Rowitz On Leadership

I have often been asked for book recommendation on leadership. It is an interesting question to contemplate what books I would want to see on the bookshelf of a public health or human services leader. Over the past six months, I have put together my baker’s dozen of titles which I would like to see every leader read. I am sure that each of you would add a few different titles. Here are mine.

1. Stephen Covey, THE SEVEN HABITS OF HIGHLY SUCCESSFUL PEOPLE. Covey is one of the most read of the leadership authors. This book has become a classic in its discussions of the seven habits of being proactive, oriented to end actions, dealing with important things first, having a win-win orientation, increasing understanding of other people’s positions, being synergistic, and oriented toward continuous improvement.
2. John Gardner, ON LEADERSHIP. The complexity of modern day events and increasing complexity of our organizations has pointed up the need for strong leadership. It is important that leaders understand the needs of the people they work with and the needs of people outside their organizations. Gardner explores these issues extensively in one of the most important leadership books in the field.
3. Peter Senge, THE FIFTH DISCIPLINE- This book lays the groundwork for the need for leaders to be systems thinkers. The archetypes of systems thinking is also developed.
4. Ronald Heifetz, LEADERSHIP WITHOUT EASY ANSWERS. By studying famous leaders, Heifetz explores leadership and what makes leaders succeed and sometimes fail. This book is the one that begins the exploration of adaptive behavior which Heifetz explores in later books like LEADERSHIP ON THE LINE.
5. James MacGregor Burns, LEADERSHIP- Burns, who is an historian has written an excellent book about the differences between transactional and transformational leaders.
6. Daniel Goleman, EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE. Goleman is credited with being major voice in recognizing the importance of emotional intelligence skills for leaders. EI involves Self awareness and awareness of others.
7. John Kotter, LEADING CHANGE- This is an excellent book about change and how it works.
8. Ken Blanchard, LEADERSHIP AND THE ONE MINUTE MANAGER. The Blanchard books are all based on the idea that different situations require leaders to act in different ways. He uses stories to explain his leadership principles.
9. Edward De Bono, SIX THINKING HATS- This is one of my favorites. It presents a great tool for generating new ideas and solutions to old problems.
10. Bernard Turnock, PUBLIC HEALTH:WHAT IT IS AND HOW IT WORKS- This is the best book for leaders who want to understand how public health in the United States works.
11. James M. Kouzes and Barry Z. Posner, THE LEADERSHIP CHALLENGE- This is a very practical book that explores the five practices that make great leaders.
12. Max DePree, LEADERSHIP IS AN ART. This is a wonderful little book. Leadership is about ideas. It is about relationships and drawing your personal strength from others.. The art of leadership is trusting others to find the way to do things in the most effective and efficient manner. Servant leadership is very important.
13. Warren Bennis, and Burt Nanus, LEADERS– This classic book addresses such issues as the importance of character, ability to build organizations and systems, the importance of passion for work, need for a vision, ability to communicate, trust through positioning, and the ability to empower others. It was hard to choose between this book and Bennis’ ON BECOMING A LEADER

It would be interesting to see what books you would put on your bookshelf. The only challenge for me is that when this bookshelf was completed, I wanted to add a second bookshelf with other books. Reading about leadership is always a fun activity. That may be why, I wrote my books. In your comments, I hope you will add your favorite books.