March 28th, 2025

Book club: the best books for women leaders

Communication Mindset Productivity Relationships Strategy Trends

Each week, we scour the internet to curate the best books for women leaders. Subscribe to our newsletter to get the book of the week in your inbox every Wednesday!

Business and Strategy

When McKinsey Comes to Town

Walt Bogdanich and Michael Forsythe

Emotion By Design: Creative Leadership Lessons from a Life at Nike

Greg Hoffman

Thinking, Fast and Slow

Daniel Kahneman

Build the Damn Thing: How to Start a Successful Business If You’re Not a Rich White Guy

Kathryn Finney

When: The scientific secrets of perfect timing

Daniel H. Pink

Principles Life and Work

Ray Dalio

The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers

Ben Horowitz

The Art of Gathering: How We Meet and Why It Matters

Priya Parker 

My Life in Full

Indra Nooyi

The First 90 Days

Michael D. Watkins

Never Succumb To Beige: & Other Tips for a Colourful Life

Frances Manwaring

The Thought Leaders Practice

Matt Church

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men

Caroline Criado Perez

The Loudest Duck: Moving Beyond Diversity while Embracing Differences to Achieve Success at Work

Laura Liswood

Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life

Marshall B Rosenberg

On Our Best Behaviour

Elise Loehnen

Normal Women: 900 Years of Making History

Philippa Gregory

Who Cooked Adam Smith’s Dinner?: A Story of Women and Economics

Katrine Marcal 

The Grit Factor: Courage, Resilience, and Leadership in the Most Male-Dominated Organization in the World

Shannon Huffman Polson

Sexual Revolution: Modern Fascism and the Feminist Fightback

Laurie Penny

We Should All Be Feminists

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Habits and Health

The Small Big: Small changes that spark a big influence

Robert Cialdini and Steve Martin

Surrounded by Idiots

Thomas Erikson

Tiny Habits: The Small Changes That Change Everything

BJ Fogg

You Are a Badass: How to Stop Doubting Your Greatness and Start Living an Awesome Life

Jen Sincero

Set Boundaries, Find Peace: A Guide to Reclaiming Yourself

Nedra Glover Tawwab

Brag!: The Art of Tooting Your Own Horn without Blowing It

Peggy Klaus

168 Hours: You Have More Time Than You Think

Laura Vanderkam

Talking to Strangers: What We Should Know About The People We Don’t Know

Malcolm Gladwell

Happy Ever After: Escaping the Myths of the Perfect Life

Paul Dolan

Joyful: The Surprising Power of Ordinary Things to Create Extraordinary Happiness

Ingrid Fetell Lee

Eat Sweat Play: How Sport Can Change Our Lives

Anna Kessel

Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity

Peter Attia and Bill Gifford

Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance

Angela Duckworth

The Procrastination Equation: How to Stop Putting Things Off and Start Getting Stuff Done

Piers Steel

Rushing Woman’s Syndrome: The Impact of a Never-Ending To-Do List and How to Stay Healthy in Today’s Busy World

Dr Libby Weaver

How Women Rise: Break the 12 Habits Holding You Back from Your Next Raise, Promotion, or Job

Sally Helgesen and Marshall Goldsmith 

Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less

Greg McKeown 

Belonging: The Ancient Code

Owen Eastwood

Hidden Potential: The Science of Achieving Greater Things

Adam Grant

How to Change Your Mind

Michael Pollan

10-10-10

Suzy Welch

The Menopause Reset

Dr. Mindy Pelz

Hello, habits

Fumio Sasaki

Women Code

Alissa Vitti

How the Female Body Drove Human Evolution

Cat Bohannon

Immunity to Change

Robert Kegan, Lisa Laskow Lahey

The Age of Magical Overthinking

Robert Kegan, Lisa Laskow Lahey

Take Back Your Brain

Kara Loewentheil

The 100-Year Life

Lynda Gratton & Andrew Scott

Braiding Sweetgrass

Robin Wall Kimmerer

Why We Sleep

Matthew Walker, PhD

138 Dates

Rebekah Campbell

Stolen Focus

Johann Hari

Leadership

When Women Lead: What They Achieve, Why They Succeed, and How We Can Learn from Them

Julia Boorstin

Dare to Lead: Brave Work. Tough Conversations. Whole Hearts.

Brene Brown

Straight Up

Rubi Tui

The Coaching Habit

Michael Bungay Stanier

The Year of Yes

Shonda Rhimes

Wintering: The Power of Rest

Katherine May

Women and Leadership: Real Lives, Real Lessons

Julia Gillard and Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala

Leaders Eat Last 

Simon Sinek

Multipliers: How the Best Leaders Make Everyone Smarter

Liz Wiseman

Unapologetically Ambitious: Take Risks, Break Barriers, and Create Success on Your Own Terms

Shellye Archambeau

Unleash Your Awesome: How to live and work from your Zone of Genius

Daria Williamson

The Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs

Carmine Gallo

NUKU: Stories of 100 Indigenous women

Qiane Matata-Sipu

The Burnout Challenge: Managing People’s Relationships with Their Jobs

Christina Maslach

Flexperts: Getting the best from flex in a world that’s ever changing

Gillian Brookes

Career Advice for Ambitious Women

Mrs. Moneypenny

Just listen: Discover the Secret to Getting Through to Absolutely Anyone

Mark Goulston

The HeART of Laser-Focused Coaching

Marion Franklin

How Remarkable Women Lead

Joanna Barsh and Susie Cranston

The Spirit of Maori Leadership

Selwyn Katene

Restorying Indigenous Leadership

Cora Voyageur

The Diary of a CEO

Steven Bartlett

Playing Big: Practical Wisdom For Women

Tara Mohr

Head & Heart: The Art of Modern Leadership

Kirstin Ferguson

FYI: We’re using Amazon Affiliate links and may earn money from qualifying purchases.

Want more?

Check out our podcast, Powrup, and our curated list of podcasts every women leader should listen to. You can also subscribe to our newsletter for weekly book recommendations:

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