10 Resources to Develop Your Leadership Capacity

I was recently asked for recommendations of outstanding books on leadership, and another person asked me about leadership films. So, here goes:

Books on Leadership

If you want to build a serious leadership library (staying away from more popular books and the “how to” variety, here are some terrific books that are solidly grounded in research and proven practice.

Antonakis, J., & Day, D.V. (Eds.). (2018). The Nature of Leadership (3rd ed.) Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Every leadership library needs a textbook, and this edited book, although challenging, provides a serious academic source for leadership theories and key themes. This will become your authoritative reference book (also, see Bass’s Handbook of Leadership [2008]).

Van Velsor, E., McCauley, C.D., & Ruderman, M.N. (Eds.). (2010). Center for Creative Leadership Handbook of Leadership Development (3rd ed.). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Written by the CCL faculty, this handbook will allow you to develop your leadership in a serious way.

Gardner, J. (1990). On Leadership. NY: Free Press.

This classic book explores leadership and its development. John Gardner was an advisor to several U.S. Presidents, served in government, and the nonprofit sector. The book provides a good understanding of leading on a large scale.

Cialdini, R.B. (2008). Influence: Science and Practice (5th ed.), Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

Leaders need to understand the dynamics of influence and power, and I think this is the single best book for learning about the social psychology of influence and persuasion. It's well-written and engaging.

Ferdman, B., Prime, J., & Riggio, R.E. (Eds.). (2021). Inclusive Leadership: Transforming Diverse Lives, Workplaces, and Societies. NY: Taylor & Francis/Routledge.

This edited book contains chapters by leading scholars and practitioners in the area of diversity, equity, and inclusion. Leading a diverse workforce is one of today’s biggest leadership challenges, and this book provides a solid grounding in issues involved and offers suggestions and best practices.

Films for Leadership

12 Angry Men (1957). This film, starring Henry Fonda, shows a jury deliberating a murder trial. It does an excellent job of showing how leaders can emerge in an unstructured setting. It has elements of shared leadership and also demonstrates the impact a single member can have on a group through a combination of clear analysis and communication.

Glory (1989). This movie depicts a real-life leader, Colonel Robert Gould Shaw, and the challenges he faced leading a Black regiment during the Civil War. Shaw grows from a weak leader to a stronger one by learning from his followers and enlisting their aid. It illustrates both transactional and transformational leadership and courage.

All the King’s Men (1949). The main character, Willie Stark, rises to power by challenging the establishment and appealing to the downtrodden. However, he becomes corrupted by power and in the end will do anything he can to win. It depicts both the corrupting potential of power and the negative use of it. (Very important for our times!)

Leadership Essential Reads

5 Techniques to Deal With Others’ Unproductive Mindsets

From Cascading to Collaborative Business Objectives

Norma Rae (1979). This is a portrayal of a real-life labor organizer (played by Sally Field) that shows the struggle of the powerless against the powerful. It demonstrates how critical follower support and solidarity are to effective leadership as well as portraying a strong, female leader.

Executive Suite (1954). This movie shows the struggle to control the leadership of a manufacturing firm following the sudden death of the CEO. The themes include greed, corporate social responsibility, internal conflict, and the role that vision plays in leadership.