Kathy Flora is a Career and Executive Coach and AJO Blogger who is actively pursuing her life’s passion, helping others find and fulfill theirs.In part two of this series, Kathy shares our second set of reading recommendations from AJO's Coaches and Consultants. She asked them to mine their bookshelves and e-readers for some powerhouse recommendations and here's what they shared.
Says Kathy, "I’ve also scoured some top leadership resources, including adding a few from my own “must read” list. I invite you to contact me with your favorites, too."
 Published: August, 2013 208 pp. From the jacket:“Elite Minds gives insight into the process of: developing a world-class mind in both business and sport, where the principles of performance are the same, despite the activity.” | Belinda Brown, AJO Executive Coach, has an extensive summer reading list. Elite Minds rose to the top of that list. Says Belinda, “As a sports psychologist, Dr. Beecham uses his expertise to support corporate clients, assisting and enhancing their performance by focusing on the following goals: 1) …overcome your fear, or you may never reach your full potential. 2)…compete WITH others, not AGAINST others to be successful.” From the publisher: “Most people don't reach their full potential because of their body, training, or physical talent. It is their mind that is the deterrent. They may or may not consider how their thoughts and beliefs are actually hindering performance. With Elite Minds, Dr. Stan Beecham will…Take you through the minds of the elite, who have reached their full potential by tapping into their consciousness and answering the question: Who Am I?” Author, “Dr. Stan Beecham is a sport psychologist and leadership consultant. Dr. Beecham has taken his wisdom into the business world as he develops and conducts leadership development programs for corporate clients. Today, his work with collegiate, Olympic, and professional athletes …has afforded him an insight into the minds of great competitors that only few have had the ability to gain.” |
 Published: May, 2016 351 pp. From the jacket:“In this instant New York Times bestseller, pioneering psychologist Angela Duckworth shows anyone striving to succeed – be it parents, students, educators, athletes or business people – that the secret to outstanding achievement is not talent but a special blend of passion and persistence she calls ‘grit’”. | Author and psychologist, Angela Duckworth, is a 2013 MacArthur Fellow and professor of psychology at the University of Pennsylvania. She completed her BA in neurobiology at Harvard, her MSc in neuroscience at Oxford, and her PhD in psychology at the University of Pennsylvania. She founded the Character Lab, a nonprofit whose mission is to advance the science and practice of character development in children. Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance is her first book. From the publisher:“Winningly personal, insightful, and even life-changing, Grit is a book about what goes through your head when you fall down, and how that—not talent or luck—makes all the difference.” From Amy Cuddy, Harvard Business School professor and author of Presence“Utterly captivating, inspiring and original…Once you pick up Grit, you won't be able to tear yourself away.” From Lawrence H. Summers, Former Secretary of the Treasury and President Emeritus at Harvard University, “Readable, compelling and totally persuasive. The ideas in this book have the potential to transform education, management and the way its readers live. Angela Duckworth’s Grit is a national treasure.” |
 Published: July, 2016 250 pp. From the jacket:“Great Teams is the ultimate intersection of the sports and business worlds and a powerful companion for thought leaders, teams, managers, and organizations that seek to perform…The insight shared in this book is sure to enhance any team in its pursuit of excellence.” | Author, Don Yaeger is nine-time New York Times best-selling author, longtime associate editor at Sports Illustrated. From the publisher:“Don has conducted more than 100 interviews with some of the most successful teams and organizations in the country. From those interviews, Don has identified 16 habits that drive these high-performing teams. Building on the stories, examples, and first-hand accounts, each chapter in Great Teams comes with applicable examples on how to apply these characteristics in any organization.” From Mike Krzyzewski, Five-time NCAA Tournament Champion, two-time Olympic Gold Medal Winning Basketball Coach, Duke University’s Men’s Basketball, “There is nothing more magical than watching a team come together, to manage adversity as a group, selflessly give to others, to find common purpose. Inspiring that to happen year-in and year-out is what keeps us in leadership. Don Yaeger has studied the best of the best. Now it is our turn to study this book.” |
And just because I love these books, two more slightly older volumes from my personal “Must Read” list…
Reflections on power, the first - recognizing and owning our personal power; the second, in a tip of the hat to our country’s election season, a reflection on the political power of words and the deep knowledge of human nature of Thomas Jefferson, who in spite of his complexities, remains one of our most beloved founding fathers.
 Published: December, 2015 306 pp. From the jacket:“As Harvard professor Amy Cuddy’s revolutionary book reveals, we don’t need to embark on a grand spiritual quest or complete an inner transformation to harness the power of presence. Instead, we need to nudge ourselves, moment by moment, by tweaking our body language, behavior, and mind-set in our day-to-day lives.” | Author, Amy Cuddy is known around the world for her 2012 TED Talk, which is the second-most-viewed talk in TED’s history. She is a professor and researcher at Harvard Business School who studies how nonverbal behavior and snap judgments influence people. From the Publisher:“Amy Cuddy has galvanized tens of millions of viewers around the world with her TED talk about "power poses." Now she presents the enthralling science underlying these and many other fascinating body-mind effects, and teaches us how to use simple techniques to liberate ourselves from fear in high-pressure moments, perform at our best, and connect with and empower others to do the same.
Brilliantly researched, impassioned, and accessible, Presence is filled with stories of individuals who learned how to flourish during the stressful moments that once terrified them. Every reader will learn how to approach their biggest challenges with confidence instead of dread, and to leave them with satisfaction instead of regret.” From Michael Wheeler, Harvard Business School, author of The Art of Negotiation, "With advice that is both practical and profound, Amy Cuddy shows how to summon your true and best self when doing so matters most. Emotions are contagious. If you personify poise and optimism yourself, you enhance the odds that they will respond in kind.” |
 Published: November, 2012 800 pp. From the jacket:” This is probably the best single-volume biography of Jefferson ever written.” Gordon S. Wood | Pulitzer Prize winning author, Jon Meacham is executive editor and executive vice president of Random House and a contributing editor to Time magazine. From the Publisher: “Meacham presents Jefferson as the most successful political leader of the early republic, and perhaps in all American history. The Jefferson story resonates today not least because he led his nation through ferocious partisanship and cultural warfare amid economic change and external threats. He also embodies an eternal drama, the struggle of the leadership of a nation to achieve greatness in a difficult and confounding world.” From Doris Kearns Goodwin:“This terrific book allows us to see the political genius of Thomas Jefferson better than we have ever seen it before. In these endlessly fascinating pages, Jefferson emerges with such vitality that it seems as if he might still be alive today.” |
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