Contributors to the February 2019 issue of TD magazine offer their book recommendations.
Kevin Anselmo
The Innovator's Mindset: Empower Learning, Unleash Talent and Lead a Culture of Creativity by George Couros
This book encourages teachers and administrators to empower their learners to wonder and become forward-thinking leaders. While this book is written for those in primary and secondary education, there are lots of insights that apply for anyone looking to instill a learning culture within an organization.
Alive at Work: The Neuroscience of Helping Your People Love What They Do by Daniel M. Cable
For any learning professional who wants to better understand how to increase the engagement of their colleagues, I would highly recommend this book. It’s filled with fascinating stories and extensive research that sheds light on how we can encourage our colleagues to bring their best selves to work every day.
Friend of a Friend: Understanding the Hidden Networks That Can Transform Your Life and Your Career by David Burkus
As the quality of our networks plays a role in our learning, I highly recommend Burkus’s book. He shows how our distant or former contacts can be most helpful to us. Friend of a Friend is very useful guide that highlights some of the best practice and examples from the most effective networkers. It is quite counterintuitive and insightful.
William Arruda
Who Moved My Cheese?: An Amazing Way to Deal with Change in Your Work and in Your Life by Spencer Johnson
Change is the only constant. Being able to deal with—and enable—change is more essential than ever. Yet change is difficult for most of us. This book makes the concept of change fun and approachable.
Now Discover Your Strengths by Marcus Buckingham and Donald O. Clifton
Success is all about maximizing your strengths, and this book (with the accompanying assessment) help you identify and describe your strengths—the first steps toward integrating them into all that you do.
What Color is Your Parachute? A Practical Manual for Job-Hunters and Career-Changers by Richard N. Bolles
This is one of the first personal-branding-adjacent books written by the amazing Dick Bolles. It helps you get clear on who you are and what’s important to you—foundation elements for a fun and fruitful career.
Kate Fitzgerald
All In: How the Best Managers Create a Culture of Belief and Drive Big Results by Adrian Gostick and Chester Elton
We've all heard that "culture eats strategy for breakfast," and there will come a time in your career when your team's or your organization's culture is challenged. When this happens, I recommend All In for your management team or your direct reports.
Give and Take: A Revolutionary Approach to Success by Adam Grant
I recommend sharing Give and Take with your direct reports who are givers—those who go above and beyond for everyone. It provides insights into why giving is a strength and how givers are more successful than takers.
Dayna Williams
Radical Candor: Be a Kick-Ass Boss Without Losing Your Humanity by Kim Scott
This book confronts conventional wisdom in the workplace and offers alternative (sometimes provocative) ways of thinking and behaving that are essential for becoming the kind of leaders that companies and teams need today.
