4 essential books to help leaders in today’s world

Switch: How to Change When Change Is Hard (2024) By Chip and Dan Heath

Recommended by Costas Markides, Robert P Bauman Chair in Strategic Leadership; Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship

This is a practical and engaging guide about how to make change stick – whether in organisations, teams or personal habits. The book’s core idea is that successful change requires aligning three elements: the Rider (our rational mind), the Elephant (our emotional side), and the Path (the environment).

The Heath brothers argue that most change efforts fail not because people lack information, but because emotions and context aren’t properly addressed. It identifies and explores three key management principles: (i) what often looks like resistance to change is usually lack of clarity; (ii) what often looks like a people problem is usually a situation problem; and (iii) what often looks like laziness is usually emotional exhaustion.

Through memorable stories and clear frameworks, Switch shows how to: direct the Rider with clear goals and “bright spots”; motivate the Elephant by shaping emotions and identity; and shape the Path by adjusting systems and environments.

Overall, Switch is accessible, research-backed and highly actionable. It’s especially valuable for leaders, managers and anyone trying to change behaviour – at work or in everyday life – without relying on willpower alone.

 

Self-Leadership: Turning Your Desires into Achievements (2025) By Anita D’Agnolo Vallan

Recommended by Luigia Ingianni, LBS Women In Leadership Executive Programme 2019, Commissioner of the Employment Standards Office, Qatar Financial Centre (QFC) Authority; Adjunct Professor, Hamad Bin Khalifa University, College of Law

All meaningful change and sustainable results start within ourselves. This book – the first in a trilogy titled A System to Change Your Personal and Professional Life, Organizations, and the World – positions self-leadership as the most critical attribute for professional effectiveness and personal fulfilment.

At the book’s core lies the Individual Functioning Cycle (IFC) – a rigorous and accessible methodology that allows individuals to become who they aspire to be and lead themselves toward the results they seek. The IFC is presented as a structured path of personal discovery, understanding, change and strengthening. Readers are guided step by step through targeted exercises that translate reflection into concrete behavioural shifts.

In reading this, I developed a deeper knowledge of myself and of the mental, relational and communication dynamics that underpin sustainable success in constantly evolving workplaces. It was a real game-changer, leading to my promotion to an executive leadership position. I also became aware of my own subconscious self-sabotaging patterns and how to change them.

By the end of the book, I had gained a clear vision of my professional journey and designed a clear, actionable plan to become the best version of myself and attain meaningful goals. Anchored in real and emotionally resonant stories, this book makes a purposeful contribution to executive education focused on self-management as a driver of success.

 

Founder’s Legacy: 50 Game-Changing Leadership Lessons for Building a Great Business (2024) By Simon Court

Recommended by Marcus Alexander, Adjunct Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship

There are hundreds of great leadership books, all with their own pros and cons. What I liked particularly about this one is three things: (1) it is focused on leadership in the specific context of starting up a business; (2) it brings out many of the contextual challenges of entrepreneurial business itself, and looks at leadership attributes and behaviours in light of what is needed in this situation rather than as abstractly “good” or “bad"; and (3) it contains a decent backdrop of research and academic awareness but is very practically focused with specific questions to reflect on as a new venture leader.

Admittedly, the author was a student of mine long ago when he was in a corporate job before founding his own startup, Value Partnership. It was obvious to me then that he had exceptional drive and talent, so it is good to see so much of his own learning captured in an easy-to-read book.

 

Leadership from Bad to Worse – What Happens When Bad Festers (2024) by Barbara Kellerman
Recommended by Müge Mentes, LBS Women In Leadership Executive Programme 2019, former investment banker

Barbara Kellerman's Leadership from Bad to Worse is both insightful and deeply unsettling – a timely examination of how destructive leadership progresses gradually, often imperceptibly at first. Through compelling case studies spanning corporate leaders and heads of state, she demonstrates that bad leadership usually starts small and is easy to dismiss, then picks up steam until it becomes entrenched.

What makes this book particularly powerful is Kellerman's focus on followership. She argues that followers bear ultimate accountability, examining why board members won't challenge those at the top, why meaningful checks and balances fail, and why followers fall into line. Bad leaders don't surrender voluntarily – they must be forced out.

The book's most chilling reminder: situations can always deteriorate further, and the longer bad leadership persists, the harder it becomes to uproot. Kellerman's message is clear – early intervention is essential. If we tolerate destructive leadership, we get the leaders we deserve. Pay attention, because the responsibility rests with us.