Books to Inspire! 2020 was an unprecedented year where many business leaders had to navigate changes in how they conduct business and manage team members amid challenging times.
As we begin a new year, I want to share with you four books that not only guide me in business but in understanding and growing relationships with team members.
Here are four of my favorite books to inspire, along with thoughts on why I find them vital to being an effective firm leader:
Thou Shall Prosper by Rabbi Daniel Lapin – Rabbi Lapin is so positive and pro-business as a means for businesses to serve others. What I love is that he encourages business as a noble profession, not the “money-hungry” or “greedy” profession that seems to be portrayed in our society. Our ability to serve our team and our clients well is really at the heart of business, and that is indeed quite noble.
The Dream Manager by Matthew Kelly – I love a good story, and this one is precisely that. It reminds us that as business owners, we sometimes forget that we are helping our team members fulfill their dreams, and we are so often unaware. Due to circumstances, experience, and just life, we often have team members with different goals and ideas than we do about so many areas of life. However, we can help them fulfill some dreams by the employment we provide and by taking small steps to help them in so many areas by providing training and other resources. Doing so builds a more energized, loyal, and effective team. It is a win for not only our team but for our business and our clients.
Dare to Lead by Brene Brown – Brene is amazing, and I love that she is so candid and real about her own struggles as a leader. She realizes, perhaps better than most, what it takes to lead, the vulnerability required, and as a woman, the courage it can often take. I admire her greatly and have taken copious notes, listened to this on Audible, as well as marked up my own copy of the book. One day I hope to be as daring as her in my leadership.
Radical Candor by Kim Scott – Kim Scott is fabulous in her writing about how to lead well and give straight feedback without making you feel awful, or your team member feels degraded or demeaned. She embodies the idea and puts practical steps to the phrase, “They don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.” I highly recommend this book for all people managers.
These book selections revolve around leading our people, which is rather fitting for this period in time. This seems to be one of the biggest struggles for most firm leaders and also a great focus for me this year.
What books inspire you?
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