10 Books to Add to Your List for Insights in Leadership and Management

Read a Book Day inspires recommendations from Hired partners

Whether you prefer to read a traditional hardcover, listen to audiobooks, or skim an electronic version on your device, books are still a top source of inspiration for people seeking to improve themselves. For “National Read a Book Day,” we polled our partners for recommendations of books that inspired them in some way. Here are some of the results. 

1. Made in Japan, by Akio Morita 

2. Made in America, by Sam Walton

I recommend reading Made in Japan and Made in America books together. These two are from the legendary founders of Wal-Mart and Sony show you that they are both more and less different than you might think.

Marc Cenedella, Founder @ Leet Resumes

3. Great at Work, by Morten Hansen 

One of my favorite books, Great at Work, speaks to leadership, but more so, this book empowers each individual to take a leadership role in deciding their projects and contributions while managing their time, being effective, driving ROI, and not doing busy work.

Kesh Vallot Shannon, Senior Vice President, Marketing @ Lever

4. Manifesto for a Moral Revolution, by Jacqueline Novogratz

I recommend Manifesto for a Moral Revolution by Jacqueline Novogratz. This book is an inspiring guidebook for how to become a leader who makes ethical choices, builds inclusive businesses, and balances audacity and humility. 

Drawn from her experience working with social entrepreneurs around the world, this book is full of stories that illustrate what moral leadership looks like in practice.

Amy Ahearn, Vice President, Career Strategy @ Pathstream

5. FYI – For Your Improvement, by Heather Barnfield 

FYI – For Your Improvement is very helpful in coaching team members and drafting performance evaluations. There are actionable recommendations on how to address skill gaps or overused skills. I find it especially helpful in coaching high performers when it can sometimes be difficult to coach them on how to grow when they are so great already.

From Cecilia Cayetano @ Educative

6. She’s in CTRL, by Anne Marie Imafidon

My recommendation is She’s in CTRL by Anne Marie Imafidon. Recommending this because it’s extremely relatable and provides some great insight into why women are underrepresented in tech, and how this can be improved. Loved it!

Charlene Hunter, CEO & Founder @ Coding Black Females

7. Talent Makers, by Daniel Chait & Jon Stross

We’d love to recommend Talent Makers by our very own Daniel Chait and Jon Stross, the co-founders of ​Greenhouse. In this book, they offer key steps toward building a strong hiring culture that attracts and retains the best talent. 

Chait and Stross share concrete strategies and practical advice based on their own experience serving over 7,000 organizations! We recommend that CEOs, leaders, hiring managers, and talent practitioners give it a read to transform their hiring into a strategic advantage and propel their organization to new heights.

Tayler Mehit, Channel Marketing Manager III @ Greenhouse

8. The Jolt Effect, by Matthew Dixon & Ted McKenna

There’s one book we’re all excited about at Sales Impact Academy – The JOLT Effect. It will be published on September 20th, and we’re counting down the days. The book is written by the bestselling co-author of The Challenger Sale, and it introduces a groundbreaking approach to facing customer indecision and closing more sales. 

The authors use an original study of millions of sales conversations to guide salespeople and sales leaders, and reveal that addressing customers’ fear of failure can turn indecisive customers into buyers.

As lifelong students of sales, and huge fans of The Challenger Sale, our team can’t wait to get our hands on it! 

Sam Butcher, Senior Partner Manager @ Sales Impact Academy

9. Thanks for the Feedback, by Douglas Stone & Sheila Heen

10. Design Justice, by Sasha Constanza-Chock

Thanks for the Feedback transformed the way that my team and I provide feedback to one another, going beyond just “thoughts” to helping bridge the gaps between our expectations with one another. 

Design Justice radically shifted the way to think about design and community-led approaches to create a more equitable space within our design work and collaboration.

Steven Wakabayashi, Founder & President @ QTBIPOC Design

Check out these books, and our partners!

Participate in “National Read a Book Day” by taking on one of these impactful reads. Our partners specialize in a variety of areas to help Hired customers and jobseekers grow their skills and/or capacity.

If you’re an employer seeking assistance with onboarding, HR solutions, pre-employment screening and more, reach out to our partners today. 

If you’re a jobseeker looking for career services, resume enhancement, interview prep, and networking, see how our partners can help you in your job search.