnegie-- with
both aspects becoming inseparable.
- As a Man Thinketh by James Allen
Have you ever thought
hard about your own personality and how it influences your actions? Inc.
explains that this book will help you delve deeper into the psychological aspects of motivation.
- Drive by Daniel Pink
We often think of
motivation as a reward-based situation, but there are actually several factors
that come together to inspire performance. Instead, the author explains it has
more to do with who we are deep down, and what we want to become.
Books to Build Your Leadership
Skills
Of course, you can't inspire others if you
haven't developed your own leadership skills. While this is only a sampling of
the many books on how to be a better leader, these
titles are essential reading for anyone who wants to lead.
- The 7 Habits
of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change by Stephen Covey
In Covey's leadership
classic, he explores the concept of true leadership coming from deep within-- how
strength of character shines through in the form of leadership, and what
particular actions encourage that strength to blossom.
- The Leadership
Challenge: How to Make Extraordinary Things Happen in Organizations by James M. Kouzes and
Barry Z. Posner
Who makes a better
leader, an introvert or an extrovert? The authors look into this point and
explain that neither personality type is better fitted to leadership, but
rather the idea that quality leadership is a learned skill that anyone can
master.
- Off the Clock:
Feel Less Busy While Getting More Done by Laura Vanderkam
Dealing head-on with
one of the challenges all leaders face eventually, Vanderkam
discusses how to carve out more personal time in order to feed your
professional growth.
Books on Affecting Change as a
Leader
Leaders need to know how to take their big
ideas and turn them into reality. And true leaders will take an active role in
making their vision come true.
- Reinventing
Organizations: A Guide to Creating Organizations Inspired by the Next
Stage in Human Consciousness by Frederic Laloux
The authors of this
book directly address the disconnect between the leadership of today's
organizations and those they lead. According to Medium, Reinventing
Organizations challenges traditional organizational structures
and encourages leaders to reinvent and refresh how their organizations
function.
- Switch: How to
Change Things When Change Is Hard by Chip Heath
Change is difficult,
and Heath explains this is because of the discord between the rational side and
emotional side of our inner selves. Learn how to work through and beyond that
discord to be able to affect change.
- Adapt: Why
Success Always Starts with Failure by Tim Harford
This author makes a
case for the need for people to be able to adapt as individuals, rather than
relying entirely on their leadership to take the reins. For a different
viewpoint on affecting change in today's world, read this one.
Books for Young Leaders
It's never too early to start developing your
leadership skills. In fact, there's a lot that young people can do to enact
change in their communities. Whether you're preparing for your first student
council run or tackling a problem in your community, these books will help
youths and teens gain the confidence to lead.
- Leading Teams by J. Richard Hackman
This book is a
perfect read for young people learning about how to build a cohesive team.
Hackman discusses the importance of leaders to develop the right conditions for
a team to flourish, and what elements contribute to those conditions.
- Influence by Robert Cialdini
Learning to influence
people in a positive way is essential for leaders, and this book reveals 6
principles to help young leaders develop those skills.
- Collaboration by Morten Hansen
Cooperation, sharing
information and helping others are among the qualities this book helps young
leaders hone. In a world where many focus on "number one" and being competitive,
Collaboration is a winning read.
Great leadership doesn't just happen. It's a
skill carefully cultivated through self-reflection, working with others, and
trial and error. To bring out the leader within, head to your local
library to pick up some inspiring reading this summer!
