EDITOR’S BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS
5 Reads to Support Leadership Development
Being a fantastic leader is more than having the right strategy or technical skills – it’s also about self-awareness, resilience, and the ability to connect with others. Executive coaching plays an important role in this, helping leaders manage pressure, build strong relationships, and lead with confidence.
We’ve selected five inspiring books that examine what it takes to develop and grow as a leader. Each one offers fresh insights and practical tools to help leaders and coaches build authenticity, courage, and meaningful impact.
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Best read for: Resilient Leadership
Brave New Leader: How to Transform Workplace Pressure into Sustainable Performance and Growth
Lesley Cooper & Vicky Smith
£19.99, Right Book Press
Even with wellbeing initiatives in place, workplace pressure often stifles openness and performance. Brave New Leader challenges leaders to rethink how pressure is managed, and shows how to turn it into a force for growth.
With decades of experience in workplace wellbeing, Lesley Cooper and Vicky Smith examine why fear and silence still hold sway in many organisations. They say that meaningful, lasting change comes from having the courage to face tough truths, challenge harmful behaviours, and lead with authenticity and heart.
This book provides a practical framework for leaders to identify team fears and create a safe, supportive environment where everyone can speak up, share ideas, and perform at their best. Full of actionable tools, it helps leaders boost performance while protecting wellbeing.
Brave New Leader is an important read, as it gives coaches and leaders alike the language and structure to move from firefighting to fostering trust, engagement, and resilience – qualities that define today’s most effective leaders.
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Best read for: Courageous Leadership and Personal Mastery
C.O.U.R.A.G.E.: 7 Choices for Living a Life Without Regret
Christopher O. H. Williams
$22.99, Lioncrest Publishing
What does it really mean to be courageous in leadership? In C.O.U.R.A.G.E., business transformation expert Christopher O. H. Williams explores this question through a fresh, empowering lens.
Williams draws on more than 30 years of international leadership experience to show that courage isn’t an innate trait – it’s a skill that can be developed through deliberate practice. He presents a seven-part framework to help readers commit to purpose, own their potential, unmask fear, and act decisively.
These “seven choices” are both deeply personal and highly practical, making the book an invaluable companion for leaders and coaches alike. Williams challenges readers to build the inner strength needed to make bold decisions, even when the outcome isn’t certain.
For executive coaches, C.O.U.R.A.G.E. is a reminder that leadership growth begins from within. It equips leaders to confront fear, cultivate authenticity, and model the self-awareness that inspires others to do the same.
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Best read for: Leading Organisational Change
Manoeuvring Monday: A Story of Driving Transformation When Your People Push Back and Your Leaders Look Away
Anne Katrine Carlsson Sejr & Ivanna Mikhailovna Rosendal
£18.99, Rethink Press
Change leadership can be messy, and Maneuvering Monday captures that reality with honesty and heart. Told through the story of Marie, a leader dealing with resistance, hidden agendas, and dysfunctional dynamics, this book offers a rare, inside look at what transformation really feels like.
In Maneuvering Monday, Anne Katrine Carlsson Sejr and Ivanna Mikhailovna Rosendal mix real-life stories with leadership insights to show what it’s really like to drive change at work. Marie’s story takes you through the mistakes, lessons, and breakthroughs that happen when reshaping a company culture.
The book doesn’t promise easy fixes. Instead, it discusses the emotional ups and downs and the difficult office politics that come with making meaningful and lasting change. Packed with practical lessons on resilience, influence, and integrity, it’s a great read for coaches helping others navigate change.
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Best read for: Authentic Leadership and Psychological Safety
The Authentic Organisation: How to Create a Psychologically Safe Workplace
Gina Battye
£24.99, Wiley
In today’s workplaces, psychological safety isn’t a “nice to have” – it’s important for innovation, collaboration, and trust. In The Authentic Organization, Gina Battye delivers a hands-on guide to creating cultures where people feel safe, valued, and free to be their authentic selves.
Drawing on her 5 Pillars of Psychological Safety framework, Battye shares a roadmap for transforming outdated workplace behaviours and mindsets. She provides clear strategies to build open communication, encourage inclusion, and lead with empathy. These are the core principles behind successful executive coaching.
The book shows how authenticity at work can boost team performance. It offers leaders practical guidance on creating spaces where people feel empowered, motivated, and able to contribute their best ideas and energy every day.
This book provides practical tools, clear frameworks, and inspiring insights to help lead with integrity, emotional intelligence, and empathy, making authenticity a driver for both personal and organisational success. The Authentic Organization is an invaluable resource for coaches.
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Best read for: Strategic and Historical Insight
Lead Like Julius Caesar: Timeless Leadership Lessons from History’s Most Influential Leader
Paul Vanderbroeck
£29.99, Springer
History has a lot to teach us, and in Lead Like Julius Caesar, Paul Vanderbroeck brings those lessons to life for today’s leaders. Drawing on Caesar’s rise and fall, Vanderbroeck translates ancient strategy into practical advice for today’s leaders and executive coaches.
He looks at the traits, decisions, and relationships that fuelled Caesar’s success, plus the warning signs that led to his downfall. These lessons are applied to modern leadership challenges, including managing ambition, building loyalty, handling dissent, and balancing power with humility.
Readable and insightful, this book is a toolkit for leaders who want to lead with both strategy and heart, mixing timeless wisdom with practical advice for building influence, resilience, and self-aware leadership.
