71. Do you read Leadership Books?

The best leadership books aren’t about leaders.

Especially if they’re about the author.

“What I did to be successful or rich” will likely feed their ego but not you.

It’s not that there’s nothing to learn from Richard Branson or Bill Gates or Elon Musk.

It’s just that the chances of you being in their place at the time they did .. whatever, are… zero.

Interesting or inspiring maybe, but not useful.

The best leadership books are about people.

Not what they did but how they think.

Why do people behave the way they do?

How do people behave in groups?

How do cultures work?

How does the world work?

Your team is made up of ordinary people, not celebrities.

The people discussed in a book on psychology or behavior or group dynamics are the people in your team.

And you’re in there too..

Focus on people, not personality.

Learn about people, not celebrity.

There’s a lot to learn…

A book about a successful leader could be useful once you know what to look for.

How did she or he get people to do whatever they did to make that organization successful?

You could read it forensically – looking for traits and mistakes.

Doctors learn biology and physiology before they learn diagnosis and treatment.

Engineers learn physics, mathematics and material science before they learn design.

Leaders need to learn about people and behavior and group psychology before they learn leadership.

“ The people discussed in a book on psychology or behavior or group dynamics are the people in your team.…”

Here are 12 great thinkers and authors who don’t write about leadership but have a lot to teach leaders about people…

Daniel Kahnemann: Thinking Fast & Slow

John Medina: Brain Rules

Rory Sutherland: Alchemy

Chip & Dan Heath: Made to Stick

Richard Thaler: Nudge

Dan Ariely: Predictably Irrational

Yuval Harari: Sapiens

George Orwell: Animal Farm

Richard Nisbett: The Geography of Thought

Erin Meyer: Culture Maps

Malcolm Gladwell: Talking to Strangers

Alan Watts: Out of your Mind

There are plenty more out there.

Good leaders read.

Lots, often, widely

What books are you reading now?

( Pro tip on YouTube or other videos: read the book first, before you watch videos by the author. Reading the book gives time to absorb the whole story then the video can reinforce key points. )

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“I might be wrong, but at least I’ve thought about it…”