Leadership Books
Leadership books for women are guides that help women obtain and excel in management and executive roles. This genre covers topics such as dealing with discrimination, speaking up and being heard, and earning the respect of direct reports, colleagues, and supervisors. The purpose of these books is to identify techniques, characteristics, and behaviours that improve professional women’s chances of becoming good leaders.
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In the Company of Women: Inspiration and Advice from Over 100 Makers, Artists, and Entrepreneurs
By Grace BonneyIn this book, over 100 exceptional and influential women describe how they embraced their creative spirit, overcame adversity, and sparked a global entrepreneurship movement.
Media titans and ceramicists, hoteliers and tattoo artists, comedians, architects, and Lizzo—taken together, these profiles paint a beautiful picture of what happens when we pursue our passions and dreams.
Who It's Good For
This is a great book for someone looking for inspiration to pursue (or continue to pursue) their dreams.
Buy: In the Company of Women: Inspiration and Advice from Over 100 Makers, Artists, and EntrepreneursWomen and Leadership: Real Lives, Real Lessons
By Julia Gillard and Ngozi Okonjo-IwealaWomen and Leadership explores the unique challenges that women face while holding positions of power and influence.
The book analyzes the lack of gender representation in modern leadership from real women like Jacinda Ardern, Hillary Rodham Clinton, and Christine Lagarde. Speaking from their own experience, these women share stories about having their ideas stolen by male colleagues, being called names in the media, and what things they wish they had done differently.
Who It's Good For
Leaders looking for real stories from real leaders who have learned in some of the toughest (and most public) ways.
Buy: Women and Leadership: Real Lives, Real LessonsNever Split the Difference
By Chris VossChris Voss is an author, speaker, and a former hostage negotiator, so his advice on getting what you want is pretty valuable. And it’s not machismo B.S. either. Voss employs a mixture of negotiation, empathy, and steadfastness that is seriously inspirational. Trust us, you’ll want to take this kind of energy into your next salary negotiation process.
Our CEO, Lauren McGoodwin, saw him speak a few years ago and he was so impressive, he became our first (!) male guest on The Career Contessa Podcast.
Who It's Good For
Any employee ready to amp up their confidence to say “yes” when they mean it and “no” when they don’t.
Buy: Never Split the DifferenceWork Rules!
By Laszlo BockThere’s really only one company that comes up every time people talk about places that prioritize their employees: Google. So if you want a managerial blueprint to follow that has a proven track record, Work Rules!: Insights from Inside Google That Will Transform How You Live and Lead is probably for you. Learn how to hire the right people and retain them based Google’s real experiences.
Who It's Good For
Anyone who’s facing the possibility of hiring for the first time or plans on working directly with creatives.
Buy: Work Rules!Brotopia
By Emily ChangIn this powerful exposé, Bloomberg TV journalist Emily Chang reveals how Silicon Valley got so sexist despite its utopian ideals, why bro culture endures despite decades of companies claiming the moral high ground (Don’t Be Evil! Connect the World!)—and how women are starting to speak out and fight back.
Who It's Good For
Someone who is slogging through their own Brotopian hellscape.
If you’ve ever felt self-conscious in a boardroom, speaking in front of a crowd, or just voicing an opinion at an informal lunch meeting, pick it up ASAP.
The No Asshole Rule
By Robert SuttonMost of us have survived a toxic social environment. Bullies. Mean girls. Cliques. The truth is that they don’t go away after high school. But, according to this book (subtitled “Building a Civilized Workplace (And Surviving One That Isn’t”) we can change that as leaders by instilling a culture of zero tolerance. Apparently similar concepts have been used at JetBlue and Google with great success—so why shouldn’t your office be next?
Who It's Good For
Anyone walking into a toxic work environment or facing some tension between members of her team.
Buy: The No Asshole RuleThrive
By Arianna HuffingtonLook, any book by Arianna Huffington is probably going to make a list on leadership and women. She’s Arianna Huffington. The premise of this book goes something like this: At the peak of exhaustion, Huffington took a nasty fall and promptly realized that her health and life were at stake if she kept working the way she was. This book is the result of that lightbulb moment—a guide to caring about yourself as much as your work.
If you haven’t gotten around to Thrive yet, set aside some time this weekend. At the very least, you’ll finally understand what everyone’s talking about when they reference it.
Who It's Good For
The woman who can’t seem to strike a work-life balance no matter how much she knows it matters.
Buy ThriveAct Like a Leader, Think Like a Leader
By Herminia IbarraAs a new manager, your day to day will get consistently busier, and you might find yourself obsessing over current issues and concerns more than planning forward-thinking strategies. According to Ibarra’s book, that’s a fatal mistake. The best leaders make a conscious effort to step up, actively plan time to improve their leadership skills, and embrace the opportunity both to take responsibility and personally evolve as needed. In other words, it’s about action, not reaction.
Who It's Good For
The busiest among us who may need a little reminder about what matters.
Buy: Act Like a Leader, Think Like a LeaderStart With Why
By Simon SinekWe really, really love Simon Sinek and his landmark concept of “The Why” in business. Actually, who doesn’t? It’s the third most popular TED talk of all time. But what sets Start With Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action apart from his past talks is that it brings that idea down to the individual level. In it, he outlines exactly how you personally can take a disparate team and inspire them to act and innovate. Sign us up.
Who It's Good For
Leaders who want to do more than just get it done—the ones who want to change the world. (Don’t roll your eyes.)
Buy: Start With WhyMy Own Words
By Ruth Bader GinsburgRIP RBG.
What can we say about Ruth Bader Ginsburg that hasn’t already been said? Witty, engaging, serious, and playful, My Own Words is a fascinating glimpse into the life of one of America’s most influential women.
Who It's Good For
Anyone looking to be dazzled, inspired, and grateful to have lived (even if briefly) alongside RBG and all that she did for us—right up until her very last moment.
Buy: My Own WordsThe Confidence Code
By Katty Kay and Claire ShiThere’s a reason why Career Contessa founder, Lauren McGoodwin, recommends this book to any woman looking to make a major career change. Study after study shows that women often lack confidence in their own work, particularly in comparison to their male counterparts. This book will help you isolate those feelings, understand them better, and learn how to counteract them.
Who It's Good For
Anyone who needs some help shaking off self-doubt and truly harnessing confidence.
Speaking of confidence…
7. Originals
By Adam GrantYep. If you’re reading this list, you’ve set yourself apart. You stand out. You innovate. Chances are you’ve gotten plenty of kudos and promotions and thank you for all your great ideas. But leading requires a slightly different approach than just coming up with good concepts—you’ve got to keep them alive over time.
Grant’s Originals: How Nonconformists Move the World covers how to continue to innovate without losing your edge to groupthink. Embracing a nonconformist approach may sound counterintuitive in a collaborative work environment, but it’s also that sort of perspective that will shake things up. Oh, did we mention Sheryl Sandberg wrote the foreword? She’s everywhere.
Who It's Good For
Anyone who believes—or wants to believe—that success comes from breaking a few rules.
Buy: OriginalsHBR Guide to Making Every Meeting Matter by The
By The Harvard Business ReviewTrust The Harvard Business Review to distill a bunch of information down into a handy guidebook. This how-to on running meetings is from an ongoing HBR book series that we love, but we’ve chosen to include this option for one important reason: we’re so freaking tired of wasting time in conference rooms. If meetings bore you too, read this before you start running meetings of your own. Your team will thank you for it.
Who It's Good For
If you have to lead a meeting anywhere ever, you just need to read it. Period.
Bonus: We also created this course, Building Efficient Meetings, to make sure your meetings are worth every second.
Power Moves
By Lauren McGoodwinDrawing on the insights and lessons developed from Career Contessa (ahem, right here!), Power Moves is the essential handbook that helps professional women truly feel understood so they can bypass perfection and planning and head straight to evolving. McGoodwin addresses young professionals’ number-one concern: career transitions and growth. Power Moves engages readers with specific goals, including:
- – Defining what Power Moves are—and how they work
- – Cutting out harmful comparison traps, shame, and self-loathing
- – Abandoning the elusive “dream job”
- – Embracing your inner questioner, your inner quester, and your inner quitter
- – Making money moves and taking control of your financial future
Tuning out from the noise and tuning into your voice
Who It's Good For
Every woman everywhere, but especially someone feeling a little stuck in her career without a navigable path forward. We’ve got you!
Buy: Power MovesThe Likeability Trap
By Alicia MenendezWhat’s a likeability trap? We’re glad you asked! The Likeability Trap describes the impossible bind women face at work. At work, strong women are criticized for being cold, and warm women are seen as pushovers. As an award-winning journalist, Menendez examines this fundamental paradox and empowers readers to let go of old rules and reimagine leadership rather than reinventing themselves.
Who It's Good For
Anyone who is sick of obsessing over feeling liked at work. You can also hear our interview with Menendez on The Career Contessa Podcast.
Buy: The Likeability TrapLead from the Outside
By Stacey AbramsLeadership is hard. Convincing others—and yourself—that you are capable of taking charge and achieving more requires insight and courage. Lead from the Outside is basically the handbook for outsiders. It addresses the unique challenges that hinder women, people of color, the working class, members of the LGBTQ community, and millennials ready to make a change. Abrams uses her own insights to break down how ambition, fear, money, and failure function in leadership. The best part? Stacey Abrams is far from finished with her impressive work.
Who It's Good For
For anyone who feels on the “outside” looking to get in—and wants to lend a hand back once they do.
Buy: Lead from the OutsideDare to Lead
By Brené BrownMany of you have heard of Brené Brown and have probably also listened to her renowned TED Talk, but if you’ve been meaning to read her book, Dare to Lead, and just haven’t gotten to it? Big mistake. This book is the culmination of a seven-year study on courage and leadership. Brown’s findings inform her practical and thoughtful guide to leadership that is equal parts courageous and mindful.
Who It's Good For
The Type A personality who’s having a hard time ceding control. You’re about to learn how to d-e-l-e-g-a-t-e.
2. Dare to Lead by Brené BrownThe Making of a Manager
By Julie ZhuoWe’re suggesting the most obvious one first because you should always start with the basics, right? The Making of a Manager covers all the essentials for anyone who’s never supervised before, from hiring to firing and managing time to managing people. Less fun to read than some of the others on our list, but a classic for a reason. We also had Zhou on our podcast, The Career Contessa Podcast, if you’d like to get introduced to her advice.
Who It's Good For
If you’ve just received a surprise promotion and are starting, oh, immediately, this is the book for you. Think of it as a reference guide and keep it on hand to quickly skim anytime you’re feeling uncertain. Bonus: We also have a management course for all of you new managers out there (huge congrats, by the way!).
Buy: The Making of a ManagerFinal Thoughts
Although women have made major strides throughout the last century, there is still more work to be done before women to achieve professional equality. A large disparity between the number of men and women in leadership positions still exists, in part because many women are still taught to follow and be supportive instead of shaking up the status quo. Female leadership books teach women how to find the confidence and voice needed to be effective leaders. Many of these guides are by influential women executives who want to empower a new generation of women to find their voices and change the world.