There are hundreds of books on leadership and management. Below are a few suggested books and articles. If you have read an interesting book or article, please let me know. I will be happy to post it.
Albright, M. and Carr, C. 101 Biggest Mistakes Managers Make and How to Avoid Them. Prentice Hall, Paramus, New Jersey, 1997.
The book provides a guide to the most common mistakes made by managers in almost any situation. The book arranges the 101 mistakes into 11 different categorical chapters. Each chapter focuses on a single mistake, why it was a mistake and immediate action that you can take to “recover” quickly. Some of the 11 categorical chapters include: Mistakes in Dealing with Workers, Mistakes in Dealing with Performance, and Mistakes in Managing Teams.
Ash, M.K., Mary Kay on People Management Warner Books, New York, 1984.
The focus of the company is on people and products. Rewards and incentives are for top performers. People management contributes to the bottom line in soaring sales and rise in profits
Belker, L. The First-Time Manager (4th ed.) American Management Association, New York, 1997. ISBN 0-8144-7940-5
This book covers issues such as learning to listen, moving from details to the big picture, disciplining the employee, performance appraisals, personal and organizational loyalty, public speaking, etc.
Bennis, W. On Becoming a Leader. Addison-Wesley, New York, 1994.
In his introduction Bennis states three important issues for leaders in the 21st century: (1) staying with the status quo is unacceptable; (2) Leaders must restructure and to allow the intellectual capital of the staff to emerge; and, (3) Followers need direction, trust and hope from their leaders. His theme is that the challenge of leadership is to create the social architecture where ideas, relationships and adventure can flourish. – Anything by Bennis is recommended.
Bennis, W. and Townsend, R. Reinventing Leadership. Strategies to Empower the Organization. William Morrow and Company, Inc., New York, 1995
These experts examine the styles of today’s successful leaders and detail the specific traits that are essential for effective leadership. At the end of each chapter are “dialogue starters” with provocative questions for discussion. There is also a twenty-one day plan that helps the reader apply what has been learned about being an effective leader.
Betof, E. and Harwood F. Just Promoted! How to Survive and Thrive In Your First 12 Months As A Manager. McGraw-Hill, Inc., New York, 1992.
This is a book that is filled with practical advice. It is divided into three parts: (1) Moving In: Establishing Yourself in Your New Assignment; (2) Achieving an Impact on the Organization; and (3) Managing the Impact of Moving Up on Your Family and Personal Life.
Bittel L.R. and Newstrom, J.W. What Every Supervisor Should Know The Complete Guide to Supervisory Management (6th edition). McGraw-Hill, Inc. New York, 1992.
The total book is 614 pages and can be used as a reference for supervisors. The books is divided into nine sections as follows: Supervisory Management, Planning and Control, Organizing, Staffing and Training, Activating the Work Force, Managing Problem Performance, Improving Departmental Productivity, Legal Concerns of Supervision, Personal Development Portfolio: Toward Mastery of Your Job, Boot- strapping Your Career in Supervision and Management: With 22 Action Planning Checklists.
Blanchard, K., Lacinak, T., Tompkins, C. and Ballard, J. Whale Done! The Power of Positive Relationships, The Free Press, New York, 2002, ISBN 0-7432-3538-X
The book looks at the training of the five-ton killer whale Shamu, at Sea World and applies the techniques of the whale trainers to working with people. Specifically, accentuating the positive and redirecting the “Gotcha” (catching people doing things wrong) to “Whale Done! (catching people doing things right).
Brinkman R and Kirschner, R. Dealing with People You Can't Stand : How to Bring Out the Best in People at Their Worst c. 1994, McGraw-Hill N.Y. Brinkman and Kirschner discuss what compels people to be difficult and give essential communication skills to turn conflict into cooperation, emotion into reason and hidden agendas into honest dialogue.
Buckingham M. and Clifton, D.O., Now, Discover Your Strengths The Free Press, New York,2001.
The theme of the book is to work on enhancing and developing your strengths, not your weaknesses. Strengths are composed of talents, knowledge and skills that are expanded into 34 dominant themes with thousands of possible combinations. Gallop International Research & Education has conducted psychological profiles with more than 2 million individuals to help readers learn how to focus and perfect these themes for their personal and career success.
Charan, R. What the CEO Wants You To Know Crown Business, New York, 2001.
Charan discusses the universal laws of business that apply “whether you sell fruit from a stand or are running a Fortune 500 company.” It is called business acumen – the ability to understand how a company makes money.
Ciampa, D. and Watkins, M. Right From the Start: Taking Charge in a New Leadership Role, Harvard Business School Press, Boston, 1999.
Shows you how to overcome the challenges inherent in any leadership transition and how to navigate the organizations politics and culture so that you can implement your agenda
Cooper, Robert K, The Other 90% - How to Unlock your Vast Untapped Potential for Leadership & Life – Crown Business, New York c. 2001 – ISBN 0-8129-3287-0
Cooper says that we only use 10% of our potential in a lifetime, however we should be able to use other 90%. He gives 4 keystones to enable one to use the other 90%.
Drucker, Peter F., The Essential Drucker Selections from the Management Works of Peter F. Drucker, Harper Business An Imprint of Harper Collins Publishers c. 2001 isbn 0-06-621087-9 Anything by Peter Drucker is worth reading.
Frank, M.O. How to Get Your Point Across in 30 Seconds – or less Simon and Schuster, New York, 1986.
The book focuses on teaching you how to develop and use a 30-second message in any situation. The 30-second message can put you in the driver’s seat.
Gallagher, C., Going to the Top. A Road Map for Success from America’s Leading Women Executives. Penguin Group, New York, 2000. ISBN 0-670-89151-7
Discusses six lessons for success with four critical factors: (1) Focus on the big picture; (2) Create alliances; (3) Help others be successful; (4) Take risks; (5) Be yourself; (6) Find advocates. The four critical factors include competence, outcomes, relationships and endurance.
Giuliani, Rudolph, Leadership. Hyperion, New York, 2002.
Highly recommend. Highly practical book on leadership skills to succeed.
Harvard Business School Press. Harvard Business Review on Leadership. Harvard Business School Publishing, Boston, 1998.
The book contains 8 articles from leaders in the field about leadership. Among the articles are included “Whatever Happened to the Take-Charge Manager?” By Nitin Nohria and James D. Berkley, and “Managers and Leaders: Are they Different?” by Abraham Zaleznik
Hesselbein, F.; Goldsmith, M.; Beckhard, R., eds. The Leader of the Future: New Visions, Strategies, and Practices for the Next Era. The Drucker Foundation, Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, 1996.
The book is divided into four parts: (1) Leading the Organization of the Future; (2) Future Leaders in Action; (3) Learning to Lead for Tomorrow; and (4) Executives on the Future of Leadership. Each section contains articles written by well known people in the field. The book is easy to read and gives some practical advice on leadership.
Johnson, S. Who Moved My Cheese? G.P. Putnam’s Sons, New York, 1998
The book is a metaphor with two mice and two humans who enjoy eating their “cheese” and but must face change.
Kelley, Robert E., How To Be A Star At Work. Random House, New York, 1998. ISBN 0-8129-2676-5
Nine strategies of star performers include: (1) Initiative; (2) Networking; (3) Self-Management; (4) Perspective; (5) Followership; (6) Teamwork; (7) Leadership; (8) Organizational Savvy; and (9) Show-and-tell with the right message.
Klaus, Peggy, Brag – The Art of Tooting Your own Horn Without Blowing it. Warner Books – c. May 2003 ISBN 0-446-53179-0
Most people don’t know how to “toot their horn”. People need to be able to “brag” about themselves and let people know their capabilities and accomplishments. Klaus tells you how to do it. She also gives you a thought-provoking self evaluation test to help you get started.
Lancaster, H. Promoting Yourself 52 Lessons for Getting to the Top…and Staying There, Simon & Schuster, Inc. New York, 2002, IBSN 0-7432-1363-7
The book’s 52 lessons range from how to sell yourself, dealing with change, office politics, management and taking alternate paths. In some cases, there may not be definitive answers, however, the reader is presented issues to consider.
Lucas, R.W., Coaching Skills – A Guide for Supervisors Mirror Press, Burr Ridge, Ill
Lundin, Stephen C., Paul, Harry, and Christensen, John. Fish! A Remarkable Way to Boost Morale and Improve Results. Hyperion, New York 2000. ISBN 0-7868-6602-0
Mary Jane Ramirez cleans up a toxic work dump following the example of world famous Pike Place Fish market. Four helpful actions include: (1) choose your attitude; (2) play; (3) develop an atmosphere of inclusion; and (4) be present.
Mayer, J. Time Management for Dummies, 2nd Edition. IDG Books Worldwide Inc., New York, 1999. ISBN 0-7645-5145-0.
Helpful solutions for time management including software that will save you time, getting more out of your computer, ten tips for a top-notch filing system, write more effective correspondence, etc.
Maslach, C, and Leiter, M.P. The Truth About Burnout: How Organizations Cause Personal Stress and What to do About It. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. (1997).
Maxwell, John C. , Failing Forward – Turning Mistakes into Stepping Stones for Success Thomas Nelson Publishers, Nashville c. 2000, IBSN 0-7852-7430-8
Major theme Difference between average people and achieving people is their perception of and response to failure. People should be trained for failure Issue of redefining failure and success Need to keep big picture in mind – don’t just look at isolated failures. Anything by Maxwell should be read.
Noonan, David, Aesop & the CEO, Nelson Books, Nashville, 2005.
Noonan returns to the time-tested maxims of yesteryear offering a fresh perspective on Aesop’s morality plays. He uses the experiences and writings of industry notables drawing lessons from both Aesop and business insights.
Pollan, S. and Levine M. (eds.) Lifescripts for Managers: What to say to get what you want in life’s toughest situations. Macmillan, New York, 1999. ISBN 0-02-862622-2.
This is a practical book that gives specific “scripts” for a manager to be use as a guideline when confronting a particular situation. The book includes lifescripts for subordinates, superiors and vendors. Scripts are given for situations such as stopping backstabbing among subordinates, asking your superior for a budget increase and asking a vendor to lower her price.
Salmon, W.A. The New Supervisor’s Survival Manual AMACOM (American Management Association) New York, 1998 ISBN 08144-7027-0.
The book presents basics for first time supervisors. The contents include understanding expectations, learning written and unwritten rules, motivating others, setting goals, delegation, etc. There is an emphasis on the SMART Guidelines – Specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time bound.
Scholtes, P.R., The Leader’s Handbook, A Guide To Inspiring Your People and Managing the Daily Workflow. McGraw-Hill, New York, 1998.
This book claims that more than 95 percent of the problems within an organization are derived from systems, processes and methods, not from individual workers. It’s theme is that leader’s must focus on new competencies which includes the ability to think in terms of systems and knowing how to lead systems and understanding the interdependence and interaction between systems, learning and human behavior. The book gives practical advice in getting work done.
Schwartz, P. The Art of the Long View, Currency Paperback, Doubleday, New York, 1996.
Schwartz proposes a “scenario” process where managers invent and then consider, in depth, several varied stories of equally plausible futures. The scenarios comprise a tool for ordering one’s perceptions and helping managers to investigate and make important company decisions.
Stout, Martha, The Sociopath Next Door; The Ruthless vs. the Rest of Us, Broadway Books, New York, 2005.
Stout describes the person you work with or your next door neighbor (4% of the population) with sociopathy or psychopathy who have no internal constraints or pangs of conscience. She gives 13 rules for dealing with sociopaths in everyday life.
Watkins, Michael, The First 90 Days: Critical Success Strategies for New Leaders at All Levels. Harvard Business School Publishing, Boston, 2003.
You have been promoted to a leadership position. The first three months are critical to get to the top of the job and move forward or fail. Watkins offers proven strategies to reach success.
Welch, Jack. Winning. HarperBusiness, New York, 2005.
Highly recommend. Pragmatic book that lays out answers to difficult questions people face and the real “stuff” of work.
Wheeler, M. Problem People At Work. The essential survival guide to dealing with bosses, coworkers, employees, and outside clients. St. Martin’s Griffin, New York, 1995. IBSN 0-312-13148-8
How to handle hostile-aggressive behavior problems, passive-aggressive behavior problems, procrastination, negative-complaining problems, arrogant behavior problems and male-female communication differences.
Young, Steve, Great Failures of the Extremely Successful: Mistakes, Adversity, Failure and Other Steppingstones to Success. Tallfellow Press, Los Angeles, 2004. Stories of successful people who refused to let hardships or “failures” stop them on the road to victory.
Yukl, G. Leadership in Organizations, Prentice Hall, Inc. New Jersey, 1998.
This is a “textbook” that focuses on managerial leadership and presents a broad survey of theory and research on leadership in formal organizations. Yukl also focuses on the issue of what makes an effective leader.