A top 10 list of
leadership books

As leaders we’re often overwhelmed with the selection of books that claim to offer insights into “better leadership”. Leadership Development at The Banff Centre offers you our “Top 10” recommendations for great fall reading as suggested by our advisory board, faculty, and staff – some of which are authored by our faculty (e.g., Piers Ibbotson, John Baldoni, and Brad Jackson) – to help you cut through the noise and find some books and ideas to inspire your imagination and promote your leadership learning.

These books address some of the same ideas and approaches that you’ve come to expect and value in our programs. You’ll read about the power of nature and outdoor adventure as a place for leadership learning (Leadership the Outward Bound Way); how the arts can inspire leadership creativity (Illusion of Leadership and Leading From Within); as well as provocative ideas (Followership and Management Rewired); and useful tips that can be immediately applied (Leadership Brand). We hope you’ll take a look at these books and contact us if they inspire you to join us for an upcoming program.

  1. The Illusion of Leadership: Directing Creativity in Business and the Arts
    by Piers Ibbotson
  2. A Very Short, Fairly Interesting and Reasonably Cheap Book about Studying Leadership by Brad Jackson and Ken Parry
  3. Leading From Within: Poetry That Sustains the Courage to Lead
    by Sam Intrator and Megan Scribner
  4. Management Rewired
    by Charles Jacobs
  5. Lead by Example: 50 Ways Great Leaders Inspire Results
    by John Baldoni
  6. Followership: How Followers Are Creating Change and Changing Leaders
    by Barbara Kellerman
  7. Leadership the Outward Bound Way: Becoming a Better Leader in the Workplace, in the Wilderness, and in Your Community
    by Jimmy Carter and Outward Bound USA
  8. Leadership Brand: Developing Customer-Focused Leaders to Drive Performance and Build Lasting Value
    by Dave Ulrich and Norm Smallwood
  9. Group Genius: The Creative Power of Collaboration
    by Keith Sawyer
  10. What Poetry Brings to Business*
    by Clare Morgan, with Kirsten Lange and Ted Buswick
    * Note: this book is forthcoming from the University of Michigan Press.

Here’s a few more ideas for your fall and winter reading list:

How to choose your own top 10 leadership Books
10 Best Leadership Books of All Time
Leadership Online Library