Books that Inspire Me

Here are a few of the many books on my shelf that inspire me and also offer words, passages and quotes for staff meetings and agendas.

Martin Luther King, Jr. on Leadership: Inspiration and Wisdom for Challenging Times: Donald T. Phillips (This is at the top of my list for living leadership through historical perspective.)

Words Under the Words: Naomi Shihab Nye – (I never leave home without this book of poetry.)

Leadership on the Line: Staying alive through the Dangers of Leading: Ronald Heifetz and Marty Linsky (A deep, well-written exploration of what it takes to recognize the traps, negotiate the turns and understand how to navigate the rough waters of transformational leadership.)

Sailing Alone Around the Room: Billy Collins – former Poet Laureat (Includes thought provoking poetry whether serious, irreverent or funny.)

The Collected Poetry of Nikki Giovanni 1968-1998 (A true political poet: Make sure to read Always There Are the Children.)

If Aristotle Ran General Motors: the new soul of business: Tom Morris (How to live in Beauty and Truth in corporate America.)

Paradigm Found: Leading and Managing for Positive Change: Anne Firth Murray
(A woman's view of what the workplace should feel and act like.)

Happier: Tal Ben Shahar (This professor teaches the most popular course at Harvard; he helps us understand the complexity of happiness and how to practice it.)

Destructive Emotions: How Can We Overcome Them? Dalai Lama and Daniel Goleman
(The Dali Lama, who is well versed in science, brought together a group of world experts from a variety of disciplines including Daniel Goleman (Emotional Intelligence), those with deep meditative practices, and renowned scientists for a conclave on the brain and emotions.)

Leadership and Self Deception: Getting out of the Box: The Arbinger Institute (An instructive, quick read written in story form that helps us understand our role in relationships at work and at home.)

The Leadership Pipeline: Ram Charan/Stephen Drotter/James Noel (This deconstructs in easy to practice terms, what we need to do to move from classroom teacher to head of a major organization.)

Creating True Peace: Thich Nhat Hanh (Respected peace activist guides us through the process of integrating peace in our personal and profession lives.)

The DreamKeepers: Successful Teachers of African American Children. Gloria Ladson-Billings (Pioneer in urban education and cultural relevant teaching.)