2017 Recommended Reading
Although these books are not required reading, everybody will benefit from reading them ahead of (or after) the Art of Inspiring Change workshop. The concepts presented in these books will give background and tie into the concepts of creating meaningful and lasting change. Many of these works are also available as audiobooks.
If you haven’t read these books yet, we’ve ordered them from the best starting point to more layered learning. If you’ve already read these books, consider this a perfect excuse for a re-read!
The Art of Possibility
by Rosamund Stone Zander & Benjamin Zander
If we had to name a starting place for transformation, this book would be it. We consider this book to be an important start to understanding the nuances of shifting focus, adding new perspectives, and being open to what is possible in the future. This book isn’t about specific skills but it’s important for setting the stage to learn new skills and bring them into your practice.
Benjamin is a conductor for the Boston Philharmonic. Rosamund is a pioneer of leadership and relationship development. She coaches others to help them create passionate lives of vision and contribution (for personal development, we recommend her book: Pathways to Possibility). Together, the Zander’s share a series of perspectives designed to improve your understanding of what and where the potential exists.
Overcoming the Five Dysfunctions of a Team: Field Guide
by Patrick Lencioni
Five Dysfunctions is a good example of the modern perspective on high performance team development. Lencioni has taken Maslow’s hierarchy and developed it into a strategic behavior model.
We feel the field guide version of this book offers more specific, practical guidance for overcoming the Five Dysfunctions—using tools, exercises, assessments, and real-world examples.
Lencioni helps ask the important questions that all teams can always reflect on: Are we really a team? How are we currently performing? Are we prepared to invest the time and energy required to be a great team? And he gives steps to the reaching ideal outcomes and visions of what these answers can become.
The Outward Mindset
by The Arbinger Institute
We are always following the Arbinger Institute and their newest book, The Outward Mindset, may be their most masterful yet. After they wrote Leadership and Self-Deception (one of our all time favorite leadership books), they continued to work with that projection model. While diving deeper, they realized that they themselves were afflicted by the same issues they had written about. This led them to re-look at their learning from a completely new perspective.
We think The Outward Mindset is one of the most progressive and forward-focused leadership books currently available. This book opens a path to trust, collaboration, creativity, and performance. It allows individuals and organizations to make the one change that most dramatically improves performance, sparks collaboration, and accelerates innovation.
If you’ve already read these books, or are looking for something slightly different, check out Joan’s personal Book List for more recommended titles.