If you’re like me, you usually have a book nearby or a podcast playing. I also tend to read several books at once. I’m still not sure whether that’s a good habit or just how my mind works. Something in one book gets me thinking, and before I finish it, I’m picking up another.
Mostly, I want to keep learning. Michael Jackson had something to say about the man in the mirror, and I think about that when it comes to leadership. It’s easy to recognize what somebody else needs to work on. Being honest about where I need to grow takes more effort.
Through Selfless Ambition, I spend a lot of time working with business owners, CEOs and leadership teams on how they lead, make decisions and develop people. That work also reminds me how much I still have to learn. I can spend a morning helping someone think through a difficult leadership situation and find myself wrestling with a similar challenge in my own life that afternoon.
I’ve come to believe that one of the dangers of reading a lot is confusing what we know with who we’re becoming. You can finish a book about patience and still lose yours in a meeting that afternoon. You can understand the importance of listening and still spend an entire conversation waiting for your turn to speak.
Reading gives me something to work on, but the real test comes when I have to put it into practice. Last year, I shared ten books that shaped my leadership. This year, I’m sharing six that I’m reading or rereading. Some challenge how I think about business, while others make me examine how I spend my time, treat people or show up as a father and coach.
1. Chop Wood Carry Water by Joshua Medcalf
My daughter and I are reading this together. That’s part of what makes this book meaningful to me. The book is about learning to value the process of becoming better, especially when the results aren’t showing up as quickly as you’d like. Anyone who has worked toward something difficult knows how frustrating those ordinary days can become.
I see it in sports, but I also see it in leadership. Building trust takes time. Developing people takes patience. Sometimes the most important work is the work nobody notices.
Reading this with my daughter also reminds me that I can’t simply tell her to trust the process. She needs to see me doing the same thing in my own life.
2. Essentialism by Greg McKeown
This book challenges me because I have a lot of interests. I see possibilities in almost everything, and when I care about the people involved, saying no becomes even harder.
For years, I could convince myself that because an opportunity was good, I should pursue it. The problem is that good opportunities can still pull us away from what matters most. Every yes costs something, even when we don’t recognize the cost right away.
McKeown makes a compelling case for being intentional about where we put our energy. That matters to me because I don’t want my family or the people closest to me getting whatever attention I have left after everybody else has received theirs.
Being available to everyone isn’t the same as being dependable to the people who need you most. I’m still working on getting that balance right.
3. Eleven Rings: The Soul of Success by Phil Jackson and Hugh Delehanty
I’ll admit a bias here. I enjoy learning from people who have actually done the work. There is value in leadership books, academic research, certifications and training. I believe in all of those things. But I’m especially interested in hearing from people who have carried the responsibility, made difficult decisions and had to live with the results.
Phil Jackson is one of the most accomplished coaches in basketball history. He led some of the greatest players the game has ever seen, and he had to figure out how to get extraordinary individuals to function as a team.
Talent doesn’t automatically produce teamwork. Neither does putting a group of accomplished executives around a conference table. People bring their personalities, insecurities, ambitions and experiences into every organization. Learning how to lead through all of that requires more than knowing the right things to say.
Jackson had to do it while the entire world was watching. I appreciate the opportunity to learn from someone with that kind of experience.
4. Love Your Enemies by Arthur C. Brooks
This is a book I think more leaders should read, particularly given the times we’re living in. It’s easy to treat people well when they agree with us. The challenge comes when somebody questions our judgment, disagrees with something we care deeply about or sees the world differently.
Brooks writes about contempt and what happens when disagreement turns into something more personal. I’ve seen how quickly that can happen in leadership. Someone challenges a decision, and instead of considering their perspective, we start questioning their motives. Before long, we’re defending ourselves more than we’re trying to understand each other.
I don’t believe respecting people requires agreeing with them. Sometimes leadership demands difficult conversations, firm boundaries and accountability. But we should be able to disagree with someone without needing to diminish them.
5. The Psychology of Money by Morgan Housel
I’ve become increasingly interested in how people think about money, especially as I continue building businesses and working with entrepreneurs. Housel reminds us that financial decisions aren’t always as rational as we’d like to believe. Our experiences, fears, expectations and upbringing influence how we think about wealth and security. Two people can have the same amount of money and experience it very differently.
What interests me most is how our relationship with money influences the rest of our lives. How much is enough? What are we willing to sacrifice to earn more? What do we hope financial success will allow us to do?
I want to build wealth, and I want other people to have opportunities to do the same. But I also want to be thoughtful about what that pursuit is costing and what the wealth is ultimately for.
Those are questions worth revisiting, regardless of how much money we have. I don’t think financial success should excuse us from asking them.
6. Unreasonable Hospitality by Will Guidara
I love this book because I have a real passion for serving people at a high level. That includes my friends, people I mentor, clients I work with on leadership and business development, and the athletes and parents connected to the teams I coach. The settings may be different, but my desire is the same. I want people to know they’ve been thought about, that their time matters and that I’m paying attention to what they need.
Guidara comes from the restaurant business, but the lessons reach far beyond hospitality. Sometimes it’s remembering something important about a person. Other times it’s following up when you said you would, anticipating a need or taking an extra moment to make someone feel welcome.
What I appreciate is the intentionality behind it. Great service rarely happens by accident. This book challenges me to think about the experience people have when they interact with me, not just whether I completed whatever task was in front of me. That’s something I want to keep getting better at.
What I’m Taking From These Books
Looking at these six books together, I can see some of the things I’m working on in this season of my life. I’m trying to be more patient with the process, more intentional with my time and better at helping talented people work together. I want to handle disagreements with greater maturity, make wiser decisions about money and continue raising my standard for how I serve others.
None of that happens simply because I read a book. The value comes later, when I find myself in a familiar situation and make a better decision than I might have made before.
You don’t have to read all six books. I realize that advice is coming from someone who usually has several open at once. Pick one that speaks to something you’re working through and spend some time with it.
I’d also love to hear what you’re reading. Tell me what challenged you, what you disagreed with or what you’ve actually put into practice. I’m always interested in learning from someone else’s experience, and there’s probably room for another book in my rotation.
DM me on Instagram at @Henry_Sanders_Jr or connect with me on LinkedIn. I’d welcome the conversation.
