Favorite Books I Learned the Most From in 2023 on Leadership & Inclusion

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To support lifelong learning, I read A LOT of books, articles, and blogs. In 2023, I set a goal to read 40 books annually. Reading, for me, includes reading a physical book or e-book and also listening to audiobooks. To keep track of which books I have read, I keep a list in a Google Docs spreadsheet. I also recommend books of interest in my monthly newsletter.

➡️ SEE All my book recommendations

10 books I learned the most from in 2023

Leadership

I frequently read books about business and leadership because I often use the lessons in my consulting practice or when I am teaching leadership development or coaching my clients.

The Leadership Challenge: 7th Edition by James Kouzes & Barry Posner
I read the original version of this book 14 years ago in Graduate School! It was both eye-opening and easy to read. It is a book I often recommend to leadership and executive coaching clients because of its simplicity and proven lessons.

Brave, Not Perfect: Fear Less, Fail More, and Live Bolder by Reshma Saujani
The author, Reshma Saujani, is the founder of Girls Who Code. In this book, she shares a plan to address burnout and inequality in hiring. This was an excellent book that I listened to about leading in a world that expects perfection, and how to move away from expecting that of ourselves, and instead strive to innovate and be brave.

The Empathy Advantage: Leading the Empower Workforce by Heather E. McGowan and Chris Shipley
This book shares current tips for supporting leadership through empathy post-pandemic. I appreciated all of the resources cited as well as clear, simple approaches to strengthening current leadership competencies.

Love and Work: How to Find What You Love, Love What You Do, and Do It for the Rest of Your Life by Marcus Buckingham
This book helped me understand the evolving work done by Marcus Buckingham. I first read Buckingham's books in my 20s as they related to strengths and employee engagement.

The Leader's Journey: Transforming Your Leadership to Achieve the Extraordinary by Donna Lichaw
The Leader's Journey is written by a fellow Gestalt Coach, Donna Lichaw. Donna brings her expertise in coaching, writing, and keynote speaking into this book that provides a step-by-step guide for growing self, team, and organization into superheroes.

The 6 Types of Working Genius: A Better Way to Understand Your Gifts, Your Frustrations, and Your Team by Patrick Lencioni
I have been reading books by Lencioni since my 20s with his book 5 Dysfunctions of a Team. In this book, Lencioni shares the 6 types of working genius which are key competencies that teams need to be successful. The geniuses include Wonder - you see potential; Invention - you see ideas; Discernment - you assess ideas; Galvanizing - you rally others to act on ideas; Enablement - you help to bring ideas to life; Tenacity - you push ideas to completion.

How to Work with (Almost) Anyone: Five Questions for Building the Best Possible Relationships by Michael Bungay Stainer
I have appreciated Bungay Stainer’s past best-selling books The Coaching Habit and The Advice Trap and couldn’t wait to read this newest book! Through 5 questions, this book provides great tips on managing relationships at work to produce the best results. I especially appreciate that Michael includes great resources and “Top Shelf Book Recommendations” where he shares a list of top books during the writing of the book.

Inclusion and Belonging

The more I work with folks in historically under-represented communities, the more I want and need to learn about their struggles and successes.

The World Record Book of Racist Stories by Amber Ruffin and Lacey Lamar
I first became familiar with Amber Ruffin’s work as she is a writer for Seth Meyers’ late-night show. I then read her book co-authored by her sister, Lacey Lamar: You’ll Never Believe What Happened to Lacey a few years ago, and loved the writing. This is another excellent book by sisters Amber Ruffin and Lacey Lamar on racism that they have experienced as black women. I highly recommend the audiobook version as it is quite engaging and informative.

Cultures of Belonging: Building Inclusive Organizations that Last by Alida Miranda-Wolff
I became familiar with this book by a client who is the co-chair of the DEI Council of a client that I support. This excellent book shares many tips and best practices that I incorporate in my DEIB consulting and coaching work. The book provides clear, actionable steps for you to build new values, experiences, and perspectives in your company.

Better Living Through Birding: Notes from a Black Man in the Natural World by Christian Cooper
I recently watched Christian Cooper's birding series on Disney+ and learned about his book. This book talks about the life journey of this 50+-year-old black man and how birding has supported his evolution as a Harvard graduate and professional as he navigates racism in the US.

What books did you most enjoy in 2023? Leave a comment.

TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK. WHAT BOOKS DID YOU READ AND RECOMMEND IN 2023? I SPENT A LOT OF TIME WRITING THIS BLOG, SO IF YOU ENJOYED IT, PLEASE CONSIDER SHARING, AND LEAVE A COMMENT OR QUESTION AT THE BOTTOM. I’D REALLY APPRECIATE IT!

Check out my other recommended books on:

Favorite Books on Positive Psychology
Favorite books on Coaching
Favorite books on Leadership
Favorite books on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging

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About the Author:
Sarah Scala is a senior talent management leader and executive coach with 20+ years of experience providing organization development, change management, and leadership development solutions for diverse global and local industries. She is a collaborative consultant, coach, and educator supporting the performance transformation of executives, leaders, and teams. Sarah is a methodical, results-driven leader recognized for helping clients reach their highest potential, increase revenue, reduce turnover, elevate business profitability, build competencies, and improve performance.