Reading Builds Confidence.

I created a top 10 reading list for people committed to leading teams confidently.

My intent is for each reader to approach each recommended book with an open mind. I want them to leverage the different perspectives so that they may take a new or different approach to conflicts and projects.

The objective is for each individual to experience a shift in their thinking so that they may become more influential, confident and effective leaders.

1

The book, Can't Hurt Me: Master Your Mind and Defy the Odds  represents everything you were taught about self-discipline, mental toughness, and hard work written by the only man in history to complete elite training as a Navy SEAL, Army Ranger, and Air Force Tactical Air Controller.

2

Becoming by former First Lady Michelle Obama. is the deeply personal reckoning of a woman of soul and substance who has steadily defied expectations—and whose story inspires us to do the same.

3

 Gaining an overall understanding of the trauma most of us experience gives us the opportunity to develop a strategy to move through it and to offer assistance and support to others.

In the book The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma, Bessel van der Kolk M. D. exposes the tremendous power of our relationships both to hurt and to heal—and offers new hope for reclaiming lives.

4

The 30-Day Productivity Plan: Break The 30 Bad Habits That Are Sabotaging Your Time Management - One Day At A Time! (The 30-Day Productivity Boost Book 1) by Damon Zahariades gives you the tools to make the most of your time. It gives you the steps along with a simple system for putting those steps into action.

5

The Making of a Manager: What to Do When Everyone Looks to You by Julie Zhuo, Karissa Vacker, et al is a modern field guide packed everyday examples and transformative insights. 

Whether you're new to the job, a veteran leader, or looking to be promoted, this is the handbook you need to be the kind of manager you wish you had.

6

Turn the Ship Around!: A True Story of Turning Followers into Leaders by L. David Marquet shares the story of giving control to your team as opposed to taking control.

Applying the principals shared in this book you can create a workplace where everyone around you is taking responsibility for their actions, where people are healthier and happier, where everyone is a leader.

7

Crucial Conversations Tools for Talking When Stakes Are High by authors Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, Ron McMillan, and Al Switzler provides insights into how to handle crucial conversations well, influence others and get things done. 

At the heart of almost all chronic problems in our organizations, our teams, and our relationships lie crucial conversations— book allows us to learn how to hold crucial conversations well.  

8

Blending psychology, politics, spirituality, and confessional, The Road to Character by David Brooks provides an opportunity for us to rethink our priorities and strive to build rich inner lives marked by humility and moral depth. 

Looking to some of the world's greatest thinkers and inspiring leaders, Brooks explores how, through internal struggle and a sense of their own limitations, they have built strong inner character.

9

Everyday Millionaires: How Ordinary People Built Extraordinary Wealth - and How You Can Too by Chris Hogan 

This book is based on the largest study EVER conducted on 10,000 U.S. millionaires—and the results will shock you! You’ll learn that building wealth has almost NOTHING to do with your income or your background! It doesn’t matter where you come from. It matters where you’re going.

10

The journey to becoming an effective leader can be full of stumbling blocks and learning curves. But for women, particularly those pursuing a career in male-dominated settings, learning to lead can be a tumultuous road.

Camouflaged Sisters: Leadership Through The Eyes Of Senior Military Women Leaders by Lila Holley and eleven other contributing writers (including the author of this article) examines the grit, perseverance, and determination it takes to rise through military ranks as a woman in uniform.

BONUS

In her stirring memoir, Bronco Strong: A Memoir of the Last Deployed Personnel Services Battalion by Angela M. Odom, a personnel services battalion commander, recounts daily life as a soldier in an active war zone during Operation Iraqi Freedom. The shared experiences are those you treasure for a lifetime.