6 books that can bring out the leader in you
If you missed “here’s why you should pick up that book” read more about it today.
This year, let a little reading bring out the leader in you; find out what you can do to transform and inspire others. Here are six books that will help you point your “leadership compass” in the right direction.
1. “Start With Why” by Simon Sinek
How do great leaders inspire others? What makes Apple products popular or why was Gandhi the man to bring us our freedom? According to Simon Sinek, it is because leaders voice why they are doing what they are doing, and by doing so, they draw others who believe in the same vision. Loyalty is found when others want your dream to succeed because they see it as their own.
Why should you read this book? If you want to know how to inspire people to believe your ideas, this book is a great primer. As Simon Sinek says, “There are leaders and there those who lead. We follow those who lead not because we have to but because we want to. We follow those who lead not for them, but for ourselves.”
2. In her book “Act Like a Leader, Think like a Leader” Herminia Ibarra suggests that the best way to be a leader is to act like one. Herminia does away with the old notion of ‘think first and act later’; instead she advocates learning by doing. By putting yourself in unfamiliar situations, working in new projects, or experiencing new ways of getting things done, you gain new perspective that help shape you as a leader. This is the notion she terms as “outsight”. As she says, “New experiences not only change how you think but also change who you become.”
Why should you read this book? If you believe in action rather than reflection, then this book is for you. It offers practical steps to redefine your job, your network and yourself. As Herminia observes, “I have found that people become leaders by doing leadership work.”
3. Sheryl Sandberg’s Lean In (Women, Work, and The Will to Lead) will change the way you look at yourself and your choices. It will make you question if you are leaning in, that is being actively engaged in your career, or are you leaning back and taking a step back with the choices you make.
Why should you read this book? To find the courage and belief to take up more leadership roles, be it at the community level or in the work place. As Sheryl says, “Leadership belongs to those who take it, leadership belongs to you.”
4. Dorie Clark’s Stand Out.
Dorie’s book is about becoming a thought leader and being recognized as an expert in your field. As Dorie says, “Too many people believe that if they keep their heads down and work hard, they’ll be lauded as experts on the merits of their work. But that’s simply not true anymore. To make a name for yourself, you have to capitalize on your unique perspective and knowledge and inspire others to listen and take action.”
Why should you read this book? If you want to discover what your USP is, what is your niche, you need to read this book. Dorie Clark decodes the mysterious process of being recognized as an expert so that you can leverage your experience to offer something to the world that no one else can.
5. In Rising Strong, Brené Brown goes beyond the clichéd, “failure is part of success” and focuses on how you can emerge from a setback. It doesn’t gloss over the process of getting over failure but rather encourages us to be vulnerable. In her book Brené explains, “The physics of vulnerability is simple: If we are brave enough often enough, we will fall.”
Why should you read this book? If you want to lead, you know that failure is a possibility. Read this book to know acknowledge failure and focus on how to emerge from it. For if only when you fail, can you rise up strong. As Brené says in her book, “Fortune favors the brave, but so does failure.”
You can also find inspiration in stories of how other people have overcome challenges. But finding books about successful women in India is hard.
6. Rashmi Bansal’s Follow Every Rainbow has 25 stories of women entrepreneurs who have courted success. The book is divided into three sections: Lakshmi, Durga, and Saraswati. The book chronical stories of women who have contributed significantly in their family business, of those who have carved out their path to success on their own, and those who have used their education to make their way to the top.
Why should you read this book? To find out how women in similar situations have forged their success. To be inspired by the women have chased their dreams, and to think what is stopping you in following yours?
As Alyse Nelson the CEO of Vital Voices says, “Leadership is about the decisions you make, and the actions that you take each day. The world is waiting. Leadership is a choice— and it starts with you.”
