Work Leadership

Creativity is the key driver of innovation, but too many teams and projects are organized in ways that stifle new ideas. It's your job as a manager to create the right conditions for creativity to thrive—and to be part of the process yourself.

In her fifth #1 New York Times Bestseller, Brené Brown digs deep into the paradoxical strength that lies at the heart of vulnerability, encouraging readers to find the courage to embrace daring leadership. Dare to Lead is a step-by-step user manual to bring joy, fairness, and authenticity into the workplace. Brown presents clear strategies to help readers become more effective leaders by understanding basic human psychology and the need for connection.

It's the 21st century, yet most companies maintain a 20th-century corporate culture. Despite instant communication and collaboration through wireless computers and smartphones, employers needlessly rent or own office space. Bryan Miles has a reality check for you: the future of business is virtual, and it's going to take more than technology upgrades for you to upgrade your workplace environment.

That’s what your colleagues or clients will say once you have facilitated a workshop using what you will learn in this book by nationally recognized facilitator and award-winning author Eric Meade.

A powerful story about the African philosophy of teamwork and collaboration that has the power to reshape our workplaces, our relationships with our coworkers, and our personal lives, written by the bestselling coauthor of Fish! and the bestselling author of 1001 Ways to Reward Employees.

It’s hard to avoid innovation these days. Nearly every product gets marketed as being disruptive, whether it’s genuinely a new invention or just a new toothbrush. But in this manifesto on the state of American work, historians of technology Lee Vinsel and Andrew L. Russell argue that our way of thinking about and pursuing innovation has made us poorer, less safe, and — ironically — less innovative. Drawing on years of original research and reporting, The Innovation Delusion shows how the ideology of change for its own sake has proved a disaster.

Are your employees feeling exhausted, cynical, or just tuned-out? Do they frequently check their phones in meetings, and seem especially uninterested to hear about the next important organizational change? Ill too often or for too long? These are some of the classic warning signs of disengagement. In a perfect world, work should do so much for us. It should lend us purpose and a sense of meaning, offer us structure and stability. But invariably, something goes wrong - many employees have to pull themselves over the fence each day at a job that is burning them out.

Heather E. McGowan and Chris Shipley deliver a guidebook for leaders navigating the uncertainty of a post pandemic world in this sequel to The Adaptation Advantage. Leaders today must acknowledge and respond to the fundamental shifts that lay the foundation for effective leadership: From managing people to enabling success, from viewing peers as competitors to seeing them as collaborators, from applying extrinsic pressure on workers to unlocking intrinsic motivation, and from driving productivity with unquestioned authority to inspiring value creation by leading with empathy.

Liam Black has been supporting social entrepreneurs and purpose-driven leaders for decades, and he understands what it takes to do work that goes beyond the bottom line — and what it can take out of you, too. In this no-bullshit, woo-woo-free book, he reveals how to align purpose and leadership, how to deal with uncertainty, imposter syndrome, anxiety and loneliness along the way, how to exercise authority (even in the face of endemic sexism), and when it’s right to walk away.

Companies have no idea if collaboration benefits corporate performance, individual productivity, or employee well-being. Collaboration, that seemingly Good Thing all companies encourage, is creating an epidemic of overload and burnout. It crushes our vitality and well-being, prevents us from being innovative, and blocks our companies from being the most successful organizations they could be.

The Only Leadership Book You'll Ever Need teaches leaders how to overcome their most difficult obstacle: employee engagement. By pinpointing specific areas leaders can focus on and change,this book shows how one leader can effectively change the entire workplace environment - for the better.

Generations at Work offers a refreshing way to root out the causes of workplace clashes and bridge the generational gaps. Now updated to include the Millennial newcomers to the workplace, the audiobook serves as both a sweeping overview of generational differences and a solutions-based managerial guide to molding each group into loyal employees who work effectively with everyone, from tech-savvy, high-needs young people to conformist, hardworking seniors.

An iconic teacher. A warm friend. A generous mentor. For more than 40 years, Howard Stevenson has been a towering figure at Harvard Business School: the man who literally defined entrepreneurship and taught thousands of the world’s most successful professionals. Now - spurred by Stevenson’s heart-stopping brush with death - his student, colleague, and dear friend Eric Sinoway shares the man’s wisdom and inspiration.

The iconic Sydney to Hobart Race, a 723-mile deepwater challenge - often called the “Everest” of offshore ocean racing - is considered one of the toughest in the world. Unpredictable weather and seas make each race demanding, but in 1998, an unexpected “weather bomb” hit the fleet, creating 80-foot waves and 100-mile-per-hour winds. Many bigger, better-equipped boats tried to maneuver around the storm, but the crew of the AFR Midnight Rambler chose to head directly into its path.

In 2010, Tim Clark helped create Business Model Generation, a groundbreaking global bestseller on how enterprises deliver value customers. In 2012, Clark and partner Bruce Hazen followed up with Business Model You, pioneering the personal business model technique for individuals. In their new book, Clark and Hazen turn this sights on teams, showing managers how much better their enterprises function when individuals and teams know their role in creating value for customers.

Think about what kind of leader you could be if you knew, with absolute certainty, that you were the best person for the job.Now, think about all the reasons you can’t be that leader. The stories you carry, your failures, the realities of your organization - everything that’s in your way. The truth? You can be the strong, inspirational leader you imagine by leading authentically. But you have to peel back the facade and get naked. Many books tout the benefits of authenticity, but none explain how to lead authentically or detail the rewards and risks of that choice.

The professional landscape is transforming, and the only way to maintain competitive advantage is to maximize the unique skills of your workforce. In Humanity Works, bestselling author, global workplace consultant, and futurist Alexandra Levit provides a guide to making the most of the human traits of creativity, judgement, problem solving, and interpersonal sensitivity.

Jon Kabat-Zinn, is renowned for his work as a scientist, writer, and teacher bringing mindfulness into everyday life. He has dedicated his career to the fields of mind/body medicine, integrative medicine, and self-healing. Here, in this groundbreaking audiobook, Jon Kabat-Zinn and Daniel Goleman explore ways in which mindfulness can be applied by a variety of institutions and businesses to make better leaders and improve the quality of the workplace.

Scott Adams' The Joy of Work is a manifesto for coping within the walls of your cubicle. You'll learn to look at the bright side of every work situation the Dilbert way: "I cried because I did not have an office with a door, until I met a man who had no cubicle."

Teams Unleashed provides a map and compass for engaged, sustainable, and improved team performance. This practical approach uses the everyday language of teams to highlight what's working, and uncover what's not, and gives teams the tools to incorporate new practices that build team effectiveness. This is an approach proven in the real world of teams since 2005 and used by thousands of teams worldwide.