Best Leadership Books To Read In 2015

As you think about what business books you want to read next year, how about adding to the list at least one book from the list below. Perhaps a book that will help you improve your leadership skills.

A couple years ago, members of five groups on the professional social media web site LinkedIn voluntarily recommended their favorite books about leadership. They responded to a group discussion question, "Best Leadership Books -- What's Your Favorite?"

When contemplating their favorites, they likely thought about which books were in their minds the best, most favored, most inspiring, most instructional, most relevant, and which ones they might reference frequently.

The recommendations came from these member groups:

ExecuNet Executive Suite
Leadership Think Tank
Linked 2 Leadership
Keller Graduate School Of Management
The Talent Buzz

As the recommendations rolled in, it became clear that leaders learn from, and are inspired by, a wide variety of books -- biographies, autobiographies, books backed by research and academia, books made famous by the popular press, books by motivational speakers, and books by professionals eager to share their personal and professional leadership success stories, tips and suggestions.

Readers' favorites included those written by or about sports coaches, athletes, CEOs, scholars, religious leaders, governmental and military leaders.

Not surprisingly, many well-known leadership book authors made the list, such as authors:

Drucker
Kotter
Maxwell
Welch

Interestingly, the discussion thread, particularly within the Linked 2 Leadership group of LinkedIn, generated debate about the value and quality of some of the book recommendations. But, the general consensus was that if someone recommended a book that inspired them or taught them how to be a better leader, the book was worth their time.

Here is the list of all 235 books, in alphabetical order. It represents many of the vast approaches to leadership in practice today throughout the world. Take a look to see how many you've read. Perhaps you'll find one of your favorites. Because the list is a couple years old, it doesn't include some of the latest best leadership books. Even so, these classics listed below remain relevant today.

And, on December 1 coming up, I'll post my selection for the best new book about leadership in 2014.

Top Books About Leadership.

1776
177 Mental Toughness Secrets Of The World Class
100 Greatest Ideas For Effective Leadership And Management
100 Greatest Leadership Principles Of All Time
20 Minutes To A Top Performer
A Book Of Five Rings
A Commitment To Valor
A Force For Change: How Leadership Differs From Management
A Leader In The Making
A Sense Of Urgency
A Whole New Mind
Against The Gods
Alexander The Great
Awaken The Giant Within
Awesomely Simple
Bad Leadership
Becoming A Person Of Influence
Becoming A Resonant Leader
Best Practices In Leadership Development & Organization Change
Beyond The Timberline
Bo's Lasting Lessons
Built To Last
Built To Serve
Changing The Human Battery
Chasing The Rabbit
Choices: Discover Your 100 Most Important Life Choices
Cracking The Code Of Leadership
Credibility
Crucial Conversations: Tools For Talking When Stakes Are High
Deep Change
Defeat Into Victory
Developing The Leader Within You
Defining Moments
Developing The Leaders Around You
Discipline Of Market Leaders
Effective Supervisory Management
Emotional Intelligence
Energy Leadership
Engaged Leadership
Evolutionary Leadership
Execution: The Discipline Of Getting Things Done
Executive Wisdom
Exodus
Exposing Leadership: Redefining The Top 20 Leadership Traits
Fired Up Or Burned Out
Firms Of Endearment
First Break All The Rules
For Your Improvement
Force For Change
From Worst To First
Gates Of Fire
Get Out Of Your Own Way
Good To Great
Gung Ho
Handbook Of Leadership
Heroic Leadership
High Five: The Magic Of Working Together
Holy Bible
Hostage At The Table
How Did That Happen?
How Lance Does It
How The Mighty Fall
How To Get Anyone To Do Anything
How To Get From Where You Are To Where You Want To Be
How To Grow Leaders
How To Lead
How To Think Like A CEO & Act Like A Leader
How To Win Friends And Influence People
In Search Of Excellence
Influencer: The Power To Change Anything
Inside The Tornado
Inspirational Leadership
Integrity: The Courage To Meet The Demands Of Reality
Integrity Is Everything
Irresistible Leadership
It's Our Ship
It's Your Ship
Jesus, CEO
Launching A Leadership Revolution
Lead To Succeed
Leaders: Strategies For Taking Charge
Leadership
Leadership: Tidbits & Treasures
Leadership: Enhancing The Lessons Of Experience
Leadership Agility
Leadership And Motivation
Leadership And The One Minute Manager
Leadership And The New Science
Leadership And Self-Deception
Leadership Brand
Leadership Engine
Leadership For The Disillusioned
Leadership God
Leadership Insights
Leadership Is An Art
Leadership Is Common Sense
Leadership Jazz
Leadership On The Line
Leadership Pipeline
Leadership Secrets Of Attila The Hun
Leadership Self-Deception: Getting Out Of The Box
Leadership Without Easy Answers
Leading At A Higher Level
Leading Change
Leading Leaders
Leading Out Loud
Leading With Confidence
Leading With Kindness
Learning From The Links
Led To Follow
Lessons On Leadership
Life Entrepreneurs
Lincoln On Leadership
Love Leadership
Management: Tasks, Responsibilities, Practices
Masters And Commanders
Masterplanning
Maximum Achievement
Maxwell Leadership Bible
Moments Of Truth
Monday Morning Leadership
Peak
Pivot: How One Simple Change In Attitude Can Lead To Success
On Becoming A Leader
On Leadership
One Thing You Need To Know
Only The Paranoid Survive
Out Of The Crisis
Predictably Irrational
Preparing For Leadership
Primal Leadership
Profiles In Leadership From The Battlefields Of Virginia
Real Leaders Don't Do PowerPoint
Reclaiming Higher Ground
Reframing Organizations
Regan On Leadership
Resonant Leadership
Results-Based Leadership
Scuttle Your Ships Before Advancing
Scores On The Board
Senior Leadership Teams
Servant Leadership
Silver Parachutes
Situational Leadership
Son Of Morning Star
Start With Why
Stewardship
Straight From The Gut
Strengths-Based Leadership
Studying Leadership
Survival Is Not Enough
Team Of Rivals
The 8th Habit: From Effectiveness To Greatness
The 80/20 Principle
The 48 Laws Of Power
The 7 Habits Of Highly Effective People
The 21 Irrefutable Laws Of Leadership
The 360 Degree Leader
The 33 Strategies Of War
The Adventure Of Leadership
The Anatomy Of Peace
The Arc Of Ambition
The Art And Discipline Of Strategic Leadership
The Art Of Possibility
The Art Of The Leader
The Art Of War
The Change Monster
The Courage To Teach
The Disney Way
The DNA Of Success
The Effective Executive
The Empowered Manager
The Essential HR Handbook
The Essential Wooden
The Extraordinary Leader
The Feiner Points Of Leadership
The Fifth Discipline
The First 90 Days
The Five Dysfunctions of A Team
The Four Obsessions Of An Extraordinary Executive
The Great Game Of Business
The Human Element
The Inspiring Leader
The Leader Of The Future
The Leader's Window
The Leadership Challenge
The Leadership Code: Five Rules To Live By
The Leadership Engine
The Leadership Matrix
The Leadership Moment
The Leadership Pill
The Leadership Secrets Of Colin Powell
The Leadership Test (my (Eric Jacobson's) favorite)
The Magic Of Thinking Big
The Maxwell Daily Reader
The Mission, The Men And Me
The New Leaders
The One Minute Manager
The Persian Expedition
The Practice Of Adaptive Leadership
The Practice Of Leadership
The Prince
The Psychology of Persuasion
The Pursuit Of Something Better
The Right To Lead
The Rules Of Management
The Score Takes Care Of Itself
The Secret Language Of Business
The Secret Language Of Leadership
The Servant
The Servant-Leader Within
The Seven Hidden Reasons Employees Leave
The Sustainable Way
The Tao Of Leadership
The Winner Within: A Life Plan For Team Players
The World's Most Powerful Leadership Principle
The Wrong Bottom Line & How To Change It
Think & Grow Rich
Three Laws Of Performance
Total Leadership
Tough Choices
Toy Box Leadership
Tribes
Walk The Walk: The #1 Rule For Real Leaders
We Were Soldiers Once And Young
What A Great Idea
What Got You Here Won't Get You There
What Leaders Really Do
What They Don't Teach You At Harvard Business School
Why Not The Best
Who Says Elephants Can't Dance
Winning
Winning With People
Wooden
Words That Sell
You Don't Need A Title To Be A Leader

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