My Top 3 Business Reads for Summer

Whilst I love to relax with a good fiction book, a gin and tonic and a sunbed somewhere warm and sunny, I also get completely hooked on business books, specifically all things leadership and management.

Often I find myself with a few different reads on the go at the same time – so I can dip into whichever mode I’m in the mood for – whether that’s relaxing or learning.

As I write, the sun is out and it (finally) feels like Summer has arrived, so seems like a good time to talk about the business books I’m dipping into this August:

Surrounded By Idiots by Thomas Erikson is such an entertaining read! Relaxed, conversational style, easily digestible with some great relatable stories and examples. The system introduced here is based on the DiSC profile model and you’ll know how much I love and use this tool for explaining human behaviour, communication and self-understanding in workplace teams.

Once you get your head around the fact that he’s slightly changed the colours from those used in the Everything DiSC model, it’s easy to get to grips with how to better connect with people you might find difficult to understand.

Detailing the differences between the four DiSC styles, how they handle conflict, typical body language each uses, how they each make decisions and handle stress – it’s a great read, particularly if you’ve completed your Everything DiSC profile and understand your own style (if you haven’t yet done this but would like to, let me know!). This book makes me chuckle to myself when it points out not only my own behaviours in a scarily accurate way…but also those I see in clients every day!

The second book I have on the go – The Authority Gap by Mary Ann Sieghart – makes me emotional in a different way altogether. Honestly? I can feel my frustration rising in agreement with Sieghart’s writing as I read each page - so much so that I am having to restrict myself to one chapter at a time so I can then go away and inwardly digest what I’ve just devoured!

This is a must-read book for leaders, exploring the differences in perceptions of influence, power and leadership between men and women in the world of work. Highlighting why women are (still) taken less seriously than men at work - why they are paid and promoted less; seen as less authoritative than their male peers – this book is provoking some real self-reflection for me. I think it’ll make most leaders pause for thought.

Sieghart points out that unconscious biases against women are not the sole territory of men and that we women can be equally as susceptible to the same biases against our own gender as a result of social conditioning and the world we see around us. It has challenged me to recognise my own biases - how often I may have been guilty of judging women unfairly based on their voice or dress code, rather than their ability, experience and authority - and has reminded me to notice and correct myself to stop doing this.

I can also think of times I’ve been on the receiving end of the authority gap – the businessman who shook hands with my male colleague as we all met, yet refused my hand; the time I invited a male colleague to observe a meeting with a client that I was leading, only to find the client answered all my questions directly to my male colleague rather than me.

I may be taking it a chapter at a time, but I’m really enjoying Sieghart’s book!

In my third Summer read, Next Generation Leadership, Adam Kingl delves into the generational differences in workforces today – from Baby Boomers to (not yet in the workplace) Generation Z.

As a Generation X myself, with both Generation Y (Millennial) daughters and Baby Boomer in-laws in the workplace, I’m really enjoying the insights this book gives and comparing them with my own observations, experiences and shared family conversations at dinner and on Whatsapp.

Kingl presents his research and findings in an accessible, easy to understand manner, explaining the thinking and history behind why different generations see and experience work so differently, including what attracts high-flying Gen Y to a given company; what the phrase ‘work/life balance’ really means to different generations and how we are unconsciously shaped by the world events, societal trends and economies we grew up in.

With Generation Y due to make up 75% of the global workforce by 2025, this book is essential reading for anyone managing a diverse work team. If you want to better understand, attract and retain the best talent, you definitely need to understand their mindsets and adapt your leadership approach.

Right…I’m off for a G&T – have a good Summer!

And let me know which business books you’d recommend!