These Books Will Help You Become a More Effective Leader at Work.

Do you fish for promotion? Have you just been given new responsibilities at work? Are you a little nervous that you are not doing very well in your current management tasks? No matter what industry you are in, we all have similar goals and challenges. We all want to get ahead, make money and excel in our roles. Luckily, since these are pretty universal desires, a lot of great minds have learned what we need to do to turn these dreams into reality. If you’re taking on more responsibility, you need to read what the experts advise.

The best books on leadership.

If you are in a management position or otherwise oversee other people’s work, the task can seem daunting. Your job is to, like, make them do their job. It’s important to be a good leader here, so read the following:

• Making a Manager: What to Do When Everyone’s Looking at You by Julie Zhuo ($16.49) . This book is intended for people who have just received a leadership position. Just at the moment when you think: “What should I do now?” Zhuo, an experienced manager, provides advice on hiring, building trust, and figuring out what to do when you’re unsure of the answer. One reviewer called it their “management bible” and another said they still refer to it when hiring new employees.
• Surrounded by Idiots by Thomas Erickson ($12.38) . Erickson is a communications expert with advice on what to do if you’re not happy with your team. He details why it’s important to understand how people work and what obstacles you might face when trying to connect with your colleagues. This book will help you categorize people’s personalities so you can work better with someone once you understand what motivates them.
• How to Lead When You’re Not Leading: Using Influence When You Lack Authority by Clay Scroggins ($14.89) . Learn how to use your communication skills to influence the people in your workspace, whether you’re technically in charge or not. This book is great for appointed leaders and de facto leaders.
• Don’t be afraid to lead: brave work. Tough conversations. Whole hearts. Brené Brown ($10.20) . This book is a guide to approaching uncomfortable situations in the workplace with a human touch. It has over 19,600 ratings on Amazon and a whopping 4.7 stars out of 5. Some reviewers call it “extraordinary” for handling vulnerabilities in professional settings; others use the words “engaging” and “transformative” to describe an effective leadership guide.

Best Books on Taking Responsibility

Whether you lead others or not, you still need to do your job, be accountable for your work, and do your best to live up to your expectations. It’s always worth reading about how to handle your responsibilities more effectively, so start here:

• Get the Job Done: Overcome Resistance and Don’t Get in the Way by Steven Pressfield ($9.99) . If you’re feeling overwhelmed or feel like your job is standing in your way…you, read this book. you already know what you need to do. Reviewers call it “helpful”, “practical” and even “amazing” and “life-changing” for its approach to overcoming your own resistance to achieving a goal.
• Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don’t Know by Adam Grant ($15.02) . This book by organizational psychologist Adam Grant is about opening your mind to the possibility of what you don’t know. He explains why it’s not bad to be wrong – it’s bad not to be interested in what being wrong can teach you. At its core, the book is about how to evolve to face new challenges and take the leap into the unknown when the time calls for it, which can be intimidating at work (which is why you probably need to read what a psychologist has to say about it).
• Great at Work: The Hidden Habits of Top Performers by Morten T. Hansen (US$10.99) . Self-help books on habits are a dime a dozen, but this Wall Street Journal bestseller with a 4.5-star rating on Amazon stands out for its simple tips on seven techniques you can apply to work more efficiently. The author has conducted a comprehensive study to analyze the results of applying each of them, so you can be sure that these tips will bring real benefits.
• What Got You Here Won’t Get You There: How Successful People Become Even More Successful, Marshall Goldsmith ($12.27) . This book will help you understand your own traits and tendencies and determine which ones you have succeeded in spite of, not because of them. According to Goldsmith, you don’t just need a list of things to do, but a list of things to stop. Turning conventional wisdom on its head, the book advocates assessing one’s own behavior and retooling what is needed to move forward. Be warned: one reviewer said the book is “difficult to read because you recognize yourself in the examples of undesirable behavior.” Fortunately, this is the first step towards changing them.