Top Leadership Resources: The Ultimate Guide (with Links)

What am I doing?

What if I fail?

Am I leadership material, and why are all these people looking at me to make a decision?

I’m in charge. Now what?

Maybe I can click my heels three times, and I’ll know exactly what to do.

Doing nothing is not an option.

Don’t leave your management career to chance and give yourself the ammunition needed to make a difference.

You’ve earned your promotion with your efforts, dedication, and hard work. Now that you are here, let’s provide you with the top leadership resources needed for growth in this next chapter of your leadership journey.

Leadership: Do I Have What it Takes?

ROI, performance management, budgets… Oh My!!!

Yes, you do have what it takes to be a leader. You belong in leadership. Now you just need some resources and tools to help shape your path.

There are many schools of thought saying that people are born leaders. Like any of us, current and historical leaders are born babies, and they had to learn and develop just like the rest of us.

So you can develop what it takes to be a great leader if you know the traits of a good leader.

What are those traits?

• Empathy — You care, understand, and appreciate the point of view of others. Employees can feel safe sharing ideas in the culture you create.
• Transparency — As a leader, you have nothing to hide from the rest of your staff. Being an open and honest leader translates to others being open and honest with you.
• Confidence — Many say confidence is the foundation of leadership as no one wants to follow an unsure leader. Be assertive.
• Decisiveness — Being able to look at the situation or all the data presented and make a clear-cut decision. If that decision is wrong, learn from it and adapt for future decisions.
• Communication — Great communication starts with listening. Communication is a two-way street where you encourage feedback in your workplace, inspire, and rally your employees around the company’s shared vision. Focus on the clarity of your message, and its consistency.
• Humility — Admitting your mistakes and inviting the trust of others mark a humble leader. Can you put others before yourself? Are you serving your employees as a leader? Humility goes hand in hand with decisiveness, confidence, and communication.
• Creativity — Creates the platform of problem-solving and free-flowing ideas which can help companies achieve long-term goals and inspire results.
• Conflict Resolution — Helps the leader determine how to keep relationships in the workplace professional and focused forward as a team.

Are any of these traits you can’t learn?

No.

You were put in charge because someone saw something great in you. Keep that in mind any time you doubt your abilities.

Not everything will make sense in the beginning. As a child, you didn’t know everything, but as you grew up, all the world around you became your classroom.

Leadership is no different.

Who Are You

As a Leader?

We might know who we are, but what kind of leader are you? What are my shortcomings? What are my strengths?

I’m new, so how am I supposed to know?

Take a leadership quiz to help you understand yourself as a leader.

Here are a few assessments you can take for free to give you insight into the type of leader you are.

• DISC Personality Profile — Explains your behavior towards others in factors such as dominance, influence, steadiness, and compliance.
• Myers-Briggs — Gives you insight into your character traits and capabilities.

Based on what you find about yourself, you can narrow down which of the following resources benefits you best and build on the foundation of the test results.

Stand on the Shoulder of Giants

“If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.” — Issac Newton

Am I doing this right? I wish I had someone to talk to and bounce my ideas off. That’s where a great mentor comes in handy.

Mentors are usually someone who is in a similar industry as you and is there to encourage, be your biggest cheerleaders, and help you navigate waters that you’re unfamiliar with.

Depending on what you’re looking for, mentoring is a valuable one-on-one relationship that can provide in-depth conversations and insight, possibly changing your viewpoint.

Often the right mentor helps steer you in the right direction when you seem off course.

Warning!

Choose wisely. Not everyone is suited to be a great mentor to you. Evaluate their skills and knowledge base and specify what you want. Valuable time can be lost in conversation when you are not on the same page.

Is that person in touch with the current day realities of the industry? Are you in a posture of listening and learning?

Study who you want to mentor you. Are their behaviors and fruit what you want to model?

Take a Look, it’s in a Book

Ugh! I hate reading. Books are boring. Do I have to read a book?

If you want to be a great leader, yes!

Reading books pauses all the random thoughts in your mind separating you into an open forum of learning. Reading strengthens your knowledge base, writing skills, comprehension, concentration, and memory.

All essential skills for leadership.

There are so many books out there to read. Which ones are the best?

There are varying opinions in this space, but here are some good ones to get you started.

• 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership by John C. Maxwell — The reason to read this book is in the title. These laws of leadership are irrefutable, meaning there’s no argument against them. Answer the questions after each law to help you grow. In addition, there’s a workbook version.
• The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey — Insights for solving personal and professional problems. Want to be effective as a person and leader? This is the book for you.
• How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie — Not a self-help book. An essential book for teaching the basics of leadership in a work environment. Treat people better, communicate more effectively, and be a better leader.
• Leaders Eat Last by Simon Sinek — Great leadership tips for creating a healthy, fruitful, and thriving work environment.
• Dare to Lead by Brene Brown — Authentic, raw. Piques your curiosity, courage, and empathy as a leader. Great book if you are becoming a leader.

After you get a taste of the buffet of knowledge in these books, you’ll want more. Amazon is great at making recommendations for other leadership books. Read the reviews and choose new books to add to your leadership library.

Listen to Leadership Leaders

Now that’s a mouthful.

Not everyone learns the same way.

Listening to information can be just as beneficial as reading it.

Podcasts are a great way to continue your growth as a leader as you can listen to them while driving, doing household chores, etc. A great way to fill your mind with positive information and drown out the unnecessary clutter around you.

Here are a few great leadership podcasts to get you started.

• Ted Radio Hour — Commune with some of the world’s great thinkers on how to better serve our community.
• Simon Sinek — “Inspire people to do the things that inspire them so that, together, each of us can change our world for the better” — Simon Sinek
• Lead to Win — Equipping Leaders with the world’s most extensive resources to fuel their success and performance.
• Dose of Leadership — Engages leaders from all industries sharing their insights.
• Coaching for Leaders — No one is born a leader, they are taught and shown how to lead.

I believe you heard this somewhere else :)

Power at your Fingertips

With great power comes great responsibility.

You have the power and responsibility as a leader.

All the information we need is at our fingertips with the connecting power of smartphones.

Why not take advantage of that connectivity?

Everyone has an app for that which benefits your growth as a leader. The small but mighty list below of leadership training classes, websites, and apps will help catapult your leadership skills far beyond your hopes and desires.

• Linkedin Learning — You’ll first personalize your learning experience to meet your career goals. There are courses, blogs, and tools at your learning disposal. Career Oriented.
• Blinklist — We are all busy. In the blink of an eye, you can learn the key takeaways and insights from books and podcasts. A powerful leadership tool.
• Bunch — Only have 2 mins before your next meeting or activity? Log into Bunch and grow 1% daily into a better leader with leadership coaching, tips, and advice from proven leaders.
• Coursera — Classroom learning environment. Offers specialized courses based on your leadership needs and can earn certificates and degrees if desired. Taught by professors.
• Mindtools — Comprehensive learning tools that you can easily apply today. Straightforward, practical, and relevant material (case studies, theories, templates, and short narratives) that is easy to understand.
• Udemy — Like Coursera sharing knowledge with the world through free and paid classes on leadership. Many long and comprehensive courses that you can watch at your own pace.

Growth-Based Leadership Blogs

Any and everyone can write a blog, but can you learn from them? Can you apply their knowledge?

The key is finding blogs that are worthy of you spending your time and not wasting it. We all know time is precious.

There are great influential leadership writers and websites out there who can cut through the malarky and get to the meat and potatoes of leadership without leaving wondering what you just learned.

• Entrepreneur — “Leaders innovate, manage, and build. Stay current on the latest and greatest in leadership skills, strategies, and news.” — Entrepreneur Leadership
• John Maxwell — “Creating positive change is the best way to test whether a person can lead well.. And everyone deserves to be led well.” — John C. Maxwell
• Inc — From starting up your new business, growing your existing one, or learning how to lead, Inc.com has helpful resources for your leadership journey.
• Leadership Now — “We want to change the way you think about leadership. It is not about position. Leadership is everybody’s business. It is for men, women, and children. It is for families, businesses, and communities. It is for you.” — LeadershipNow
• Harvard Business Review — A leadership blog filled with case studies, collections, research, magazines, and countless leadership tools.
• Leadership Freak — “Empowering leaders 300 words at a time.” Dan Rockwell, Leadership Freak
• Leadership Next — A Fortune.com blog wants to help its readers understand the global aspect of leadership and business.
• Michael Hyatt — “Equipping goal-minded individuals, business owners, and leaders of the world’s largest companies with the resources they need to accelerate their performance.” — Michael Hyatt
• Lolly Daskal — “Lead from Within founder’s leadership program is engineered to be a catalyst for leaders who want to enhance their performance and make a meaningful difference in their companies, their lives, and the world.” — Lolly Daskal
• Forbes — One of the world’s largest hubs of leadership information and business current events.
• Tanveer Naseer — Highly decorated leadership thought leader, Tanveer Naseer works with leaders, executives, and corporate teams, to drive organization growth and development.
• Lead Change — “It seeks to inspire readers to boldly step up and serve wherever and whenever leadership is needed, providing real and concrete advice on how to grow. Lead Change is written for and by top leadership and business professionals around the world. “ — Lead Change

With so many options, read through some blogs and see which ones draw your attention. There is no such thing as too much information

Roll Up Your Sleeves and Get Dirty

Skip the boring lecture-like conferences that have you drinking Red Bull every hour to stay awake.

Attend interactive leadership programs or join clubs that can accelerate your leadership growth by putting you into the very scenarios leaders face daily.

Here are a couple of leadership programs you can sign up for and attend.

• John C. Maxwell Leadership Academy — From realizing your own potential, building your business, or transforming your organization, John C. Maxwell’s Academy has the tools, leadership, resources, and workshops to help you reach your leadership goals.
• Toastmasters — Interview preparation, online meeting management, leadership development, project management, and conflict resolution are just a few learning pathways the Toastmasters program has for you. Everything in Toastmasters revolves around a club that meets once a week for about an hour.
• Dale Carnegie Training — Are you the type of person that wants to learn and grow as a leader? This program helps find the mindset and skillset to achieve better and different results. Build on confidence and personal leadership competence.
• American Management Association — With in-person classes, webinars, and corporate training, AMA provides a range of leadership development services to prosper in a complex and changing world.
• HRD — Their mission. Changing the world, one leader at a time. Some of their signature solutions are Leading is everyone’s business, Leading leaders, manager essentials, and The Leadership Challenge.

Becoming a great leader is not always about investing your time, it’s also a financial investment. Every decision you make can have a significant impact on your business or employee’s life.

Failure is Inevitable

Whoa now! Pause!

I don’t want to fail. I will do whatever it takes not to fail.

Well, that is what we tell ourselves, but reality shows us that every great leader has failed.

Failure is often one of the best teachers we have as we know what not to do next time. Yes, there will be the next time.

Be open to constructive criticism of your acts and others surrounding you. We can read all the leadership books and see how others did it, but learning in real-time can be our most significant instrument of knowledge.

This resource only works if we evaluate what went wrong and the actionable steps and humility to make it right.

Locked and Loaded

So many leadership terms are thrown into leadership roles leaving new leaders’ heads spinning around, wondering what they should focus on first.

Leadership isn’t scary or stressful when you have proper resources at your disposal.

With the resources listed above, you’re locked and loaded to reach, teach, learn, apply, and lead your people. There’s no doubt about it. Remember that leadership is not something you learn overnight, and you’re the best thing since sliced bread.

Continue seeking information and challenge yourself daily, and leadership will become something you are, not just something you do.

Download an app or two today and dive into the first chapter of your first book after reading this last line.

Your future self is waiting for this first step.