How to Become The Best Leader You Can Be

We’ve closed the book on 2017 and we’re now well into the next chapter. This may mean a slew of different things for leaders around the world, but most can agree that growth, both personal and professional, is always necessary. What can you do as a leader to benefit your club, its employees, and your relationship with the latter? If you’re feeling stuck, these five books are chock-full of great insights to help move you and your club management efforts in the right direction.

1. Double, Double by Cameron Herold

“If you’re communicating with others only to tell them how you want things done, you’re not communicating effectively.” ― Cameron Herold, Double Double

Double, Double acts as a step-by-step guide that teaches entrepreneurs how to get the most out of their life and business. You won’t find theories or generalities in this down-to-earth, tips-driven book. After all, as a leader, you don’t have that kind of time to expend. Double, Double gets straight to the point by offering its reader practical tips on real-life situations that every executive is bound to face while on the road to success. From effective communication skills, to designing meetings for maximum efficiency – this honest book touches on it all, and will give club managers the confidence they need to lead their staff in an influentially positive way.

2. What to Do When It’s Your Turn by Seth Godin

“Either you’re the creator or you’re the audience. Either you’re waiting your turn or you’re taking it.” ― Seth Godin, What to Do When It’s Your Turn

In this book, Seth Godin voices the importance of doing work that matters, embracing tension, dancing with fear and making a difference. What to Do When It’s Your Turn pushes the envelope and breaks all boundaries in the world of motivational novels. Its magazine styled appearance and raw and honest advice will leave you eagerly flipping through each page. It teaches us to dig deep inside so we can do better work and impact the things we care about. This is a book about opportunity―the opportunity to take your turn and to make a difference―and the opportunity to contribute, to lead and to live your life fully.

3. Slight Edge by Jeff Olson

“The truth is, what you do matters. What you do today matters. What you do every day matters. Successful people just do the things that seem to make no difference in the act of doing them and they do them over and over and over until the compound effect kicks in.” ― Jeff Olson, The Slight Edge: Secret to a Successful Life

This isn’t just another self-help book – Slight Edge offers a new way of thinking. It teaches you how to make internal changes in order to create powerful decisions from the simple, daily activities of your life. In turn, these small changes can put you on the right path to long-lasting happiness and success. Slight Edge teaches its readers how to navigate through these personal changes by first understanding how the way we think and process information impacts our daily choices. And if we navigate correctly, the decisions we make can lead to success and happiness that we never could have imagined otherwise.

4. Beyond the Talent by John Maxwell

“As long as there are people in the world, there will be plenty of talent. What’s missing are people who have made the choices necessary to maximize their talent.” ― John Maxwell, Beyond the Talent

Talent is important―but it will only take you so far. However, talent infused with hard work and ambition sets the stage for a successful and impactful leader. In Beyond the Talent, John Maxwell insists that the choices people make―not merely the skills they inherit―propel them to greatness. Examples of this are everywhere. Some talented people reach their full potential while others remain in mediocracy. So, what sets these people apart from the latter? Grit, good decision-making, initiative and perseverance are just a few qualities that can determine the success and longevity of your career. This book will teach you how to use your talent in a way that can drive you to the top.

5. Executive Presence by Sylvia Ann Hewlett

“It is executive presence—and no man or woman attains a top job, lands an extraordinary deal, or develops a significant following without this heady combination of confidence, poise, and authenticity that convinces the rest of us we’re in the presence of someone who’s the real deal. It’s an amalgam of qualities that telegraphs that you are in charge or deserve to be.” ― Sylvia Ann Hewlett, Executive Presence: The Missing Link Between Merit and Success

You can have the experience and qualifications of a leader, but without executive presence, it is very hard to advance. In this book, Sylvia Ann Hewlett uses experience, analytics and illustrations to demonstrate the qualities needed to fully embody an executive—and how to position yourself as such in the eyes of those around you. Executive Presence very directly asks the question, “Are you leadership material?” And if your answer is shaky, it is meant to equip you with the idiosyncrasies needed to embody the executive presence needed to succeed.

As a club manager, it is important to exude confidence, compassion and reliability not only for your own success, but for the success of your club as well—and having these books on your shelf as a resource could put you on the right path to achieve just that.

What books have you read that have positively impacted your professional life? Comment below and let us know!