The leadership team at Mesa Solutions has a goal to train leaders at all levels of the company. To achieve this goal, a reading list has been compiled and curated to include books that help develop and hone leadership skills and traits, and to help foster Mesa’s values and culture in all employees.
The reading list includes reading material that is required reading for those in leadership positions and is recommended reading for every Mesa employee to give them insights and tips on developing these important skills.
Listed below are books that create a strong foundation for teamwork and leadership. Each Mesa employee is given the book The Ideal Team Player on their first day and encouraged to read it to discover what three qualities make a great team player. Not much of a reader? Start with one. Then another. You’ll have the whole list knocked out in no time! In the wise words of Fred Fichtner, COO and reading list administrator, “If you don’t think you have time to read, you don’t have time to lead.”
1. The Ideal Team Player by Patrick Lencioni. Lays out a groundbreaking approach for tackling the perilous group behaviors that destroy teamwork while turning focus to the individual presenting three indispensable virtues that make people better team players than others. What makes an ideal team player? They are smart. They are emotionally intelligent and have common sense about people.
2. Extreme Ownership by Jocko Willink & Leif Babin. Written by two Navy SEALs detailing what leadership principles they learned during their time in the military and how those transfer and can be applied to any team, family, or organization. Mesa uses these principles to coach, teach, and mentor new leaders.
3. Ego Is the Enemy by Ryan Holiday. How is our ego our enemy? This book discusses how sometimes the greatest obstacle to mastery and true success in life is our ego. It contains relatable stories that help us laugh at ourselves and become more aware of how our ego hinders us.
Other books on the reading list include the following titles:
The Dichotomy of Leadership by Jocko Willink & Leif Babin. Learn when to lead and when to follow; when to focus and when to detach; when to tighten the reins and when to let the team run; and when to aggressively maneuver and when to be prudent.
Leadership Strategy and Tactics by Jocko Willink. This book will teach tactical skills, strategic maneuvers, and communications techniques to help you with your day-to-day leadership. How to play the leadership game and win it.
The Motive by Patrick Lencioni. What makes you a leader? This book will help you examine what your true motivation for leading is. Through honest self-assessment, you will also learn about the struggles of leadership and how to avoid them.
The Talent War by Mike Sarraille & George Randle. Learning how to hire, train, and develop the right people and put them in the best positions to make decisions that allow you to retake the advantage and win the talent war.
Guidelines for the Leader and the Commander by General Bruce C. Clarke. Written from the wisdom of a military General, this book will teach you the principles for building, training, and leading any organization.
The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey. Learn about how money can impact leadership. By happy living within your means, budgeting your income, saving for the future, and investing for retirement you can focus on your money goals and encourage your team to do the same.
Call Sign Chaos by Bing West & James N. Mattis. Analyzing three forms of leadership direct, executive, and strategic. How a retired marine took these skills and developed them into his successful leadership philosophy.
The Stress Effect by Henry L. Thompson. This book discusses how emotions can drive behaviors and impact people either positively or negatively. How by developing emotional intelligence we can recognize, understand, and manage emotions.
Iron Sharpened Leadership by John L. Gronski. This book uses real-life experiences in the form of inspirational stories to demonstrate how values such as character, competence, and resilience are the ingredients of an effective leader.
Do you have what it takes to be a great leader? Add these titles to your reading list so you can improve your skills and leadership traits. It takes practice, it takes commitment, and it takes great principles. To be a great leader is to learn from others.
Are you interested in becoming part of Mesa’s team? Learn about career opportunities here!
