“The task of leadership is not to put greatness into humanity, but to elicit it, for the greatness is already there.” — John Buchan
Leadership is the gift that keeps on giving.
My first leadership gift was Tony Robbins’ Personal Power audio program. My Dad gave it to me saying that it would help me learn from people faster, influence better, and make more impact.
And it did.
Leadership is a Journey of Influence and Impact
My second leadership gift from my Dad was Stephen Covey’s audiobook of The 7 Habits of Highly-Effective People. My Dad said that rather than instant success, success would be a journey, and that I could use principles to guide my leadership journey, as I find my own North Star.
Since then, I’ve invested in many, many leadership programs, and I’ll share some of my favorites with you.
How the Best Leaders Lead
How the Best Leaders Lead: Proven Secrets to Getting the Most Out of Yourself and Others (Audible), by Brian Tracy.
This is a classic that shows you how top executives and business owners achieve outstanding results.
Determine your idea leadership style for any situation, motivate people with the Three R’s, and build high-performance teams.
Insider’s Guide to the Art of Persuasion
Insider’s Guide to the Art of Persuasion (Audio), by Dr. Rick Kirschner.
This is probably the most comprehensive and effective interpersonal skills and influence program there is.
It’s 6.5 hours (8 volumes, 32 tracks) of hard-core training delivered in a fun and simple way.
It covers scenarios like how to motivate people to change their minds and behavior, how to gain useful insights into how people think and feel, how to shape your ideas to speak to the interests and needs of others, how to deal with questions, objections, and outright opposition, and how to become more calm, confident, and relaxed when speaking up and speaking out.
Intelligent Leadership
Intelligent Leadership: What You Need to Know to Unlock Your Full Potential (Audible), by John Mattone, is one of the deepest leadership and personal development books since Stephen Covey’s The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, and Tony Robbins’Unlimited Power.
Lead the Field
Lead the Field, (Audible), by Earl Nightingale
This is a very simple program for changing your attitude.
Rather than think the grass is always greener somewhere else, you learn how to grow a greener field right under your feet.
It’s about leading from the inside out.
Leadership Challenge
The Leadership Challenge: How to Make Extraordinary Things Happen in Organizations (Audible), by James Kouzes and Barry Posner
This one-of-a-kind leadership guide teaches you the 5 practices and the 10 commitments that build better leaders.
Learn how to Model the Way, Inspire a Shared Vision, Challenge the Process, Enable Others to Act, and Encourage the Heart.
Personal Power II
Personal Power II: The Driving Force! (Audio CDs), by Tony Robbins
This is the program that really taught me how to model success, be more resourceful, unleash more of what I’m capable of, and continuously improve key areas of my life.
The 5 Levels of Leadership
The 5 Levels of Leadership: Proven Steps to Maximize Your Potential (Audible), by John Maxwell, teaches you the 5 Levels of Leadership:
- Position,
- Permission
- Production
- People Development
- Pinnacle
The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership
The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership: Follow Them and People Will Follow You (Audible), by John Maxwell.
This incredible leadership guide shows you how to be a better leader through principles.
Learn the fundamentals of leadership including THE LAW OF THE LID, THE LAW OF INFLUENCE, THE LAW OF PROCESS, and more.
The Inner Edge
The Inner Edge: The 10 Practices of Personal Leadership (Book) by Joelle K. Jay, is perhaps one of the greatest deep dives into how you can use personal leadership to achieve more meaning in your work and create the life you want.
It’s a book about having it all in a sustainable and fulfilling way in work and life.
The Power of Self-Paced Leadership Programs
I’m a fan of self-paced, and on my own. I love having the world’s best insight at my fingertips, whether through books or audios. In retrospect, I’m actually glad that I started with audiobooks.
While text is fast for scanning and makes it easy to go back through the information, audio has an advantage of voice. If you’ve ever heard Stephen Covey or Tony Robbins speak, you know what I mean.
Voice builds empathy.
When you hear a speaker talk about a topic that they know very well, their voice conveys empathy, and what to really focus on and pay attention to. This helps you prioritize information and to internalize it so you can apply it more effectively.
You’ll also replay their voice in your mind, when you need it most.
Whether you are giving yourself the gift of leadership, or as a gift for others, best wishes for more fruitful leadership journeys.
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