Dr. Alicia’s Must-Read Book List for Female Leaders

Female leaders have to have four things in order to succeed in their roles: confidence, influence, connections, and a vision.  Arriving at this combination of strengths is not innate, but absolutely learnable.

Of course, leadership skills like effective decision-making, collaboration, and equipping and empowering others are all essential. But by and large, female leaders spend more time focused on honing their leadership skills through education, training, and online courses than they do investing in their relationships with others. We can have the best leadership skills in the world, but they aren’t actually effective if we don’t have buy-in with the people around us.

Here are my top three book recommendations for female leaders to hone these essentials (and those working with women…ahem, that should be all of you) plus a bonus one specifically for women in ministry:

How Women Rise by Sally Helgesen and Marshall Goldsmith. This is a great book for learning about what might be holding you back as a woman in leadership. Women often face different roadblocks as they advance in leadership than men do. Often, the great habits that help women succeed early on in their careers become hindrances later on the more women advance in leadership. This is a must-read for all women in leadership, especially if you are feeling stuck. 

The Leadership Challenge by James Kouzes and Barry Posner. In their research, Kouzes and Posner discovered five leadership practices that can make “extraordinary things happen in organizations.” In this book, they go into the essentials for actually establishing your credibility and influence in a non-sleazy way, how to help team members collaborate on shared goals, how to turn your organization around. And so much more. It’s a field guide to being the kind of leader everyone wants to work with.

Great Communication Secrets of Great Leaders by John Baldoni. One of the biggest complaints about leaders is their communication. From lack of a clear vision to miscommunications to lack of transparency, communication is one of the top leadership skills that leaders must develop. Communicating the right way and at the right time improves relationships, performance, results, and the overall effectiveness of teams and organizations. Even if you think you are a good communicator, this book is a must.

Developing Female Leaders by Kadi Cole. If you are a female in ministry (or work with women in ministry), Cole’s book is a fabulous read. In this book, she offers 8-practices that are easy-to-implement and practical to help churches and ministries create cultures that develop female leaders. This is a great resource for accelerating the development and flourishing of female leaders in ministry.

The need for phenomenal leaders couldn’t be greater. These are my top book recommendations for female leaders who are ready to be influential and more effective in their roles because this world is ready and waiting!

**These are not affiliate links, I really just love these books and believe every woman in leadership needs to read them, so I do not get any money from you clicking on the links above. Please just click on them and read them for your own benefit!