The top book list is composed of some of the most interesting and impactful writers of our time in the talent management and leadership development field. If you are looking for books that will change your perspective on talent and leadership in 2021 these are the top books for you. Business books these days lack the emotional feeling and care about humanity that is truly missing from our daily lives. The top business books for January 2021 list includes writers with heart, who ignite our minds and imaginations in ways that are important for us to start out the New Year right. Read this list of our top books, and let us know your thoughts. Are these the top business books for you? Don’t answer until you’ve read them!
1)Right-Minded Teamwork: 9 Right Choices for Building a Team That Works as One
Need better teamwork? If your team struggles with poor communication or strained relationships, you have found the right solution: a real-world, continuous improvement process called Right-Minded Teamwork (RMT). Certified Master Facilitator and author Dan Hogan spent his 40-year career revolutionizing teams; along the way, he developed a unique, reliable, team-building methodology to replace silly “team-building” games that simply don’t work. In this 2nd Edition, you will learn how to facilitate and incorporate RMT’s nine, powerful choices through straightforward, effective team exercises. Patrick Carmichael, VP BPI, Advisor to the Institute for Management Studies (IMS) and CMPartners, and former head of Talent Management at Saudi Aramco shared, “In RMT, Dan separates the fun and games of team bonding from the hard work (the muck and mire) of team building. [This is] an in-depth model for real-world team building in a realistic, direct, and safe manner. RMT is also a support system, providing a rich array of resources. This is a book that you will use and wear out.”
2) Virtual Event Mastery Method: The Proven Approach for Designing & Delivering Online Workshops and Trainings that Deliver Breakthrough Results!
Discover the #1 System for designing and developing transformational online offerings…even if you’ve never created or led virtual events.The “secret” to growing your business and effectively serving your clients in this new era of social distancing is to transform your in-person workshops, programs and services into virtual events and trainings that deliver BREAKTHROUGH RESULTS. This book will teach you how you can do exactly that.
3) Lee’s 3 Habits: A Handbook for Stronger Relationships and Greater Happiness By
Dr. Paul L. Corona.
A graduate of Michigan State University, Paul has an MBA from The University of Notre Dame’s Mendoza College of Business, and a doctorate from Indiana State University: Bloomington. A Marshall Goldsmith Stakeholder Coach, Paul has taught at Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management since 2014.
Lee’s 3 Habits (2019) is a short book cleverly illustrated by Eddie Rosas is supplemented by a video and workshop. His habits of work on some assumptions: (1) True happiness if not about fame and fortune; (2) Good relationships keep us happier, healthier, and living longer; and (3) Good relationships take hard work. To make this work, you should ask, listen, and give.
4) Co-Create: How Your Business Will Profit from Innovative and Strategic Collaboration By David Nour.
After graduating from Georgia State, David Nour completed his Executive MBA at Emory University’s Goizueta Business School. A Member of the Marshall Goldsmith 100 Coaches program, David is a prominent writer and keynote speaker.
Co-create (2019) continues his exploration of relationship economics® holding that co-creation leads to Market Gravity™, “a force that attracts stakeholders to your business because they recognize that many others have also united their interests with yours.” Nour’s unique approach quantifies the attraction and connection.
5) Grace: A Leader’s Guide to a Better Us By John Baldoni
John’s insights are genuine, and his heart is pure. When you read his book, you will see his true intentions and purpose-driven life shine through.
A Global Gurus Top 30 Leadership Expert listed among Inc.’s Top 50 Leadership Experts and Top 100 Leadership Speakers, John has authored 14 books on organizational leadership. A graduate of Georgetown University and the University of Michigan, John advocates leading upwards and modeling leadership behaviors,
If you are familiar with his Moxie (2014) or Lead Your Boss (2009), you’ll find a different read in Grace (2019). It blends stories of individual heroes with those of noted thought leaders. It recommends using the gift of spiritual grace to make positive changes bettering yourself and those around you. Grace becomes the currency of empowering relationships built on respect, empathy, and compassion. The book is a guide to leading with Generosity, Respect, Action, Compassion, and Energy.
6) Reinventing You: Define Your Brand, Imagine Your Future By Dorie Clark.
Thinkers50 named Dorie among its Top 50 Business Thinkers in the World, and the Marshall Goldsmith Coaching Leading Global Coaches Awards listed her #1 Communication Coach in the World. A graduate of Smith College and Harvard Divinity School, Dorie is on the graduate business school faculties art Columbia and Duke.
Author of Stand-out (2015) and Entrepreneurial You (2017), Dorie published Reinventing You (2013) now available with a new preface (2017). This step-by-step guide leads to thinking big about your career goals with a focus on your unique strengths. Reinventing You is a master class in self-branding to actualize your positive future.
7) Insight:The Surprising Truth About How Others See Us, How We See Ourselves, and Why the Answers Matter More Than We Think By Tasha Eurich.
With a Phi Beta Kappa key and Magna Cum Laude experience at Middlebury College, Tasha pursued her MS and Ph.D. at Colorado State University. In 2019, she ranked among the top 30 emerging management thinkers and Thinkers50 top 50 in leadership coaching. And, in 2017, she was chosen as one of Marshall Goldsmith Top 100 Coaches.
Insight (2018) develops Dr. Eurich’s long-term focus on self-awareness. She contends individuals don’t understand how others perceive them, let alone recognize themselves as clearly as they should. The book explores the science behind understanding that self-awareness is a skill you can develop into high performance, smart choices, and long-lasting relationships.
8) Work is Love Made Visible: A Collection of Essays About the Power of Finding Your Purpose From the World’s Greatest Thought Leaders By Frances Hesselbein, Marshall Goldsmith, and Sarah McArthur.
Frances Hesselbein has received the U.S. Medal of Freedom, over 30 honorary degrees, and is listed among Fortune’s World’s 50 Greatest Leaders. She has always led with a “mission-focused, values-based, and demographics-driven” effort.
Marshall Goldsmith remains a leading world authority on leadership change behavior. Harvard’s Institute of Coaching honored him with its first Lifetime Achievement Award. Dr. Goldsmith is a two-time winner of Thinkers50 #1 Leadership Thinker in the World, the Word’s #1 Executive Coach, and Top Ten Business Thinkers. The author of 35+ books, he is a fellow in the National Academy of Human Resources and winner of the Lifetime Achievement Award in Teaching Award from the Institute for Management Studies.
Sarah McArthur is a writer, editor, and coach. As a publishing leader, she has written or co-authored countless books and auditors, often with the top thought leaders in the field. Sarah is COO of Marshall Goldsmith, Inc. where she has changed the quality of leadership publishing over two decades following a B.A. from the University of Oregon and Masters in Publishing from George Washington University.
These three masterful thought leaders have put together a collection of 31 essays by prominent thinkers in Work is Love Made Visible (2018). Frances Hesselbein introduced Marshall Goldsmith and Sarah McArthur to Peter F. Drucker’s lesson: “I don’t predict. I just look out the window and see what’s visible not yet seen.” The challenge has no answer, of course, but it remains an incomparable thought provoker.
Oleg Konovalov is a globally-recognized thought leader, international speaker, and consultant to Fortune 500 companies. He holds a DBA in macroeconomics from Durham University and a DBA in Business from Durham University Business School. He has been recognized by Thinkers50 and Marshall Goldsmith’s 100 Coaches.
In his Foreword to Leaderology (2012), John Spence wrote that he found Konovalov’s insights comparable in power to those of Peter F. Drucker. Dr. Konovalov’s purpose is driven by his conviction that “Too much effort is needed to get good performance from employees if they are disconnected and do not complement each other. It is no wonder the best people are leaving.”
10) In Great Company: How to Spark Peak Performance by Creating an Emotionally Connected Workplace By Louis Carter
No list can be complete without my own book, right? For over 20 years, I’ve devoted my life to the study, teaching, and practice of organizational psychology and leadership development. I have seen what works and what doesn’t in our world’s best organizations.
In my book, In Great Company, I bring you my life long research on how to create a culture where every leader and employee thrives and succeeds. Everyone needs a framework and culture that supports their development, creativity, and goals achievement. My research shows that when leaders create a psychologically safe, outcomes oriented culture, great things happen. When everyone becomes a leader of an emotionally connected culture, we all win.
Closing the book
Most of these books are available in digital and audio formats, some at attractively low prices. So, opt to start or add to your library now. While you’re shopping, you might check out my others books,
- The Change Champion’s Field Guide: Strategies and Tools for Leading Change in Your Organization
- Best Practices in Talent Management: How the World’s Leading Corporations Manage, Develop, and Retain Top Talent
- Best Practices in Leadership Development and Organization Change
